River Management Roundtable

How have communities, river management agencies, and water trail organizations prepared for catastrophic events like floods or dam breaches? While these events have become familiar in our newsfeeds, the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene has dwarfed others in recent memory, challenging our ability to respond and plan for long-term restoration. Our panel will offer insights into disaster response and recovery, the ways communities may redefine themselves during crises, and an approach for river restoration that considers the ways the river will seek to repair itself.

• Dave Payne, retired from the U.S. Forest Service, will reflect on lessons learned managing a significant flood in Northern California.
• Julie Jones, General Manager of Rocky Mountain Rafts, will discuss how her team of raft guides mobilized to assist in flood responses across the West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
• Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper, will provide an on-the-ground perspective of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath and the evolving recovery efforts.
• Dr. John Field, a fluvial geomorphologist, will offer suggestions that support long-term restoration success.

Join us to hear firsthand experiences from these river professionals, community leaders, and technical experts, whose contributions to disaster response may be helpful to you today and offer wisdom for the unanticipated tomorrow.

Registration

On the second Tuesday of the month, the River Management Society hosts River Management Roundtables (virtual discussions) with professional river, greenway, and water trails leaders, planners, and managers who will benefit from peer-to-peer sharing. Our goal is to facilitate an open forum in which you can ask questions, share solutions and build comradery. There's no fee or membership requirement to attend, but registration is required to help us set expectations and improve our outreach. We will record the discussion and send it out to registrants within the week.

Register