Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

Session H – Defining Riverscapes: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Interactions Affecting Riverine and Riparian Health

All Day Session
Presenters are indicated in bold font.

Session Co-chairs:
Chris Reidy, Fish Biologist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, chris.reidy@usda.gov
Justin Stevens, Sea Run Fish Program Coordinator, Maine Sea Grant
Valerie Ouellet, Vice President of Research and Environment, Atlantic Salmon Federation, vouellet@asf.ca
Merry Gallagher, Native Fish Conservation Biologist, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, merry.gallagher@maine.gov

Functioning riverscapes involve a multitude of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological factors. These interactions occur at several scales throughout the entire watershed and proper function of these interactions are critical to healthy rivers. The advent of European settlement brought drastic changes in land use which severely altered the natural processes that had operated in concert with stewardship from Indigenous peoples since the end of the Pleistocene 13,000 years ago.

While many of the natural processes are still occurring, the degree of deviation from pre-settlement conditions cannot fully be determined due to the extent of riverine degradation over centuries of intensive land use. Consequently, managers charged with restoring rivers and the fish and wildlife that use them face a suite of challenging questions. How is the current interplay of ecological factors affecting fish and wildlife populations? To what degree can we affect change to improve ecological function within our riverscapes to maintain the native flora and fauna that depend upon them? How will these processes be maintained in a changing climate?

This session, led by the Maine Riverscape Restoration Network (MRRN; formerly the In-Stream Habitat Working Group), will explore current data describing the ecological health of Maine’s riverscapes with regard to physical, chemical, and biological functions. MRRN will host a full day session. The morning sub session will focus on riparian area health, including the use of riparian areas by Maine’s wildlife species and their importance as wildlife corridors, incorporating Tribal Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in forest management, and effects of stressors, such as dams and climate change on riverscapes. The morning talks will be followed by a panel discussion on riparian best management practices (BMPs). The afternoon sub session will take a closer look the resilience of riverscapes and includes the importance of groundwater connectivity and metrics to measure baseflow resilience, and a case study on the effects of a dam removal project on water quality. Following the afternoon presentations, there will be a panel discussion on resilience of riverscapes to change. The session will conclude with a group presentation on available funding sources for riverscape restoration projects and announcements about upcoming events related to riverscape restoration and updates from partners related to current and future restoration activities and other opportunities.

Overall, this session aims to dig deeper into the current state of our riverscapes and to propose a restorative path forward to improve the function of Maine’s riverscapes and to maintain these functions for the benefit of Maine’s natural heritage for generations to come.

Session Schedule

Morning Session
Riparian Area Health

• 8:30AM-9:00AM – Managing Riparian Communities to Benefit Fish and Wildlife Health | Presenter: Joseph Roy
• 9:00AM-9:30AM – Utilizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Guide Forest Management and Enhance Species Recovery | Presenter: Chuck Loring
• 9:30AM-10:00AM – How Hydropower on Canadian & Siberian Rivers Are Creating the Death of the Rivers and Climate Change | Presenters: Halsey W. Snow, Roger Wheeler, Clifford Krolick
• 10:00AM-10:30AM – Panel Discussion – Riparian Best Management Practices | Panelists: Joseph Roy, Chuck Loring, Halsey W. Snow, Roger Wheeler, Clifford Krolick

Afternoon Session
Resilience of Riverscapes

• 1:30PM-2:00PM – Multi-Metric Evaluation of Baseflow Resilience Throughout Riverscapes | Presenter: Martin A. Briggs
• 2:00PM-2:30PM – Why Did the Stream Break Up With the Dam? Stream Water Quality Improvements Following Small Dam Removal | Presenter: Emily Zimmerman
• 2:30PM-3:00PM – Afternoon Break
• 3:00PM-4:30PM – Panel Discussion – Resilience of Maine’s Riverscapes | Panelists: Martin Briggs, Emily Zimmerman, Tom Gilbert, Eric Topper
• 3:30PM-4:00PM – Funding Sources | Presenter: Ben Naumann
• 4:00PM-4:30PM – Post Conference Meeting – Maine Riverscape Restoration Network General Updates | Presenters: Chris Reidy, Justin Stevens, Valerie Ouellet, Merry Gallagher

