News

As a non‐profit organization that promotes the field of stream restoration through continuing research and education, the Maryland Stream Restoration Association (MSRA) is submitting a counterpoint response in favor of stream restoration. The MSRA executive board felt that Tom Pelton’s January 31, 2018 blog post about stream restoration projects and climate change, “Stream ‘Restoration’ Projects Being Washed Away by Climate Change”, was one‐sided, with quotes, projects, and rain events that seem to be hand selected to suggest only failure, when instead the field is in a state of growth and innovation. The MSRA recognizes the need to answer various outstanding questions in the science of stream restoration, including the impacts of climate change. However, oversizing channels to handle larger flows or deciding to abandon stream restoration as a solution all together is not the answer. The answer lies in supporting sustainable funding of a holistic scientific monitoring approach to better understand the unknowns.

The entire response is available here. 

http://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/streambank_erosion

Annual Spring Meeting: MSRA Annual Spring Meeting

When: Thursday May 31, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Where: Barrett's Grill, 118 Shawan Road Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Please register here so we can plan food accordingly.

EVENT DETAILS:

The Maryland Stream Restoration Association will be holding the annual spring meeting on Thursday May 31, 2018.

Elections

We have two qualified candidates nominated to fill the open positions for the next term:

Mike Galvin (Secretary) and Mitch Keiler (President Elect).

Additional nominations may be made from the floor.

Presentation

MSRA is thrilled to welcome back Dr. Tess Thompson who will speak on: Predicting Erosion Rates of Cohesive Stream Banks

Dr. Theresa “Tess” Thompson is an associate professor in Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, the assistant department head for undergraduate studies, and a Turner Fellow of Engineering. Dr. Thompson has degrees in agricultural, civil, and biological systems engineering and has worked as an engineer in state government and private consulting, and as a consultant to US AID. Her research in watershed management focuses on stream and wetland restoration, urban stream systems, and streambank erosion. She currently teaches courses in fluvial geomorphology and stream restoration and is a frequent invited speaker on streambank erosion and low impact development. A former president of the American Ecological Engineering Society, she currently serves as secretary of the River Restoration Committee of ASCE-EWRI and on the advisory board for the International Ecological Engineering Society.

Appetizers will be provided, Cash Bar.

The Maryland Water Monitoring Council, in partnership with the Maryland Stream Restoration Association and Biohabitats Inc., is providing a free workshop that will focus on Maryland protocols used to assess the physical habitat of freshwater streams, with an emphasis on Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS) protocols. The workshop is on Saturday, April 14, 2018 - 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Howard County Conservancy - 10520 Old Frederick Rd., Woodstock, MD 21163.  For more information go here. 

Please join Maryland Stream Restoration Association for a job fair at University of Maryland College Park on March 10th.