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SFS Annual Meeting

Thursday, May 23, 2019
11:00 - 12:30

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11:00 - 11:15: / 150 G APPLYING CONCEPTS OF GENERAL RESILIENCE TO LARGE RIVER ECOSYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI AND ILLINOIS RIVERS

5/23/2019  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  150 G

APPLYING CONCEPTS OF GENERAL RESILIENCE TO LARGE RIVER ECOSYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI AND ILLINOIS RIVERS Large floodplain-river ecosystems are often highly modified to provide services that society desires, yet these modifications can limit an ecosystem’s ability to adapt to changing conditions. The adaptive capacity of an ecosystem, its general resilience, is a conceptual framework for considering how a system will respond to such changes. We sought to apply aspects of three general resilience principles (diversity and redundancy, connectivity, and controlling variables) to our understanding of floodplain-river ecosystem structure and function. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach in a case study of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) through the development of ten indicators that likely underlie the capacity of large rivers to cope with environmental change and disturbance. Our results suggest that general resilience indicators vary substantially among and within reaches, illustrating important contrasts across the UMRS. Generally, the indicator values suggested that factors supporting general resilience change longitudinally and are generally diminished along the system’s longitudinal gradient. Further evaluation of the river’s coping capacity in relation to general resilience indicators can improve our understanding of how to best adapt and refine these indicators in making restoration and management decisions.

Jeffrey Houser (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, jhouser@usgs.gov;


Nathan De Jager (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, WI 54603, ndejager@usgs.gov;


Molly Van Appledorn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, mvanappledorn@usgs.gov;


James Rogala (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, jrogala@usgs.gov;


Kristen Bouska (Primary Presenter/Author,Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, kbouska@usgs.gov;


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11:15 - 11:30: / 150 G PUTTING SCIENCE ON THE MAP: A SURVEY OF DATA VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR SCIENTISTS, COMMUNICATORS, AND DECISION-MAKERS.

5/23/2019  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  150 G

PUTTING SCIENCE ON THE MAP: A SURVEY OF DATA VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR SCIENTISTS, COMMUNICATORS, AND DECISION-MAKERS. Maps can distill a story out of complex information and spark conversation. A well-designed map is a functional blend between art and science that invites a second look. It has the ability to bring people around a table, and facilitate communication and collaboration -- making it a powerful tool for freshwater science. Over the last two decades, the Woods Hole Research Center has worked with river data from around the world and experimented with novel ways to visualize these data for decision support. This talk will provide an overview of tested mapping and data visualization tools, with applications spanning from local watersheds in New England to the large watersheds of the Global River Observatory, from the Amazon to the Arctic. We will demonstrate some commonly used tools and techniques for making effective maps, as well as new interactive applications available via cloud-based interfaces like Google Earth Engine. Along the way, we will introduce resources for finding cartographic tutorials and support; review pitfalls often encountered by scientists in making maps; and share some lessons learned in distributing maps via social media.

Gregory Fiske (Primary Presenter/Author), Woods Hole Research Center, gfiske@whrc.org;


Andrea Castanho (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Woods Hole Research Center, acastanho@whrc.org;


Marcia Macedo (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Woodwell Climate Research Center, mmacedo@woodwellclimate.org;


Robert Holmes (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Woods Hole Research Center, rmholmes@whrc.org;


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11:30 - 11:45: / 150 G HOW CAN A TOOLBOX SYSTEMATICALLY BUILD CAPACITY BUILDING FOR FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT?

5/23/2019  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  150 G

HOW CAN A TOOLBOX SYSTEMATICALLY BUILD CAPACITY BUILDING FOR FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT? Over the past three years, Conservation International (CI) has led the application of the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) in seven countries across the globe to help inform freshwater management. Practically, FHI is a composite indicator system, under which monitored, surveyed and modelled data—covering freshwater ecosystems, human water uses, and, the role that governance and stakeholders—must be collated through a system of major and sub-indicators. Through the development of the FHI framework and its supporting toolkit, we work towards improving its effectiveness to disseminate information of the freshwater system, rank management actions on freshwater health, as well as, explore tradeoffs given projected environmental change. In this presentation, we share lessons learned and present our future direction, focusing on the desktop toolbox being developed to support application of FHI. With this desktop toolbox, we explore the idea of ‘software as a collaborative platform’ for engaging stakeholder with varying technical capacities in a systematic exploration of the freshwater system, while contributing to its knowledge base. This, we argue, plays a valuable role in bridging disciplines and domains across freshwater management systems and a direction to continue developing in.

Maira Bezerra (Primary Presenter/Author), Conservation International, mbezerra@conservation.org;


Kashif Shaad (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation International, kshaad@conservation.org;


Derek Vollmer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation International, dvollmer@conservation.org;


Nick Souter (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation International, nsouter@conservation.org;


Sarah Hauck (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation International, shauck@conservation.org;


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11:45 - 12:00: / 150 G TRACKING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A MISSISSIPPI RIVER DATASET: WHAT TOOLS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE IN PROVIDING DATA TO PARTNERS?

