SERNW Past Events

SERNW/SWS Joint Conference September 25-28, 2007 - Yakima, Washington

View the conference program

The 2007 conference was a tremendous success!  The conference boasted 175 oral presentation and posters, 36 technical session, and drew over 500 attendees.Thanks to everyone for their hardwork and dedication!

Click here to learn about the upcoming 2009 Conference in Lynnwood, WA

SERNW/SWS PNW Joint Conference and Annual Meeting, May 2-4, 2006

Speakers:

• Nate Mantua, UW Climate Impacts Group, Climate change impacts on aquatic ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest
• Alan Hamlet, UW Climate Impacts Group, Hydrologic Implications of 20^th Century Warming in the Western U.S.
• Joshua Lawler, OSU Zoology, Climate-induced continental shifts in species distributions: implications for the Pacific Northwest. 
• Jim Evans, The Nature Conservancy, Biodiversity and Global Change in an Inland Northwest Ecosystem: Examples from the Hanford Site
• Dennis Martinez, Indigenous People’s Restoration Network, Can Traditional Indigenous Cultural Practices and Knowledge Mitigate Climate Change and Help Salmon Recovery in the Rivers of the Fraser-Columbia Plateau and Coastal Pacific Northwest?
• Gary A. James, Fisheries Program Manager, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Successful Restoration of Water and Salmon in the Umatilla and Walla Walla Basins in NE Oregon and SE Washington.
• Katrina Strathmann, Yakama Nation Wildlife Resource Management, Shrub-steppe restoration for Greater Sage-Grouse on the Yakama Reservation
• Chris Hyland, Project Manager, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Liability/Risk and/or Lessons Learned
• Patricia  McQueary, Washington State Department of Transportation, The U.S. 12, SR 124 to Wallula Project, A Success Story in Cooperation and Design
• Kenneth Gano, Washington Closure Hanford, Revegetation of Remediated Waste Sites on the Hanford Site in South-Central Washington

SERNW Design to Dirt 2005 - Workshop Series for Restoration Practioners

Expanding upon the success of the 2002 event SERNW and its partners pulled together another well attended Desgin to Dirt event.  Materials, handouts and some presentations are available on the SERNW website.

Follow this link for Design to Dirt 2005 materials

Streambank Erosion Control Alternatives:

"Design to Dirt" Workshop Series

Presented at SERNW/SWS PNW Joint Annual Conference 2006

Streambank erosion evaluations, causes, and solutions are all complex and controversial subjects.  This workshop presented an overview of a river reach approach in a watershed context of: (1) what is streambank erosion: (2) how can rates of streambank erosion be evaluated; (3) what are the causes of streambank erosion; (4) what are the ways to identify active streambank erosion; (5) what techniques and fluvial geomorphic data are needed to evaluate a streambank erosion problem; (6) what are a reasonable range of alternative treatments, including doing nothing, and what are the field conditions where various alternative conditions are applicable; (7) what fluvial geomorphic conditions are critical to the decision to design a treatment; and (8) what kind of monitoring should be done to determine success or failure of the action. 

Instructors:

Frank Reckendorf, PhD, CEG in OR, CG in WA.  Consulting Fluvial Geomorphologist, Reckendorf and Associates, Salem, OR.  (Click here for e-mail.) Dr. Reckendorf was the Fluvial Geomorphologist for the SCS West National Technical Center, and accumulated 48 years of experience working with thousands of different reaches of streams and floodplains.  He has been an expert witness for legal cases, and has been an adjunct Associate Professor in the Geology Department at Portland State.     

Barry Southerland, PhD, is a Fluvial Geomorphologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service West National Technical Support Center.  (Click here for e-mail.)  Dr. Southerland has worked in geomorphology, analysis, planning, and design since 1991.  He has been involved in the implementation of several watershed studies, designs and restorations.  He has authored several watershed management plans and large-scale geomorphic restoration plans. 

Click here for workshop materials

2003 SERNW / SWS Joint Regional Conference

The Restoration Toolbox

Society for Ecological Restoration Northwest Chapter

Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists

March 24 - 28, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon

SERNW/SWS 2003 Joint Regional Conference "The Restoration Toolbox"
The conference was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, March 26-28, 2003 and was well attended with a little over 500 attendees. We were fortunate to have the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists meet with us.

Topics covered ranged from fish and wildlife restoration to environmental restoration education with an emphasis on methods. We had a record number of exhibitors (42) and a record number of abstracts (173) at the conference. The closing plenary session, "Poetics of Restoration: A Panel Discussion with Other Poets and Writers on Restoration" was well attended and enjoyed by all.
Many thanks to all who helped with planning, organizing and putting on this successful event. We couldn't done it without all your volunteer hours, ideas and enthusiasm.

If you haven't already done so, please take time to download, fill out and return to our office, the evaluation form. We really want to get your feedback so we can continue to put together high-quality events.

Thank you,
Dr. Steven O. Link
SERNW President

A Workshop Series for Urban Restoration Practitioners, September through December 2002

The Design to Dirt workshop series was held in the fall of 2002, at NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture, UW. This 6-part series was designed to provide new skills in restoration ecology--from site analysis, through advanced implementation techniques, to maintenance planning. We had local experts in urban restoration share the latest techniques to improve the success of restoration with our 100 participants.

Those who benefited from this training were non-profit and agency employees, community leaders, contractors, students and anyone currently leading restoration projects in the Puget Sound Region. Designed for an audience with some knowledge or restoration, participants learned real skills to apply on the ground.

Feedback from participants was very positive, with comments ranging from "This is exactly what I'd hoped for!" to "Thanks for a great mix of speakers/topics." We learned what areas need improvement, but overall the comments were extremely positive.

Our thanks again to our collaborators:
* EarthCorps
* Sustainable Community Landscapes - University of Washington
* Washington Native Plant Society
* King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks
* USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
* Seattle Public Utilities Creek Steward Program
* City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
* Starflower Foundation

Design to Dirt consisted of the following workshops:
Workshop were held at the Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington campus, from 9 - 5.

#1: Site Analysis and Overview: Friday, September 6, 2002
#2: Invasive Plants: Thursday, September 12, 2002
#3: Site Preparation: Friday, October 11, 2002
#4: Plants and Planting: Friday, October 25, 2002
#5: Wildlife Habitat and Impacts: Friday, November 15, 2002
#6: Maintenance and Monitoring: Friday, December 6, 2002

See Design to Dirt 2005 materials here