In August 2001, a group of Oregonian river restoration professionals met in the Reno airport on their return from a national wetlands and river engineering conference. They were struck by the need for a regional forum for design professionals and decided to organize a symposium. With hard work and good luck, the symposium came together within a few months. The first Northwest Stream Restoration Design Symposium was held in February 2002 at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA. The symposium was enthusiastically attended by more than 200 engineers, biologists, hydrologists, and other stream restoration professionals.

In response to this success, the original "airport founders" (and others they'd enlisted along the way), decided to establish RRNW. We incorporated in Oregon as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in May 2002. We received Federal tax-exempt status from the IRS in 2003. We look forward to welcoming new members and expanding the activities of the organization!

Our Board of Directors includes river restoration professionals from throughout the Pacific Northwest. For more information about our organizational governance structure and our Board, click here.

Mission

River Restoration Northwest seeks to advance the science and standards of practice of river restoration through an interdisciplinary approach.

Goals

Our organizational goals are to:

• Promote responsible practices in the design of river restoration projects.
• Enhance discussion and exchange of ideas between river restoration professionals with different disciplinary backgrounds including: aquatic and fisheries biology, geomorphology, landscape architecture, hydrologic and hydraulic engineering, wetland science, and soil science.
• Provide a forum for project assessment and reflections on lessons learned.
• Create opportunities for professional development and technical information exchange.
• Provide technology transfer from research to practice.

If you would like more information about RRNW or would like to join the organization, please contact us! We are excited to welcome new members and encourage you to share your ideas for the organization.