8:30AM – 9:00AM
Managing Riparian Communities to Benefit Fish and Wildlife Health

Joseph Roy, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, joseph.roy@maine.gov

Riparian habitats adjacent to streams and waterbodies are critically important for fish and wildlife. In Maine, over 80% of terrestrial vertebrates utilize riparian areas. Not only do riparian areas provide habitat for many species of greatest conservation need, they also serve as critical corridors that allow species to move across the landscape. In this presentation, we highlight management strategies that landowners and land managers can use to maintain and improve riparian habitat. Landowners and land managers can provide essential solutions on the ground that benefit fish and wildlife and contribute to positive impacts on riverine and riparian health.

9:00AM – 9:30AM
Utilizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Guide Forest Management and Enhance Species Recovery

Chuck Loring, Penobscot Nation, Charlie.loring.jr@penobscotnation.org

Riparian zones are some of the most diverse ecosystems known, bridging the gap between aquatic and terrestrial habitats.  Penobscot people had first-hand knowledge of just how special these areas were since they spent their entire lives living near or traveling waterways to hunt, fish and gather other foods or medicines.  Many of these species of foods and medicines are found within riparian zones.  It is no surprise that they are some of the most protected areas on Penobscot Territory.  Although the Penobscots’ holdings of their original trust land base is a relatively young 43 years, there is already significant evidence of increased in-stream woody material compared to some of the more recent land acquisitions.

The approach the Penobscot Nation takes to management and maintenance of these critical habitats was informed by a simple form of traditional ecological knowledge to minimize impacts to these areas.  The Nation’s forest management plan contains several different zones, many of which apply to water, some seemingly redundant, but all serve an important role in maintaining the biodiversity of the species and their environment.  With a focus on Atlantic Salmon habitat connectivity, the Nation realizes the benefits to not only restoring connectivity for all co-evolved species of sea-run fish, but also their forest habitats.  Our relatives need to be able to reach historic spawning grounds, but also need refuge from predators and unfavorable thermal events.

9:30AM – 10:00AM
How Hydropower on Canadian & Siberian Rivers Are Creating the Death of the Rivers and Climate Change

Halsey W. Snow, Ph.D., Sierra Club, HSnow.phd@gmail.com
Roger Wheeler, Friends of Sebago Lake, frtiendsofsebago@yahoo.com
Clifford Krolick, New England – Canadian Provinces Alliance, bcountry@psouth.net

This is a summary presentation based on available research and data analysis that supports the climate change and marine ecosystem warnings by Hans Neu and others starting over 50 years ago regarding the development of hydroelectric power dams in the subarctic and Arctic regions. The presentation outlines how these hydraulic structures and their flow regulation have upset the delicate balance that maintains the sea ice and Arctic Ocean generated coastal and thermohaline currents as well as the weather patterns that they control. The goal of this presentation is to initiate discussion and acknowledgement of the cumulative effects which will be enumerated in this presentation and how they are affecting both the Arctic climate and our own Gulf of Maine fishery.

10:00AM – 10:30AM
Panel Discussion – Riparian Best Management Practices

Panelists:
Joseph Roy, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, joseph.roy@maine.gov
Chuck Loring, Penobscot Nation, Charlie.loring.jr@penobscotnation.org
Halsey W. Snow, Ph.D., Sierra Club, HSnow.phd@gmail.com
Roger Wheeler, Friends of Sebago Lake, friendsofsebago@yahoo.com
Clifford Krolick, New England – Canadian Provinces Alliance, bcountry@psouth.net

This panel will discuss best management practices (BMPs) to ensure maximum function of riparian areas.