It Takes a Watershed: Projects, Approaches, and Strategies for Restoring Streamflow and Managing Water Supplies
Session Coordinator: Monty Schmitt, Sr Project Director, TNC California Water Program, The Nature Conservancy; David Dralle, Ph.D., U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station
No single project or parcel can restore streamflow on its own—lasting change happens at the watershed scale, where small and large efforts alike add up to healthier rivers and more reliable water supplies. Consequently, progress depends on the accumulation of work across scales—from focused site-specific projects to broader watershed planning.
This session will highlight a diversity of approaches that collectively support watershed health and salmon recovery. Topics will include groundwater and recharge work, streamflow restoration projects, and the role of local and regional water management policies in shaping outcomes for salmon and communities. Presentations will showcase case studies where practitioners are linking science, modeling, and monitoring with policy and on-the-ground action.
By bringing together researchers, managers, and community partners, this session will provide insights into how both small-scale efforts and watershed-scale strategies can restore and protect flows, improve water security, and advance salmon recovery.
Stormwater: Slowing, Spreading, Stuffing, Sinking, Storing & Sharing It to Save Salmon, Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
Scott River Recovery Action Plan Project (SRRAPP), Charnna Gilmore, Scott River Watershed Council
Development and Implementation of a New Flow Regime on the Trinity River, CA, Chris Laskodi, Yurok Tribe
Deep Deficits in Weathered Bedrock: Mechanisms of Runoff Suppression and Implications for California Water Management, Dana Lapides, USDA-ARS
An Integrative Bioenergetic Modeling Approach for Evaluating Instream Flow Needs of Juvenile Salmonids in the Lower Shasta River, Kevin Fitzgerald, Applied River Sciences
Ecological Risk Assessment to Inform Regional Instream Flow Management, Kris Taniguchi-Quan, SCCWRP
Synthetic Evaluation of Riverine Restoration for Chinook Salmon Spawning and Rearing Habitat in the Central Valley, Louise Conradm, California DWR
Assessing Subsurface Flow Capacity to Evaluate Reach Potential for Perennial vs. Intermittent Flow, Luke Hach, SWCA Environmental
Restoring Hydrologic Function in California Coastal Watersheds: Lessons from Lower Flynn Creek, Mia van Docto, Trout Unlimited
Groundwater is Streamflow - Modeling Water Resources Management in the Scott Valley, Nicholas Murphy, The Nature Conservancy
A Method to Implement Natural Flow Regimes for Regulated Rivers, Nicholas Som, U.S. Geological Survey
Integrating Water Rights, Hydrology, and Flow Enhancement in California Watersheds, Sara Sternberg, Creek Lands Conservation
Approaching Flow Management from the Top-Down: Using Site-Specific Models to Develop Risk-Informed Percent-of-Flow Diversion Thresholds, Suzanne Rhoades, Applied River Sciences
Meeting the Dry-Season Challenge: Sanctuary Forest’s Approach to Late-Summer Streamflow, Tasha McKee, Sanctuary Forest