Many expensive stream projects fail because they are not guided by science, experts say. At Trout Headwaters, Inc. we have a long tradition of promoting the use of baseline assessments in stream, river and wetland restoration. We even developed a patented system, RiverWorks Rapid Assessment System® (RRAS), to help standardize the assessment process. The first step to successful restoration is a full understanding of the current health and condition of the resource, and the factors influencing that condition. When restoration treatments are complete, monitoring and maintenance ensure and confirm long-term success.
A recent news release by University at Buffalo announces a new book co-edited by a Buffalo geography professor analyzing the state of the nation’s $1 billion stream restoration industry. The new American Geophysical Union monograph, “Stream Restoration in Dynamic Fluvial Systems: Scientific Approaches, Analyses, and Tools,” provides detailed explanations of best practices grounded in science.
“There needs to be research behind solutions,” said University at Buffalo geography professor Sean J. Bennett, who edited the book with Andrew Simon of Cardno ENTRIX and Janine M. Castro of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Because practice has outpaced research, projects on real waterways often turn out to be experiments themselves, and many fail. People undertake a project without fully understanding which restoration techniques work, or how a river will respond to the techniques employed, the article says.
Read more: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/13446
