Urban Riparian Symposium – Schedule & Presentations

Final Schedule – Click on the pictures of the schedules to download an adobe pdf version of the Agenda for each day.

Wednesday, February 11 , Colorado River Room
10:30 am – 12 pm	Writing Successful Grant Proposals for Riparian Projects
Lunch	Lunch on your own
1:00 – 3:00 pm	Workshop 1: Managing Riparian Restoration in Urban Areas -Introduction -Mateo Scoggins, City of Austin Watershed Department -Ana Gonzales, City of Austin Watershed Department -Staryn Wagner, City of Austin Watershed Department -John Clement, City of Austin Watershed Department
3:15 – 5:00 pm	Workshop 2: Contracting and Managing Sustainable Vegetation Practices in Large Stream Restoration Projects – Mike Kelley, Susan Kenzle, Darcy Nuffer, City of Austin Watershed Department -Mark Simmons, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center -Sky Jones-Lewey, Nueces River Authority
5:15 – 8 pm	Welcome Reception at Threadgills Restaurant and TRA Board Meeting

Thursday, February 12
9:30 – 9:45 am	Welcome and Introduction
9:45 AM	Opening Plenary – Kevin M. Anderson Ph.D., Austin Water Center for Environmental Research and Founder of the Texas Riparian Association has dedicated a considerable amount of time researching and discussing the resilience of Texas’ novel riparian ecosystems. He will share his observations and ideas and set the stage for the how and the why of riparian restoration.
10:30 AM	Break
10:45 AM	Keynote – Dr. Peter MN. Groffman, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. A microbial ecologist, Dr. Groffman’s research focuses on the role of microorganisms in ecosystem function. Much of his work, and there is a lot of it, has looked at riparian areas and what urbanization does to soil and hydrology.
11:45 AM	Symposium structure
12:00 PM	Lunch (on your own)
1:30 – 3:30 PM	Onion Creek: Case Studies	Barton Creek: Restoration / BMPs	Colorado River: Riparian Area Management
1:30 PM	Susan Kenzle – Collaborative Urban Riparian Stream Rehabilitation: The J.J. Seabrook Project	Fouad Jaber – Modeling Low Impact Development Effects on Stream Health	Susan Chadwick – Is the traditional vision of local and urban flood control agencies in conflict with federal and state agencies charged with protection of riparian zones?
1:50 PM	Deborah January-Bevers – The Policy Values of Ten Ecoregions within a Large Urban Core (Incorporating ecosystem services into infrastructure and policy decisions in the Greater Houston Region)	Carolyn White – Corridor Channel Design – Blending Flood Damage Reduction, Stormwater Quality and Recreation	Megan Bean – Riparian Restoration Projects on Public and Private Lands in the Llano River Watershed
2:10 PM	Mike Marshall – Groundwater Conservation in Texas: Public Benefits of Rural Working Lands	Morgan Byars – Sustainable Stream Management in the City of Austin	Stan Wilson – Implementing Adaptive Management and Maintenance Within Restrictive, Commodity-Based Budgets
2:30 PM	Blake Alldredge – Coordinated Watershed Protection Programs to Protect North Texas Water Supplies	Michele Adlong – Enlargement and Instability of Stream Channels in Austin, Texas: When to Restore?	Mark Simmons – Riparian Restoration of the Mission Reach, San Antonio: Challenges of Ecological Design and Installation
2:50 PM	30 min Questions/Discussions (Case Studies) (Restoration/BMPs) (Riparian Area Management)
Thursday, February 12
3:20 PM	Break
3:35 – 5:00 PM	Onion Creek: Case Studies	Barton Creek: Restoration / BMPs	Colorado River: Ecology/Biology
3:35 PM	Fred Phillips – The Yuma East Wetlands, Restoring Severely degraded Riparian Habitat on the Lower Colorado River, In downtown Yuma	A.C. Conrad – Urban Stream Riparian Mapping using Small General Purpose Unmanned Aerial Platforms (video)	George Guillen – The Influence of Urban Stream Syndrome on Freshwater Fish Stream Communities: Implications for Restoration
3:55 PM	Justin Stewart – Poquito and Chestnut Creek Restoration and Confluence	Tom Ludwig – Guerilla Green Infrastructure	Kyle Wright – Healthy Landscapes and the Soils They Rest Upon Promote Healthy Stream and Clean Water
4:15 PM	Andrew Clamann – Application of Coir Logs and Emergent Vegetation for Urban Lake Shoreline Stabilization: Results of a Five Year Pilot Study and Discussion of a Large Scale Implementation.	Andreina Alexatos – Integrated Stormwater Management for an Environmentally-Sensitive Area	Casey Williams – A Preliminary Plan for Riparian Restoration to Complement Habitat Improvement for the Endangered Fountain Darter (Etheostoma fonticola) (CANCELLATION)
4:35 PM	25 min Questions/Discussions (Case Studies) (Restoration/BMPs) (Ecology/Biology)
5:30 PM	Poster Session/Happy hour

