VOICES BY EDDIE LEE RIDER JR.
Western Heritage Consulting & Engineering (WHCE) specializes in civil, agricultural, and natural resource engineering – and is especially well known for natural resource engineering. And they provide a host of additional services. I recently had time to speak with WHCE partners Rikki and Ryan Altenburg.
Rikki, give our readers an overview of the services your firm excels in.
RIKKI: We are a very diverse firm offering civil and agriculture engineering services. We are a true design/build firm with our sister construction company, WURX. We have a passion for the transformation of land and natural resources, and the ability to design and improve water and land for wildlife habitat, forage production, and recreation. Our ranching backgrounds help us understand what landowners need; whether it’s a corporate farm or a ranchette, we can design it and build it.
Ryan, you mentioned to me you work in the Roaring Fork Valley. Tell us about that.
RYAN: We are very active in the Roaring Fork Valley with both engineering and construction. We love working in that valley, as we get to use a lot of creativity. Water conservation is extremely important in the West, and our clients in the valley allow us to design systems to meet their needs as well as conserve every drop we can. We have done some fun projects from turf grass irrigation systems, miles of water pipelines, stream restoration, equestrian facility designs, wetlands, and pond creations.
Folks may not know this, but you personally have a background and ongoing relationships in the private aviation world.
RIKKI: I am extremely fortunate to be able to work in the engineering and construction world as well as fuel my passion for the general aviation industry. I’m a Senior Associate for FBO Partners, a group of individuals with extensive aviation experience that consult with FBOs across the world. My focus is customer service and client relations. The part of both businesses that makes me smile the most is knowing we were able to make our customer’s day better than it started, whether it’s seeing their transformed estate, or it’s getting a jet turned quickly so they make the meeting.

