- This event has passed.
Developing Long-Term Viable Stream Restoration: Main Steps and Lessons Learned from Australia, Mexico and U.S.
October 13, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Hosted by RiversEdge West
Successful riparian restoration hinges on understanding the stream corridor, which consists of three main elements: stream channel (aquatic zone), floodplain (riparian zone), and transitional upland zone.
1) Restoration Planning: Why is planning at the front end of your project so important? What are the main themes that need to be considered? And, why is it important to develop your restoration team at the onset and who should be on it?
2) Evaluating the biophysical condition of your stream’s watershed: Main questions that need to be answered as part of evaluation, include: how has your stream corridor and its watershed changed? What is driving those changes? What does a thoughtful evaluation approach look like? What to avoid as well as what to strive for.
3) Climate change: Climate change is real and is occurring rapidly with potentially dramatic consequences on what you can realistically achieve as part of your restoration response as well as to the effectiveness of restoration tactics. What goes into developing a climate-adapted stream restoration response that is likely to be successful in our new climate reality.
4) Environmental Flow: In almost all cases, the long-term viability of your stream restoration project will depend on protecting your steam’s natural flow regime. Why this is important even for small-scale restoration projects, what are approaches to protecting flows and case studies will be highlighted.
5) Implementing your stream restoration program: What are the critical actions that need to be considered prior to taking the first shovel of soil as part of implementing your stream restoration response? The checklist will be reviewed as well as stream restoration case studies that focus on revegetation, battling non-native species, community-based restoration, and protecting and restoring native fish.
6) Monitoring and evaluation: Why is it so critical and what are major tips?
7) Your restoration project is completed, what next? Don’t pull up stakes and head to the next stream on your list. Why is a long-term perspective so critical? What are strategies that will foster a long-term stream restoration response?