Landscape architect Andrea Kline’s (MLA ’85) private practice focused on environmental education, resource preservation and conservation, restoration design, and recreation planning in urban environments. At the time of her passing, Kline was the project manager for Friends of the Detroit River, where she oversaw a number of pedestrian and bicycle pathway studies in Downriver Michigan that are part of the Iron Bell Trail and the Downriver Linked Greenway trail systems.

Prior to that, Kline worked as an independent consultant in landscape architecture. She spent several years as Merit Network’s environmental compliance manager and was responsible for more than 2,300 miles of new fiber optics network in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In 2014 she joined the Huron River Watershed Council as its construction manager for the RiverUp! Initiative. She managed the planning, design, and construction of projects to make river recreation safer and easier at new and rehabilitated trailheads and portages; identified and developed programs for Trail Towns by engaging community leaders on the economic and recreation benefits of the program; and managed a feasibility study for the removal of the Peninsular Park dam in Ypsilanti.

Kline’s environmental roots can be traced to her high school years growing up in suburban Baltimore. She became interested in the relationship between people and the landscape after observing urban development consuming the fields, woodlands, wetlands, and streams where she spent much of her leisure time. She never lost interest in environmental education, resource conservation, and preservation, which was the focus of her work with The Nature Conservancy, where she managed a team of biologists, conservation planners, land stewards, and real estate specialists to develop and implement strategies to conserve ecologically important landscapes in the Eastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

During her career, Kline also worked collaboratively with many organizations to create habitat designs, recreation plans, and construction documents for several award-winning projects. She also managed complex projects requiring multidisciplinary expertise and co-authored many environmental documents for significant utility, energy, and transportation projects. She spent considerable time in the field performing inspections, conducting resource inventories, and overviewing construction activities, including during her 14-year tenure in the Ann Arbor office of Johnson, Johnson and Roy (now SmithGroup).

Kline was an active member of The Stewardship Network and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, where she served as a board member. Kline passed away on September 12, 2020.