Friday, February 13
8:30 -10:20 am	Onion Creek: Outreach and Education	Barton Creek: Restoration BMPS	Colorado River: Waller Creek Session
8:30 AM	Nikki Dictson – Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Educational Program: Educationa and adoption of Conservation Practices	Angelita Rodriguez – A Bayesian approach to assessing impacts of invasive plants on native plant species richness in City of Austin parks	Mateo Scoggins Existing conditions: Waller Creek, a very urban stream Kristin Pipkin A new Waller Creek: The tunnel and the formation of the district
8:50 AM	Tina Hendon – Connecting the dots – Increasing knowledge by preserving history, conserving resources, and enhancing recreation.	Stephen Davis – Isolating pathogenic bacteria sources in urban streams: A case study	Melba Whatley The Waller Creek Conservancy and the design competition (Waller Creek Conservancy)
9:10 AM	Tom Arsuffi – Healthy Urban Riparian Ecosystems and the Role of Environmental Education and Literacy	Ana Gonzalez – Assessing Improvement in Riparian Function in Urban Creeks	Gullivar Shepard The Waller Creek Corridor Restoration: process and product (Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates)
9:30 AM	Sarah Woolley – Evolving towards Your Audience: Using Student Test Data and Teacher Feedback to Improve Environmental Education Programming	Aaron Richter – Assessment of Riparian Zones with a NaHegve Bayes Classifier	Tim Dekker The structure and function of the new Waller Creek (MVVA/LimnoTech)
9:50 AM	30 min Questions/Discussions (Outreach and Education) (Restoration BMPs) (Waller Creek Session)
10:30 – 12:00 PM	Onion Creek: Outreach/Education	Barton Creek: Restoration BMPS	Colorado River: Ecology
10:30 AM	Mateo Scoggins – The human-ecology interface: delivering restoration ecology to everyone	Fred Phillips – Restoration of the Colorado River Delta in the US and Mexico	Jewel Lipps – Trekking through the Trees: Forest Succession at the Trinity River Audubon Center
10:50 AM	Jessica Wilson – Restoration Communication Tools: Beauty, benefits and threats are in the eye of the beholder	Tom Hegemier – Flood Control Dam Impact on Endangered Species Habitat in the San Marcos River	Shakaikha Abedin – Understanding Nitrogen Dynamics and Organic Matter Sources in the Jordan River
Friday, February 13
10:30 – 12:00 PM	Onion Creek: Outreach/Education	Barton Creek: Restoration BMPS	Colorado River: Ecology
11:10 AM	Judy Walther – Developing Signage as Effective Outreach	Kyle Wright – Agricultural Practices and Procedures that also Apply in Urban Areas	Ananda Bhattacharjee – Ecological Perspective on New Connectivity between Nitrogen and Carbon Cycle
11:30 AM	30 min Questions/Discussions (Outreach and Education) (Restoration BMPs) (Ecology)
12:00 PM	Lunch (on your own)
1:30 – 3:00 PM	Onion Creek: Outreach/Education	Barton Creek: Riparian Area Management	Colorado River: Ecology/Biology
1:30 PM	Bill Stout -Future Forest Project: Coordinated collaboration of partnerships to restore the urban forest in riparian zones	John Clement – Implementing the City of Austin Invasive Species Management Plan	Heidi Trathnigg – Riparian and Wetland Restoration Effects on Bird and Butterfly Communities on the Lower Colorado River
1:50 PM	Megan Helton – Youth Engagement in Ecological Restoration	David Mahler – Riparian and Wetland Species Selection for Plantings in Central Texas.	Lauren Ross – The Invisible Life of Soil in Urban Stream Restoration
2:10 PM	Adam Comer – More than a conveyance: Altering perceptions of the urban riparian patchwork through service learning	Shane Hrobar – Selective Clearing A Method to Encourage Native Forest Canopies along Flood Control Channels in Harris County	Darcy Nuffer – Urban Riparian Soils: A Case Study of the Shoal Creek Restoration
2:30 PM	30 min Questions/Discussions (Outreach and Education) (Riparian Area Management) (Ecology/Biology)
3:00 PM	Break
3:15 PM	Closing Plenary – Matt Hollon, Environmental & Conservation Program Manager with the City of Austin, was critical in the creation of the City’s new Watershed Protection Ordinance. Over 2 years in the making with over 350 private and public stakeholders, the ordinance is now in place to better protect creeks and floodplains, facilitate the integration of public trails and greenways, and save the City 100s of millions of dollars in future erosion, flood, and ecological mitigation.
4:00 PM	Common Threads and Future Directions
6:00 PM	Offsite Social Event