Water Managers and Flow Scientists-- Start Planning Now!!
Third International Gathering on Instream Flows:
Protecting Rivers and Lakes in the Face of Uncertainty
Portland, Oregon - April 28-30, 2015
Background: As our knowledge of aquatic ecosystem processes has grown so has the expectation
View from the Red Lion Hotel
that this knowledge can provide certainty about outcomes when protecting environmental values in
rivers and lakes. Often normal statistical uncertainty associated with environmental variability has
been used to question results from legitimate methods and impeded implementation of reasonable
protection. Despite the reality that inaction has real, adverse economic and environmental
consequences, proper consideration of uncertainty is rarely discussed in flow and water level decisionmaking. Faced with declining agency budgets, increasing water development pressures, diminishing
aquatic ecosystems, and environmentally restrictive legal mandates, water managers are challenged to
quantify trade-offs between ecological and economic values associated with administering public trust
water supplies and cannot afford inaction premised on a poor understanding of uncertainty. As a
recognized leader in this discipline, the Instream Flow Council is committed to promoting proven
expertise; improving public understanding of linkages between science, law, and social values; and
supporting the use of appropriate tools to protect, maintain, and restore, aquatic resources.
Outcome: Participants will learn strategies that integrate legal and policy elements with traditional and new scientific methods to
successfully manage real and perceived uncertainty for a range of biological, institutional, hydrologic, and geographic settings.
Workshop Components:
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Day 1: Training sessions will provide skills and understanding to help attendees participate more effectively in flow and water
level projects.
Days 2-3: Nationally recognized experts will provide examples of existing methods, laws, and policies that can be used to manage
uncertainty to meet fundamental aquatic community objectives. Presentations will also embrace new methods such as probability
models and holistic ecosystem models.
Facilitated discussions following each session will encourage attendees to weigh in with their perspectives on the challenge of
managing uncertainty.
All presentations and discussions will be published in a workshop proceedings.
Format: FLOW 2015 is a problem-solving workshop that will be held in Portland, Oregon from April 28 to 30, 2015. Sessions
will focus on approaches and strategies that have effectively resolved uncertainty for: 1) federal regulatory needs; 2) state and
provincial fish and wildlife agencies; and 3) non-governmental organizations, industries, and municipalities. Special emphasis will be
placed on opportunities for integrating new and traditional instream flow methods. Emphasis will also be placed on understanding
how existing laws and regulations address uncertainty by allowing or requiring decisions to be made based on the best available data
and science. Facilitated discussions will capture the perspectives of all attendees after each session. As with previous IFC conferences,
the emphasis on interdisciplinary problem-solving will create networking opportunities that benefit aquatic resources and attendees
long after the end of the workshop.
For more information on Presenting a Poster, Becoming a Sponsor or presenting at the Trade Show, please visit
www.instreamflowcouncil.org/flow-2015
The Instream Flow Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
improving instream flow programs to protect, and restore aquatic
resources. VISIT US to learn more about the upcoming training session
and workshop at www.instreamflowcouncil.org