Watershed Academy Webcast - ELI/TNC Watershed Approach Handbook: Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection Projects

March 18, 2015

Dr. Rebecca Kihslinger, Wetlands Program Director, Environmental Law Institute, San Francisco, CA
Palmer Hough, Environmental Scientist, Wetlands Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mark P. Smith, Deputy Director, North American Freshwater Program, The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA
Nicholas Miller, Science Director, The Nature Conservancy, Madison, WI

The webcast presents information on the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) and The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) recently released handbook. The handbook advances the use of a watershed approach in the selection, design and siting of wetland and stream restoration and protection projects, including projects required by compensatory mitigation. This joint report called “Watershed Approach Handbook: Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection Projects” is posted on ELI’s and TNC’s website. The handbook was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other private funding sources.

The handbook was developed to increase the use of a watershed approach to help ensure a holistic approach to wetland and stream restoration projects that also contribute to goals of improved water quality, increased flood mitigation, improved quality and quantity of habitat and increases in other services and benefits. The webcast explains how the handbook provides a framework for how to carry out the watershed approach, defines a range of different approaches and offers examples of how these approaches have been applied across the country. It also features a case study from Wisconsin.

Webcast Flyer (pdf)

Presentation Slides (pdf)

Additional Resources (pdf)