**************************************** *Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology*
*Regulated Rivers: Environment, Ecology, and Management <http://cmiae.org/event/regulated-rivers-environment-ecology-and-management/>* Call for presentations Start Date: May 06, 2015 End Date: May 07, 2015 City: Castlegar BC Venue: Selkirk College *Call for presentations closes Dec 15, 2014* *Conference description* Regulated waterways provide important services such as flood regulation, power generation with low greenhouse gas emissions, and energy storage. Nevertheless, the damming and regulation of rivers incurs ecological costs via the operation of reservoirs and alteration of downstream flows, combined with the often permanent loss of valley bottom habitat. Regulation can affect both upstream (reservoir) and downstream environments. A recent increase in smaller hydro-electric projects (e.g. run-of-river projects) has led to a flourish in the study of their unique impacts. Over half of the world’s large rivers are regulated, including the Columbia River and its tributaries. Despite inevitable footprint impacts, considerable ecological function may remain in these systems, supporting a diversity of plants, fish, and wildlife. Within the Columbia Basin, a wealth of research has recently emerged to increase our understanding of ecosystem processes within regulated river environments, with the potential to aid in mitigating footprint and operational impacts to plants, fish, and wildlife. Through a keynote address, 2 days of presentations, a poster session, dialogue opportunities, and field-trips, this conference will provide a cutting-edge opportunity for scientists and managers to share results of recent research on regulated river environments, processes, and operations in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. A conference summary will be available on the CMI website after the event. *Who should attend this conference?* CMI conferences attract people from a variety of disciplines and professions. This conference will inform scientists, ecologists, managers, facility operators, government decision-makers, community groups, and stakeholders working on or with ties to the Columbia reservoir system, as well as anyone engaged with regulated river science and management in other regions of the world. Additionally, this conference will be of use to post-secondary students currently studying, or who have an interest in studying, the ecology of regulated rivers and particularly the Columbia River system. *We welcome presentations and posters that address the following themes:* - Regulated river environments (e.g., impact of flow regime on lotic, riparian and delta habitat, ecological responses/processes relative to hydro-electric operations) - Measuring and mitigating footprint impacts on plants, fish, and wildlife - Biogeography of plants, fish, and wildlife in regulated river systems - Optimizing reservoir operations and managing upstream and downstream habitats to improve ecological function of reservoirs and rivers - De-fragmenting rivers (e.g., challenges and solutions to fish passage, entrainment, restoration) If you would like to make a 15 minute MS PowerPoint presentation at this conference, please send title, abstract (max 300 words), a short bio, and full contact information to the Columbia Mountains Institute by Monday Dec 15, 2014. All presenters are required to provide a text summary of their talk for inclusion in the conference proceedings before the conference. Posters and displays about your projects are welcome. You are required to send title, abstract or description of your initiative, a short bio, and full contact information no later than Dec 15, 2014. Your abstract will be included in the conference proceedings. Field trip ideas welcomed. Proposals for half day trips accepted until Dec 15, 2014. Submission guidelines for presentations, posters, field trips, and summary papers appear on our website at:http://cmiae.org/events/submission-guidelines *Submit your proposal before Monday, December 15, 2014* Our event partners & sponsors Columbia Mountains Institute is pleased to work with these agencies in hosting this event: Selkirk College, Columbia Basin Trust, LGL Limited and Cooper Beauchesne Associates Ltd. Questions? Please contact: *Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied EcologyPhone: 250-837-9311 <250-837-9311> Fax: 250-837-9311 <250-837-9311> Email: [email protected] <[email protected]> Website: www.cmiae.org <http://www.cmiae.org/>*
