2024 UMSRS Technical Program | Partnership for River Restoration and Science in the Upper Midwest

The following is 2024 UMSRS Technical Program - Draft agenda subject to change.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

1:00 - 2:00

St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Tour ($20)

2:00 - 5:00

Pre-conference Workshop at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory

Large Wood Workshop

Marty Melchior, Technical Principal, Interfluve.

This workshop will review basic design considerations for the use of large wood in stream and river restoration. Topics covered will include project performance criteria development, geomorphic siting, longevity, material acquisition, materials, force accounting, countermeasures, risk, designer liability, recreational boater safety, and construction safety for wood projects. This workshop is an abbreviated version of a longer workshop provided for USFS staff and will be conducted by Marty Melchior, a Technical Principal at Interfluve.

6:00

Informal Happy Hour at River Siren (Stillwater, MN)

Monday, February 26, 2024

7:30-8:30	Check in and breakfast
8:30 - 8:45	Welcome by Emma Burgeson
8:45 - 9:55	Invited speaker Emily Fairfax, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Beaver Wetlands as Climate Resilient Natural Infrastructure Moderated by Emma Burgeson
9:55 - 10:20	Break
10:20 - 12:00	Technical Session 1 – Beaver and Trout Habitat Moderated by Amy Anderson Beaver Dams, Trout Habitat, and Fisheries in Wisconsin Streams – Matthew Mitro (WIDNR) Expanding Evaluative Frameworks to Dynamic Alluvial Valleys – Samuel Leberg (EPA ORISE Fellow) West Indian Creek Stream Habitat Improvement – Luke Lunde (WSB Inc.)
12:00 - 1:30	Lunch
1:30 - 2:45	Technical Session 2 - Planning and Valuation of Restoration Project Moderated by Rai Tokuhisa Overview of Corps St. Paul District Stream Mitigation Procedures and use of Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) in MN and WI – April Marcangeli (USACE) Determining the Costs for Ecological Restoration Projects – Suzanne Hoenne (Biohabitats, Inc.) Topsy Turvy: Using Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches for Climate Uncertainty in Flood Risk Planning and River Restoration Design – Luke Tillmann (CBEC)
2:45 - 3:15	Break and Poster Session #1
3:15 - 4:05	Technical Session 3 – Thinking Outside the Channel Moderated by Jessica Kozarek Upland Headwaters Channel Restoration in the Midwest – Grant Ginn (Stantec) and Andrew Huck (Linn County Conservation Board) The Trouble With Trees: An Ecological Perspective – Stephen Thomforde (Stantec)
4:30 - 5:30	PRRSUM Planning meeting (all may attend)
6:00	Dinner at The Grand

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

7:30-8:30	Check in and breakfast
8:30 - 9:40	Invited speaker Keith Schilling, State Geologist of Iowa and Director of the Iowa Geological Survey at the University of Iowa. Streambank Erosion in Iowa: Mapping, Monitoring and Implications for Nutrient Export Moderated by Nick Jordan
9:40 - 10:10	Break and Poster Session #2
10:10 - 11:50	Technical Session 4 - Dam Removal and Increased Connectivity Moderated by Pete Moore If at First You Don’t Succeed (Entirely) – Lake Michigan Ravine Stream Dam Removal, Remediation and Restoration – Protecting Infrastructure and Providing Aquatic Connectivity – Andrew Struck (Ozaukee County Planning and Parks) Assisting Salmonids in Wisconsin’s Bois Brule River Watershed by Removing a Fish Barrier, Restoring a Stream Channel, and Eliminating a Large Sediment Risk – Keith Anderson (Beaver River Consulting) Restoring the Historic Pelican Rapids – A Dam Removal Story – Amanda Hillman-Roberts and Neil Haugerud (MN DNR) Dam Removal using a Pilot Channel for Sediment Management: Pucker Street Dam Case Study – Maren Hansell (Interfluve)
11:50 - 1:35	Lunch (student mentoring)
1:35 - 2:05	Break and Poster Session #3
2:05 - 3:45	Technical Session 5 - Scaling Up Restoration Considerations Moderated by Jessica Kozarek Restoring River Processes a Regional Scale: A Case Study of Restoration on the Dowagiac River, Michigan – Nick Jordan (Interfluve) How long do stream habitat projects last? – Doug Dieterman (MN DNR) Uplifting stream ecological functions—Rural to urban lessons and design puzzles – Nichoel Church and Ivo Lopez (Snyder and Associates, Inc.) Floodplain Remaged: A Landscape-Scale Floodplain Enhancement Project in the Sacramento River Valley, CA – John Stofleth (CBEC)
3:45 - 4:10	Awards: Best Student Poster and Sponsor Bingo
4:10 - 5:00	Technical Session 6 - Geographic Considerations Moderated by Suzanne Hoehne Stream restoration in the context of the geography of the Upper Midwest – Stephanie Day (CBEC) Climate Change, Agricultural Drainage and Water Storage in Minnesota – Joe Magner (University of Minnesota)
6:00	Dinner at the Lumberjack

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

7:30-8:30	Check in and breakfast
8:30 - 10:00	Panel – Longitudinal Connectivity Restoration and Aquatic Invasive Species Moderated by Karl Koller This panel discussion will explore the sometimes-competing goals of eliminating manmade constraints on natural hydrologic, sediment transport and aquatic organism passage processes (longitudinal connectivity restoration) and control or prevention of the spread of aquatic invasive species. The discussion will consist of a brief presentation from each panelist followed by a moderated Q&A session. Panelists include four regional experts with a range of experience focusing on issues involving in-stream barrier removal and management of aquatic invasive species. Luther Aadland, Minnesota DNR, Retired – Restoration of Rivers and Aquatic Biodiversity Versus Invasive Species Management: Are These Compatible? Mark Cornish, Supervisory Biologist, US Army Corps of Engineers – Thinking Big - The Development of New Tools for Large River Management at Mississippi River Locks and Dams 19 & 22 Grace Loppnow, Invasive Fish Coordinator, Minnesota DNR – Invasive Carp Migration and an Integrated Approach to Prevention and Management Chris Freiburger, Manager, Sea Lamprey Control Infrastructure, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission – Relentless: Finding Our Way; Challenge of Barrier Removal, Sea Lamprey Control and Fishes of Common Concern Management
10:00 - 10:15	Break
10:15 - 11:30	Moderated Questions and Answer Session
11:30 - 11:45	Closing Remarks by Rai Tokuhisa and John Chapman
12:30 - 4:00	Wednesday Short Course at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Beaver Impacts on Stream and Stream Ecosystems Emily Fairfax This workshop will review fundamental aspects of beaver impacts on streams and stream ecosystems. This workshop will be conducted by Emily Fairfax, an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota.
4:00 - 5:00	St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Tour ($20)