Ecological Leadership for California's Flood Management Future Leadership Program, Year 1

American Rivers has hired Dr. Mark Tompkins to serve as a technical and policy advisor in high-level stakeholder deliberations on California’s Central Valley Flood Management Plan.  Mark will develop technical studies, provide engineering knowledge, and submit testimony to demonstrate the benefits of ecologically sensitive flood management policy.  American Rivers has been a leading advocate and stakeholder in the initial stages of the two-year Central Valley Flood Management Plan process.  It is leading the effort to advance a new paradigm of non-structural flood risk management that focuses on multiple benefits, including effective public safety and flood protection, restored riverine ecosystems, and resiliency against climate change.  This approach entails restrictions on floodplain development, changes in building codes, planning to encourage sustainable infrastructure, additional land for rivers to flood, changes in reservoir management, and a watershed-wide approach.  Mark will provide needed technical expertise to the organization throughout the process.