The 2026 Symposium Presentation Slides are now available!
Keynote Speaker:
Notes from a Small Island – Funding Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient Nature Recovery in England
Dr. Lydia Burgess-Gamble, Southern Water
Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management
Reference List
Session 1 – Multiple Co-Benefits of Restoring River Functions and Floodplains
- USACE “Engineering with Nature”
Narayan Elasmar1, Jason Smith1, Chanda Littles2
(1) Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce CREST, (2) USACE Portland District - Co-benefits of the multi-functional flood risk management project that inspired Stage 0
Colin Thorne BSc PhD FRGS, Wolf Water Resources, Vancouver, WA - Wasson Creek Restoration: the multiplier effect on co-benefits
Kaitlin Lovell, BS JD, Oregon Department of State Lands, Salem, OR and Alice Yeates, PhD, South Slough National Estuary Research Reserve, Charleston, OR
Session 2 – Rethreading Ecological and Cultural Resilience into the Puyallup River Basin
- SR 167 Roadside Restoration Master Plan
Dan Wojtala PLA, WSP, Tacoma, WA - SR 167 Riparian Restoration Program
Kate Forester PLA, Herrera Environmental Consultants, Portland, OR - The spuyaləpabš Trail
Juliet Vong ASLA, LEED AP, HBB Landscape Architecture, Seattle, WA
Session 3 – Concrete Solutions: Restoration in the Context of Infrastructure
- Breaking Barriers and Building Partnerships
Gabe Ng PE, Jacobs Engineering Group, Ferndale, WA - Restoring the ART of I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East
Nich VanBuecken MSCE, PE, Jacobs, Bellevue, WA - Dechannelization of the LA River and Tributaries
Mark Hanna, PhD, PE1, Jessica Henson, RLA, ASLA, AICP2 and Al Preston, PhD, PE1
(1)Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, (2)OLIN, Los Angeles, CA
Session 4 – Restoring the Floodplain Large Wood Cycle
- Restoring the Floodplain Large Wood Cycle
Tim Abbe PhD, PEG, PHG, Natural Systems Design, Port Angeles, WA and Kevin Fetherston, Natural Systems Design, Seattle, WA - Upper Quinault River Restoration Program
Scott Katz1, Bob Keller2, Dan Eastman3, Julia Jay2, Ginevra Moore2, Tim Abbe, PhD, PEG, PHG4 and Kevin Fetherston2,
(1)Natural Systems Design, Bellingham, WA, (2)Natural Systems Design, Seattle, WA, (3)Eastman Ecofluvial, Seattle, WA, (4)Natural Systems Design, Port Angeles, WA - Protecting the Large Wood Cycle through Invasives Control
Jill Silver, 10,000 Years Institute, Forks, WA - Using Large Wood to Influence Channel Adjustment
Luke Swan, Inter-Fluve, Inc., Hood River, OR
Invited Speaker:
Balancing Nature and Community in Urban Waterway Design
David Skuodas, Mile High Flood District
An Introduction to Riprap Video – this includes information about how we use “soil riprap” for lateral bank protection
An Introduction to Void Filled Riprap Video – this includes information about how we build “void filled riprap” mixes like for constructed riffles
MHFD Riprap Specification – technical specification including void filled riprap
Construction Guidance Checklists – these are handy guidance documents meant for people headed out to observe an installation in the field
Session 5 – From Streets to Streams
- When the Outcome Matters
Roslyn Gray, P.E., City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland, OR - Planting a Dream
Chelsea Neill, PG1, Rachel Saunders2, Beth Febus2, Camille Pauley, PE3 and Dana Jepsen3
(1)Balance Hydrologics, Santa Cruz, CA, (2)Big Sur Land Trust, Monterey, CA, (3)Balance Hydrologics, Berkeley, CA - Kelley Creek Watershed
Mike Du Bose, EIT, Geosyntec Consultants, Portland, OR
Session 6 – Mountain Top to Marine
- Hillslope Stabilization and Forest Regeneration
Ross Reid, Redd Fish Restoration Society, Ucluelet, BC - In Over Our Heads
Tom Balfour, Redd Fish Restoration Society, Ucluelet, BC - Marine Restoration: Beyond the Tranquil
Jessica Hutchinson, MSc, Redd Fish Restoration Society, Ucluelet, BC - Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge
Wesley Frank, Redd Fish Restoration Society, Ucluelet, BC
Session 8 – Building a Breach to the Future
- Kwoneesum Dam Removal For ALL
William Norris, P.E., Parr Excellence, White Salmon, WA - Rapidan Dam Failure and Opportunity
Tom MacDonald, Barr Engineering Co., Duluth, MN - Restoring Steh-Chass
Shauna Hanisch-Kirkbride Washington Dept of Ecology, Vancouver, WA and Scott Steltzner, Squaxin Island Tribe Natural Resources Dept, Shelton, WA
Session 9 – Generating the Next Wave of Dam Removal Projects
- Building Donor Support
Steve White, American Rivers, Washington, DC - From Ideas to Action
Thomas O’Keefe, American Whitewater, Seattle, WA - Breaking Barriers: Advancing FERC Hydropower Dam Removals
Katie Schmidt, American Rivers, Richmond, VA
Invited Speaker:
Beavers: Architects of Wildfire Resilience
Dr. Emily Fairfax - Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota
Session 10 – Bringing Rivers Back to Life
- South Fork Nooksack Log Jams
Kelley Turner, MS et al. - Lumni Nation Department of Natural Resources, Bellingham WA - Little River Case Study
Aaron Lee, PE et al. - Natural Systems Design - Dredge Spoil Rehabilitation
Joseph Merz PhD, Cramer Fish Sciences, West Sacramento, CA
Session 11 – Process in Practice
- Side Channel Evolution
Rocko Brown PhD, Cramer Fish Sciences, West Sacramento, CA - Process-Based Stream Restoration
Isaac Sanders et al. - Clackamas River Basin Council - Untangling Side Channel Sustainability
Dan Scott, PhD - Riverscape Science and Stewardship, Longmont, CO
Session 12 – Restoring Function and Refuge
- Cold-Water Refuge Enhancement
Andy Johnsen et al. - Kalispel Tribe Natural Resources Department - Thermal Buffering by Pool Sequences
Daniele Tonina et al. - University of Idaho, Boise - Aquatic Invasive Species TMDL
Christopher Adkison et al. - Geosyntec Consultants