Future of Aquatic Flows Year 0

N CASC in collaboration with NE CASC coordinated three “Year 0” webinars to launch the cross-CASC theme, Future of Aquatic Flows, in March, April, and May 2021. The goals of these webinars were to identify and discuss:

1. Regional research themes and mentors for the FoAF postdoc cohort.

2. Management themes and manager-partners for FoAF projects. 

3. National themes for a national-scale FoAF synthesis.

4. Logistical information about FoAF funding and how to submit proposals for this funding opportunity.

• Hydrologic extremes
  • flooding 
  • drought
• Consequences of changing flow regimes for habitat and species
• The intersection of changing flow regimes & environmental justice 
  • This priority is connected to habitat & species, also cultural resources
• Modeling
  • No single model is the right one for all contexts
  • Evaluating and communicating about strengths and limitations of models
  • Aligning models with context, needs, and objectives 
• Questions about scale, for research and collaboration:
  • Local, regional, watershed, basin
• National themes require a longer process to define the CASC niche at the nexus of Actionable Science, Climate, Ecosystems (Species & Habitat), and Aquatic Flows.

• Improve frameworks for monitoring and managing flooding and drought
  • Need for integrated frameworks that consider management, environmental justice, cultural resources, habitat, and species. 
• Mississippi River Basin
• Defining the CASC niche and possible federal collaborators focussed on management:
  • BLM, US FWS Ecological Science Applications, NPS
• Ecological indicators, national consistency in developing and defining indicators
• Conceptual models that integrate flows, habitat, management, non-human and human needs