June 2020 Chapter Meeting Announcements (with new VH opportunities)

Highlights from June Chapter Meeting

The Announcements
View the full set of June announcements by clicking here.

Highlights of the meeting

Stream Restoration/Fluvial Geomorphology

Thanks to our June speaker, Dr. Fouad Jaber, for a truly engaging presentation on stream restoration. Fouad is an Associate Professor with Texas A&M University and a Water Resources Specialist at AgriLife Research and Extension Service.

A discussion of how streams can be restored requires some basics on stream ecosystem functions: habitat for aquatic organisms; riparian flora and fauna as food source and temperature controls; water and sediment transport; diversity roles of meanders and pool/riffle/glide structure. Leading us through those, Fouad covered channel features and varieties of stream evolution.

He illustrated the damaging effects of accelerated erosion—how channels grow deeper and wider—with a series of regional examples. Particularly as streams undergo increasing urbanization, they move toward watershed scale instability. Then Fouad used a series of success stories showing how systems can recover, given proper care. Restoration may involve excavation of the entire current channel to rebuild the physical and biological characteristics of a healthy stream.

Key takeaway:  Where a stream channel is eroding, especially at culturally-accelerated rates, it loses ecosystem function. As the bank and channel structure deteriorate, the interdependent aquatic and riparian communities suffer. The optimal solution is natural design: restoration of the channel that closely imitates the natural structure and function of streams in a given region.

This presentation is being updated with additional contact and reference information. It will be posted to this website soon. A video recording will also be posted soon as it’s available. Stream restoration workshops will be scheduled over the coming year, including at least one in the Dallas area, so watch the NTMN calendar.

Thank you for all you do for our chapter and our community.

Take care,

Scott Hudson
President
North Texas Master Naturalist