5/23/2019  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  150 G

TRACKING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A MISSISSIPPI RIVER DATASET: WHAT TOOLS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE IN PROVIDING DATA TO PARTNERS? In the era of big data and large-scale syntheses, ecology and conservation have become increasingly reliant on large, public datasets. Thus, making data easily accessible is central to the work of the agencies and organizations that collect them. The Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (UMRRP), a partnership of federal and state agencies, has collected ecological (fisheries, water quality, vegetation) and spatial (land cover, bathymetry) data on 1,500 miles of the Upper Mississippi River since 1988. We provide data through direct download, visualization tools, reports, and publications. To date, we have not formally assessed how, why, and who uses these tools and data. We asked: 1) What data are downloaded and by whom?, 2) Which data visualization tools are most used?, and 3) Where and whom do we reach through publications? We found that spatial data, maps and web tools were more commonly used than ecological data. Tool use spiked at the time of creation and with seasonal data availability. This suggests that these curated web tools do indeed provide valuable information to the UMRRP and the broader public but maintaining their utility requires continued communication with partners and collaborators.

KathiJo Jankowski (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, kjankowski@usgs.gov ;


Benjamin Schlifer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS, bschlifer@usgs.gov;


Molly Van Appledorn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, mvanappledorn@usgs.gov;


Jeffrey Houser (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, jhouser@usgs.gov;


Jennifer Sauer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS, jsauer@usgs.gov;


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12:00 - 12:15: / 150 G ADVANCING URBAN STORMWATER PLANNING THROUGH DESIGN THINKING, POLLUTION LOADING, AND SOCIAL EQUITY METRICS

5/23/2019  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  150 G

ADVANCING URBAN STORMWATER PLANNING THROUGH DESIGN THINKING, POLLUTION LOADING, AND SOCIAL EQUITY METRICS Urban stormwater pollution is a widely recognized threat to coastal cities and ecosystems, yet stormwater retrofit planning remains an opportunistic, locally-focused endeavor. We are developing a decision support/prioritization tool that combines the twin issues of stormwater runoff: volume and pollution loading. When combined with social-ecological data, wide-scale adoption of tools such as this can allow better prioritization of urban stormwater investments and lead to more rapid recovery of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, as well as improved access to nature in urban areas. We tackled the social-regulatory and decision-making space using an innovative Design Thinking approach based on interviews with stormwater managers, developers, and architects. Our tool produces a high resolution “heatmap” of pollution loading and hydrologic condition across the Puget Sound region in Washington State. We use data from local urban runoff monitoring programs, land-use, current and future (2080) precipitation, and a 1-m resolution landcover map developed via Google Earth Engine’s AI algorithms. These heatmaps can be used to identify optimal locations for GSI investments with respect to regulatory, community, and ecological priorities.

Christian Nilsen (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Geosyntec, CNilsen@geosyntec.com;


Jamie Robertson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, jrobertson@tnc.org;


Dan Pankani (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Geosyntec, DPankani@geosyntec.com;


Paul Hobson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Geosyntec, PHobson@geosyntec.com;


Kevin Koryto (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Geosyntec, KKoryto@geosyntec.com;


Eric Strecker (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Geosyntec, EStrecker@geosyntec.com;


Emily Howe (Primary Presenter/Author), The Nature Conservancy, emily.howe@tnc.org;


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12:15 - 12:30: / 150 G GREENPLAN-IT: PLANNING FOR OPTIMAL SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

5/23/2019  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  150 G

GREENPLAN-IT: PLANNING FOR OPTIMAL SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN URBAN WATERSHEDS Distributed management of stormwater runoff using Green infrastructure (GI) is emerging as a multi-benefit solution that can address both stormwater quality and quantity concerns. However, planning and implementing GI cost-effectively to achieve management goals remains a challenge and requires an integrated watershed approach. GreenPlan-IT is a planning tool that is designed to support cost-effective selection and placement of GI in urban watersheds to meet stormwater management needs. The GreenPlan-IT is comprised of four tools: (a) a GIS-based Site Locator Tool to identify potential GI sites; (b) a Modeling Tool that establishes baseline conditions and estimates anticipated runoff and pollutant load reduction from GI sites; (c) an Optimization Tool that uses a cost-benefit analysis to identify the best combinations of GI types and number of sites for achieving targeted reduction goals; and (d) a Tracker that is an online database to track GI implementation over time and report progress. The GreenPlan-IT has been applied to a number of major cities in the San Francisco Bay Area to help identify specific GI projects, support municipalities’ planning efforts to meet stormwater permit requirements, and inform policy decisions regarding future stormwater management investments.

Jing Wu (Primary Presenter/Author), San Francisco Estuary Institute, jingw@sfei.org;


Pete Kauhanen (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), San Francisco Estuary Institute, petek@sfei.org ;


Tony Hale (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), San Francisco Estuary Institute, tonyh@sfei.org ;


Jen Hunt (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), San Francisco Estuary Institute, jhunt@sfei.org ;


Lester McKee (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), San Francisco Estuary Institute, lester@sfei.org ;


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