2022 River Restoration Knowledge Exchange Workshop
The 2022 River Restoration Knowledge Exchange Workshop was co-presented by Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
DFO and PSF are pleased to provide an opportunity to share knowledge on some of the latest in river restoration practices and research from researchers, scientists, and field professionals working in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Workshop Agenda
(click on each title below to view the video and a brief description of the presentation)
Jason Hwang/ Dale Desrochers/ Colin McGregor: Welcome, Introductions and Aim of Workshop
Colin Thorne: Background, theory and practice
Colin Thorne: Background, theory and practice (Watch on YouTube)
Understanding system-scale sediment dynamics, floodplains as water & sediment capacitors, anthropogenic impacts, constrained vs unconstrained reaches, designing dynamically stable channel-wetland-floodplain systems.
Janine Castro: The Long Road to Stage 0
Janine Castro: The Long Road to Stage 0 (Watch on YouTube)
Review of disturbance history, early attempts at restoring channels, and transition to ‘thinking outside the channel’, stressing lessons learned & learning by doing.
Paul Powers: Identifying potential reaches for floodplain reconnection
Paul Powers: Identifying potential reaches for floodplain reconnection (Watch on YouTube)
GIS-based analysis to identify potential reaches for reconnecting anthropogenically-incised streams to some (Stage 8) or all (Stage 0) of their pre-disturbance floodplains.
Questions for Colin Thorne / Janine Castro / Paul Powers
Jarden McKee: Low-tech approaches to project design & implementation
Jarden McKee: Low-tech approaches to project design & implementation (Watch on YouTube)
H & H analysis & modeling, stream & site surveys, restoration design, contracting, and construction (incl. water management planning, sediment control, fish salvage, supervising contractors, & partnering with beaver)
Questions for Jared McKee
Colin Thorne: Case Studies 1: Overview of completed projects
Colin Thorne: Case Studies 1: Overview of completed projects (Watch on YouTube)
Starting with small projects in meadows and creeks and scaling up to large rivers. Drawing on examples from the Pacific Northwest and UK.
Damion Ciotti: Case Studies 2: Low-Tech Process Based Restoration (LTPBR)
Damion Ciotti: Case Studies 2: Low-Tech Process Based Restoration (LTPBR) (YouTube)
Putting the LTPBR approach into practice when restoring streams to Stages 8 or 0 in a variety of stream scapes and watershed contexts.
Questions for Colin and Damion
Paul Powers: Geomorphic Basis for Design
Paul Powers: Geomorphic Basis for Design (Watch on YouTube)
Channel-floodplain reconnection based on Geomorphic Grade Line (GGL), Relative Elevation Models (REM), cut/fill balance, d/s grade control, and preserving relict features in upland and lowland contexts.
Questions for Paul
Closing Remarks
workshop materials
- DFO PSF Restoration Knowledge Exchange Workshop – Agenda
- PSF & DFO – Restoration Knowledge Exchange Workshop – Instructor Bios (pdf)
- Draft Notes DFOPSF 2022 Restoration Knowledge Exchange Workshop Nov 2, 2022 (word doc)
- Full playlist of Workshop (YouTube)
As follow up to the November 2, 2022 Restoration Knowledge Exchange workshop, Colin Thorne has recommended links to other recorded sessions that attendees may be interested in:
The first is a talk by Bill Brignon of the US Forest Service. Bill’s knowledge and presentational skills were on display last September at an event hosted by the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station. I strongly recommend that you view the recording of this event which is here and answers many of the questions addressed in the workshop.
Colin also advises:
Many of the legitimate concerns stakeholders raise with respect to fully reconnecting incised channels to their floodplains were addressed during a series of events organized by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board in 2020. Their report is here and recordings of the first and second days of their event are here and here.