Ryan Luster

Position Title

Speaker

The Nature Conservancy

rluster@tnc.org

Ryan Luster, Sacramento River Project Director for The Nature Conservancy California

I am an ecologist by training with extensive experience in riparian and arid grassland restoration ecology, conservation planning in California and Africa, developing ecological river flows methodologies, fundraising, supervising staff, and program management.

Content by Ryan Luster

Multiple Benefits

Making multiple benefits real: Opportunities and barriers to increasing the pace and scale of riparian restoration in California

Riparian restoration projects are thought to have multiple benefits for Californians, such as improving water quality, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, sequestering carbon, and providing recreational opportunities. But what is the evidence for these and other benefits, and what is their value? Could additional information about these benefits improve access to funding and help increase the pace and scale of riparian restoration?

In this workshop, we will briefly introduce the concept of multiple benefits, the evidence for multiple benefits of riparian restoration, and a specific example from the Cosumnes River Preserve. We will then host a conversation with representatives from organizations and agencies that fund and implement riparian restoration projects, discussing opportunities and barriers to using the multiple benefits concept, and generating ideas to help increase the pace and scale of riparian restoration in California.

Time

10:45 - 12:15

Focus

Multiple Benefits

Workshops

Ballroom B

Organizer

Speakers

Sacramento 2

Time

11:45 - 1:15

Track

Central Valley

(2 Sessions)

This case study will include a diverse set of talks focused on Sacramento River wildlife populations and their habitats, and efforts underway to restore and better understand them. They will highlight habitat management and restoration projects designed to meet the needs of wildlife while maintaining important human uses of the floodplain. They will also showcase large-scale restoration projects that are being implemented to achieve multiple benefits for nature and people. A recurring theme in the talks is the importance of natural river processes in maintaining river health and ecosystem services.

Organizer

Greg Golet

Ballroom A

Speakers