With the firm size increasing by three to a staff of 30 this year, SvR is grossing $2.5 million for 1999. Business is good and schedules are tight, according to landscape architect and president Peg Staeheli. Work at the 10-year-old civil engineering firm spans several markets, including national parks and infrastructure, educational campuses and transit facilities. The number of projects in play area, sports fields and irrigation design has grown significantly in the last year.

The firm is now at work on the large urban housing redevelopment at Holly Park, drainage improvements for Seattle Public Utilities and environmental restoration of the Lower Pond at the Strandley Manning Superfund site in Kitsap County.

"We want to continue our work in stream and site renovation and urban infrastructure rehabilitation," she said. "The most challenging aspects of doing business are changing regulations and a tight labor market."

"There is a lot of uncertainty in future trends-it is difficult to see more than two years down the road". "Naturally, the ESA (Endangered Species Act) affects our work, but we see the long-term result as positive for how we live and build in our community. Mostly, we see an increasing need, because of regulatory issues, to incorporate engineering early in the project. This approach deals with environmental issues proactively, enabling the owner to troubleshoot requirements and add environmentally beneficial elements early on."