EP41E:
Working with Natural Processes to Restore Rivers and Floodplains I


Session ID#: 8877

Session Description:
In rivers throughout the world the natural process drivers that produce complex river and floodplain habitats have been disrupted, resulting in simplified ecosystems.  Emerging practices among restoration planners and practitioners involve working with key physical processes (large floods, planform adjustment, wood recruitment) and biota (beaver, fish, vegetation) to restore the form and function of rivers. The effectiveness of such restoration actions will vary depending on the scale of the restoration activity and the capacity of the river system for change in response to new perturbations. This session explores the processes that produce diverse aquatic and riparian ecosystems, and the degree to which these processes can be managed to increase the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of river restoration (i.e., letting the river do the work).  We seek presentations highlighting both the mechanics of complex processes and evidence of working with natural processes to restore river functionality across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Primary Convener:  Lee Harrison, NOAA, Santa Cruz, United States
Conveners:  Timothy J Beechie, NOAA, Seattle, WA, United States, John M Buffington, US Forest Service, Boise, ID, United States and David Ayres Sear, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14, United Kingdom
Chairs:  Lee Harrison, NOAA, Santa Cruz, United States, John M Buffington, US Forest Service, Boise, ID, United States and Desiree D Tullos, Oregon State University, Biological and Ecological Engineering, Corvallis, OR, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Mathias J Collins, NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region - Gloucester, Gloucester, MA, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • B - Biogeosciences
  • H - Hydrology
Index Terms:

0481 Restoration [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
1813 Eco-hydrology [HYDROLOGY]
1825 Geomorphology: fluvial [HYDROLOGY]
1856 River channels [HYDROLOGY]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Ecosystem Response During the Removal of the Elwha River Dams (Invited) (58845)
George R Pess1, Mike McHenry2, Martin C Liermann1, Raymond Moses2, Keith Denton3, John McMillan4, Samual Brenkman5, Jeffrey Duda6, Roger Peters7, Joe Anderson8 and Thomas Quinn9, (1)NOAA Seattle, Seattle, WA, United States, (2)Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Port Angeles, WA, United States, (3)KPD Consulting LLC, Sequim, WA, United States, (4)Trout Unlimited, Port Angeles, WA, United States, (5)National Park Service, Port Angeles, WA, United States, (6)USGS, seattle, WA, United States, (7)USFWS, Lacey, WA, United States, (8)WDFW, Olympia, WA, United States, (9)University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, seattle, WA, United States
Towards the Application of a River Management Approach Encompassing most Natural Process Drivers : Lessons Learned from Freedom Space for Rivers in Quebec (Canada) (63292)
Pascale Biron1, Thomas K Buffin-Belanger2 and Simon Massé2, (1)Concordia University, Geography, Planning and Environment, Montreal, QC, Canada, (2)University of Quebec at Rimouski UQAR, Rimouski, QC, Canada
Restoring natural geomorphic process to river environments influenced by practical design constraints (79619)
Hamish J. Moir, University of the Highlands and Islands, Rivers and Lochs Institute, Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom; cbec eco-engineering UK Ltd, Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom
Process-Based Restoration and the Rise of the Stage Zero Channel As a Stream Restoration Goal (65613)
Michael M. Pollock, NOAA Seattle, NWFSC, Seattle, WA, United States
Comparing effects of active and passive restoration on the Middle Fork John Day River, NE Oregon (74456)
Patricia F McDowell and Matthew Goslin, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
A native sedge, Carex nudata, as facilitator of restoration goals: effects on channel morphology and planform in the Middle Fork John Day River (85580)
Matthew Goslin and Patricia F McDowell, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
Flood duration and chute cutoff formation in a wandering gravel-bed river (71408)
April Sawyer, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States; cbec ecoengineering, West Sacramento, CA, United States and Andrew C Wilcox, University of Montana, Geosciences, Missoula, MT, United States
A numerical investigation of the impacts of river and floodplain restoration on the process of floodwave attenuation (Invited) (69594)
Mark C Stone, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Biological Systems Engineering, Lincoln, United States, Colin Francis Byrne, University of California Davis, Land, Air, and Water Resources, Davis, CA, United States and Ryan Morrison, USGS Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, United States

See more of: Earth and Planetary Surface Processes