Hansen Creek Alluvial Fan and Wetland Restoration Panel Discussion
Presentation Abstract
The session and project team for the Hansen Creek alluvial fan and wetland restoration project realize it is essential to capture ideas, share lessons and garner knowledge in an interactive forum that will inform the science, efforts and discussion on floodplain restoration for the Puget Sound. Significant large scale freshwater floodplain restoration has been seriously past due, considering all the knowledge available on the habitat needs of salmonids and other species as well as the advantages for flood management. A lot of information is available for understanding what can be expected with re-opening stream channel habitat, but not so for the floodplain. The 140-acre Hansen Creek floodplain restoration has provided an opportunity to employ standard habitat metrics, while realizing that there has been insufficient funding support to develop more definitive data for some of the most key or critical metrics that will gauge project success. The presenters in this session will have highlighted the basis for the project, the design and construction approach, and the information that has been garnered from post construction monitoring (largely unfunded). There are no funds from any project funder or from the Puget Sound Partnership at this time to carry this critical work forward. We will wrap up the session with the presenters identifying the key future metrics that need to be captured to inform the science of hydro-geomorphic design success, the science of fishery abundance and productivity and the recommended approach and/or needs for capturing large scale ecological system/habitat restoration metrics at efficient costs and effort. We will open the session to the audience to capture the important interchange and discussion from everyone to best inform project monitoring for the funding agencies, the public and the professional experts across the restoration disciplines. The moderator and panel will finalize the lessons learned in a final collaborative summary from and for the conference.
Session Title
Session S-05E: Managing Floodplain Rehabilitation Success to Inform Decision Making: A Case Study from Hansen Creek, Skagit County
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 613-614
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Watersheds--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek Watershed; Sediment transport--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek Watershed; Stream restoration--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek Watershed; Floodplain management--Washington (State)--Hansen Creek Watershed
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Hansen Creek Watershed (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Hansen Creek Alluvial Fan and Wetland Restoration Panel Discussion
Room 613-614
The session and project team for the Hansen Creek alluvial fan and wetland restoration project realize it is essential to capture ideas, share lessons and garner knowledge in an interactive forum that will inform the science, efforts and discussion on floodplain restoration for the Puget Sound. Significant large scale freshwater floodplain restoration has been seriously past due, considering all the knowledge available on the habitat needs of salmonids and other species as well as the advantages for flood management. A lot of information is available for understanding what can be expected with re-opening stream channel habitat, but not so for the floodplain. The 140-acre Hansen Creek floodplain restoration has provided an opportunity to employ standard habitat metrics, while realizing that there has been insufficient funding support to develop more definitive data for some of the most key or critical metrics that will gauge project success. The presenters in this session will have highlighted the basis for the project, the design and construction approach, and the information that has been garnered from post construction monitoring (largely unfunded). There are no funds from any project funder or from the Puget Sound Partnership at this time to carry this critical work forward. We will wrap up the session with the presenters identifying the key future metrics that need to be captured to inform the science of hydro-geomorphic design success, the science of fishery abundance and productivity and the recommended approach and/or needs for capturing large scale ecological system/habitat restoration metrics at efficient costs and effort. We will open the session to the audience to capture the important interchange and discussion from everyone to best inform project monitoring for the funding agencies, the public and the professional experts across the restoration disciplines. The moderator and panel will finalize the lessons learned in a final collaborative summary from and for the conference.
