Managing Floodplains Collaboratively: Cross-border learning on fish, farms, and floods

Taking a more collaborative and integrated approach to floodplain management has made a big splash in Washington State in recent years. As governments plan for an uncertain future and climate adaptation moves to the forefront, cities and communities situated in floodplains are having to consider the looming threat of flooding from unpredictable water flows. Balancing the needs of ecosystems, agriculture and flood risk. The communities of large floodplains like the lower mainland along the Fraser River in British Columbia, the Snohomish/Skykomish Rivers in Snohomish County and the Snoqualmie River in King County of Washington State are taking steps to manage for floods using forward-thinking comprehensive approaches. In this interactive session, presenters will share their experience with integrated, multi-benefit floodplain management from their own region specific lens. Each region will share what has (and hasn’t) worked for them, and pose a question or challenge to the group for further discussion in breakout sessions. The three distinct regions represent the beginning, middle and established (OR forming, storming, norming, and performing) stages of this complex journey of achieving well-managed floodplains. It is in the challenge and the differences where innovation can blossom. As such, different perspectives will be brought forward from the counties to First Nations, salmon conservation and governance to explore jurisdictional complications, indigenous rights, legal responsibilities and food security objectives to name a few

Developing the guidelines for reclamation to forest vegetation in the Athabasca oil sands region

In 1996, the Oil Sands Vegetation Reclamation Committee was formed to prepare guidelines on the establishment of forest vegetation and ecosystems, with an emphasis on providing appropriate “starter vegetation” for use in reclaiming oil sands leases in northeastern Alberta. The outcome of this process, the first edition of the Guidelines for Reclamation to Forest Vegetation in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (referred to as the Revegetation Manual), was released in 1998. The task of updating this manual currently resides with the Reclamation Working Group (RWG) of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association, a multi-stakeholder non-profit organization whose members include representatives from oil sands industry, government regulatory agencies, and local communities. At the end of 2009, RWG completed the 2nd edition of the Revegetation Manual, which was published by Alberta Environment in 2010. Use of this manual for reclamation of upland ecosystems by oil sands mining companies is mandated by their operating approvals under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Thus this manual and its successors will inform revegetation activities on over approximately 30,000 ha of current disturbed footprint, and eventually as much as ~200,000 ha of mine-related disturbance.Non UBCUnreviewedUnknow