River and Lake Restoration: Changing Landscapes ‐ An Introduction

In July of 2005, the Universities Council on Water Resources and the National Institutes of Water Resources held a joint national conference, entitled River and Lake Restoration: Changing Landscapes. The conference was held in Portland, Maine. Approximately 160 people attended the conference including academics, federal and state government researchers and policy makers, leaders of watershed restoration efforts and students. The articles in this issue highlight the diversity of topics presented at the conference, but also exhibit distinct overlaps and emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of watershed management. I hope this subset of papers serves to illustrate the changing landscapes of our river and lake restoration efforts. Changing physical landscapes, but also changing institutional and legal landscapes are evidenced throughout. As river and lake restoration efforts and projects take center stage around the country, we are beginning to see changing landscapes on all levels. Sessions ranged from those on aquatic invasive species to case study restoration projects in the Everglades and in Maine to those on innovative water resources education programs. Other sessions covered economic impacts, dam removal, water quality and restoration of sea-run fisheries. The articles here provide a framework and offer recommendations for decision makers. The first five papers in this issue are based on the Plenary sessions from the conference. These are divided into three sections. The first section includes two papers intended to highlight the large and difficult issues associated with decision-making on rivers and lakes. The second section covers salmon restoration needs and efforts. The third section includes an example of an unprecedented restoration agreement for the Penobscot River in Maine. Following the Plenary papers are two sections focused more specifically on economics and policy.