Science Symposium

2024 Agenda

February 13-14, 2024

UNM Rotunda

February 13, 2024

8:30-9:00 Arrival, Sign-in, Breakfast
9:00-9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks Executive Committee (EC) Co-chairs
9:15-10:15 Roundtable: Ecosystem Management EC Members
10:15–10:35 Icebreaker: Meet Two New People
10:35–10:50 Break
10:50–12:10 Session I: Restoration and Monitoring (Part I) Lynette Giesen, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
10:50–11:10 Two decades of restoration in the Middle Rio Grande Ondrea Hummel, Tetra Tech, Inc.
11:10–11:30 Habitat restoration in the Middle Rio Grande: Role of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Stephen Zipper, SWCA Environmental Consultants
11:30–11:50 New Mexico Riparian Habitat Map (NMRipMap): public map resource to support conservation and restoration in the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico Esteban H. Muldavin, Natural Heritage New Mexico, University of New Mexico
11:50–12:10 Utilizing goats in the bosque for fuels reduction
12:10 – 1:40 Lunch (provided) & Poster Session
1:40–3:10 Session II: Climate-Informed Restoration and Recommendations Lynette Giesen, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
1:40–2:00 A collaborative process for determining environmental flow recommendations for the Rio Grande in New Mexico Paul L. Tashjian, Audubon Southwest
2:00–2:20 The Big Hole Fire of April 2022: Valencia SWCD's perspective Andrew Hautzinger, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District
2:20–2:40 Southside Water Reclamation Plant outfall restoration site design: a climate adapted approach to habitat enhancement projects in the Middle Rio Grande Cetan Christensen, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
2:40–3:10 Integrating climate data into natural resources management decisions Cait Rottler, Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc.
3:10–3:25 Break
3:25–3:55 Keynote: Common ecosystem processes, challenges, and opportunities across river basins in New Mexico Martha Schumann Cooper, The Nature Conservancy
3:55–4:00 Day One Wrap-Up Day One Wrap-Up EC Co-chairs
4:30–6:00 Happy Hour at Canteen Brewhouse (2381 Aztec Rd NE)

February 14, 2024

8:30–9:00 Arrival, Sign-in, Breakfast
9:00–9:10 Welcome and Opening Remarks EC Co-chairs
9:10–9:25 Icebreaker: Meet Two New People
9:25–10:45 Session III: Monitoring and Managing for Listed Species Hira Walker, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
9:25–9:45 Improving summer survival of Rio Grande Silvery Minnow by identifying locations of high relative abundance at risk of channel drying Thomas Archdeacon, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, New Mexico Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office
9:45–10:05 Exploring Rio Grande Silvery Minnow movement dynamics in the Middle Rio Grande Martinique J. Chavez, Department of Watershed Sciences & The Ecology Center, American Southwest Ichthyological Researchers
10:05–10:25 Genomic monitoring in Rio Grande Silvery Minnow monitoring in Rio Grande Silvery Minnow using newly developed GT-seq panel Megan Osborne, University of New Mexico
10:25–10:45 Past, present, and future of evaluating the impacts of adaptive management on pollinators Rodney Richardson and Kate Tillotson, Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc.
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00–12:00 Session IV: Hydrology and Geomorphology Cetan Christensen, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
11:00–11:20 Incorporating geomorphic trends with habitat management Aubrey Harris, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Engineer Research and Development Center-Environmental Laboratory
11:20–11:40 Estimating wetland areas using hydrology and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling Ari Posner, Faith Kuria, and Robert Padilla, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
11:40–1:00 Lunch (provided) & Poster Session
1:00–2:20 Session V: Restoration and Monitoring (Part II) Matt Leister, Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program
1:00–1:20 Site assessment on post-fire and pole planting sites Saul Ortiz Tena and Joshua Burke, University of New Mexico and Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program
1:20–1:40 Evaluation of historical alluvial channel crossings Jonathan AuBuchon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
1:40–2:00 Middle Rio Grande Conservation Action Plan Adrian Oglesby, University of New Mexico Utton Transboundary Resources Center
2:00–2:20 Rapid ecological assessments: A stepwise strategy to establish, measure, and report metrics of ecosystem health Michael Van Laeken, Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc.
2:20–2:35 Break
2:35–3:05 Keynote: The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program: Balancing the use of the Colorado River water resources with the conservation of native species and their habitats through partnerships, planning and adaptive management Carolyn Ronning, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
3:05–3:15 Day Two Wrap Up