Glacier Excavating crew member beside an excavator

The Crew Behind the Work

Glacier Excavating is an earthwork business based in Eureka, Montana, specialized in stream restoration and wetland mitigation since 2004.

Request a Project Bid Call (406) 297-3155

Welcome to Glacier Excavating

Glacier Excavating employs about 12 people during a work season, with several employees having over 15,000 hours of equipment operating experience. Key personnel have worked together for years, building floodplains, shaping channels, installing bank stabilization structures, and handling revegetation and water diversion.

Owner Bob Cuffe coordinates every project with oversight personnel and project representatives, and has more than two decades in stream restoration and water quality work. In 2015, the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society presented Bob with its Outstanding Individual Award for his contribution to the protection and enhancement of fisheries resources in Montana.

Glacier Excavating is a member of Trout Unlimited and is licensed, bonded, and insured up to $1,000,000. See the work itself on our Projects page.

Our Approach

Every project begins with a dewatering plan, a staging area, and identifying paths of least disturbance. Equipment routes are planned to minimize disturbance to existing vegetation and soils. The goal on every restoration is to reduce construction impact and maximize the potential for permanent, rapid stabilization.

Our Mission

Build restoration projects to the contract documents, on schedule, while protecting water quality, aquatic life, and existing vegetation on every job. That sentence has run the company since 2004.

Our Story

2004Glacier begins specializing in stream restoration, bank stabilization, and wetland mitigation.
2007Glacier Excavating, Inc. is incorporated in Eureka, Montana.
2008Ed Schmit joins, bringing what becomes 25,000 hours of operator experience.
2012Blaine Hubbard joins, later becoming project foreman and lead excavator operator.
2014Marriah Miller takes over office management, submittals, and compliance.
2015The Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society presents Bob Cuffe its Outstanding Individual Award.
2016Glacier begins specializing in placer mining reclamation, now moving 100,000+ cubic yards a season.
2018Trevor Sharron joins the excavator bench, adding Rosgen Level I training in 2021.
2023John Grieve joins, building in-stream and GPS experience on active projects.

Our Crew

The people below are who actually show up to your project. No layers, no rotating strangers: the same crew, season after season. Have a project for them? Send us the scope.

Bob Cuffe

Owner and President

Project manager and equipment operator

University of Idaho, Business/Finance, 1993; five years in bank management before founding Glacier Excavating
Rosgen contractor workshop (2003); Wildland Hydrology Rosgen Level I and II (2011)
Storm Water Management During Construction training (2009)
15,000 hours of in-stream equipment operation
Trained with Dave Rosgen, River Design Group, Trout Unlimited, and Geum Consulting personnel
2015 Montana AFS Outstanding Individual Award

Blaine Hubbard

Project Foreman, Lead Operator

With Glacier since 2012

Wildland Hydrology Rosgen Level I (2017)
WET SWPPP Preparer and Administrator certification (2022)
Around 14,000 in-stream hours with 8 years of GPS experience
Hundreds of bank stabilization and habitat structures built
Project management, inspector coordination, and progress documentation

Ed Schmit

Equipment Operator, Project Foreman

With Glacier since 2008

Around 25,000 hours of operator experience
Storm water management and SWPPP administrator training (2016)
Lead operator for rough channel shaping and materials staging
Lead on project reclamation and finish work

Trevor Sharron

Excavator Operator

With Glacier since 2018

Wildland Hydrology Rosgen Level I (2021)
WET SWPPP Preparer and Administrator certification (2022)
Around 4,000 in-stream hours with 5 years of GPS experience
Hundreds of structures and thousands of feet of bank and channel treatment

John Grieve

Excavator Operator

With Glacier since 2023

Excavator and tracked truck operator
Building in-stream and GPS experience on active projects
Structure construction and bank treatment crew

Marriah Miller

Office Manager

With Glacier since 2014

Over ten years bidding, planning, and coordinating complex projects
Submittals, payroll reports, insurance documents, and compliance reporting
The reason your paperwork arrives complete and on time

“I am overwhelmed by the work Glacier did for us. I just walked the entire site and the attention to detail is obvious.”
Don King · Rock Creek Streambank Project, Clinton, MT

Two Decades Restoring the Rivers of the Northern Rockies

Glacier Excavating has specialized in stream and wetland restoration since 2004. Our operators carry tens of thousands of hours of in-stream experience, train in Rosgen techniques, and build to engineered specifications. We protect water quality, aquatic life, and existing vegetation on every job, and we finish on schedule and to the contract documents.

Rosgen-Trained Operators

Our crew trains in Wildland Hydrology and Rosgen stream restoration techniques, so we speak the same language as your design and oversight team.

Deep Operating Experience

Multiple operators with over 20,000 hours of equipment operating experience and years of GPS-guided work.

Built to Spec, On Schedule

We fulfill contract obligations on time and in line with the contract documents, with erosion control measures throughout.

Environmentally Conscientious

We plan equipment paths and dewatering to minimize disturbance and protect water quality, fish habitat, and existing vegetation.

About Working With Us

How big is the Glacier crew?

About 12 people through a work season, with key personnel who have worked together for years and several employees carrying over 15,000 hours of equipment operating experience.

Is Glacier Excavating licensed and insured?

Glacier Excavating, Inc. is fully licensed, bonded, and insured up to $1,000,000. Insurance documents and submittals come from our office promptly, handled by an office manager who has produced compliance paperwork since 2014.

What organizations does Glacier belong to?

Glacier Excavating is a member of Trout Unlimited. In 2015, the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society presented owner Bob Cuffe with its Outstanding Individual Award for contributions to the protection and enhancement of fisheries resources in Montana.

Who actually runs a Glacier project?

Bob Cuffe, owner and president, coordinates every project with your oversight personnel and reads every bid personally. Project foremen Blaine Hubbard and Ed Schmit lead field operations. You deal with principals, not layers.

Will you tell us if a project is not right for you?

Yes, and early. Send us the scope and we will tell you straight whether Glacier is the right crew for the job. A fast, honest no protects your schedule, and it is company policy from Bob down.

Have a Project Out to Bid?

Send us the scope and we will tell you straight whether Glacier is the right crew for the job. We work across Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.

Request a Project Bid Call (406) 297-3155