ABOUT THE RIPARIAN SUMMIT

Confluence to Influence will be held at the University of California, Davis Alumni Conference Center on October 17-19, 2017. The 3-day Summit provides an opportunity to share knowledge from multiple communities on the science, community values, and strategies for managing, protecting, and restoring California’s riparian corridors. It will feature plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, an art and science component, and opportunities for field activities.

Summit Goals

Despite well recognized contributions of riparian ecosystems to the natural capital of California’s ecosystems, much of the original riparian habitat of California has been heavily modified or lost. With that loss has come a loss of the ecological and hydrological integrity, resilience, and productivity of riparian systems, and reduction in water supplies, and the quality of life in riparian dependent communities.

With the state preparing to make major investments in green infrastructure, riparian restoration and its natural infrastructure should be a major focus for effective public investment. The goals of the Summit are to share emerging understanding of riparian processes, to identify priorities and opportunities for investment, and to highlight contributions of riparian corridors to natural capital, the arts, and to human well-being throughout California.

In particular, the organizing committee seeks work that contributes to one or more of the
following themes:

• Shared science, community values, methods, and techniques for advancing the care and management, protection, and restoration of riparian areas,
• Describing and evaluating the latest research, lessons learned, best practices from California and beyond
• Understanding and communicating the multiple benefits of riparian conservation, highlighting the interplay among habitats, ecosystem services, human communities, and the persistence of our natural heritage encompassed by riparian lands
• Influencing policymakers to recognize the importance of riparian conservation and integrate the value of riparian areas into decision-making
• Describing and sharing how the arts can be used to enhance our appreciation of riparian settings

Anticipated audience

If you have a suggestion for specific organizations or communities you believe would enliven the
proceedings and engage a broader audience, please let us know and we will try to work them
into the program: It is our hope that the following people will be attending:

• Scientists/Researchers
• Restoration Practitioners, Land Managers
• Policymakers
• Local, State, and federal government agency staff
• Private landowners and the public interested in riparian landscapes and riparian management

Sponsors

The 2017 Riparian Summit is hosted by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis and the UC Davis Information Center for the Environment in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources and the California Riparian Habitat Joint Venture.

Addition support comes from Point Blue Conservation Science, United States Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Conservation, Environmental Defense, Wildlife Conservation Board, Stillwater Sciences, and River Partners.