Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Steve Herrington, Director of Science and Impact Measures, The Nature Conservancy of Missouri

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

• 7 p.m. presentation (6 p.m. Social Hour)
• Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Google Map – Directions Below

The Bistro Restaurant is closed on Tuesdays, but the bar will be open. You ARE welcome to come early, bring some food and gather with friends before the presentation. Speaker Series attendees are welcome after 6:00 p.m.

From small streams in a suburban backyard to the largest rivers in the world, human impacts to streams and rivers often require restoration work to bring back natural ecological function.

Steve Herrington, the Director of Science and Impact Measures for the Nature Conservancy in Missouri, will join us to take a broad look at stream and river restoration work. He’ll look at what the benefits of this work are and why it is worth the expense and effort. He’ll also explore the benefits of “bioengineering”, or looking beyond “piles of rock” bank stabilization to incorporating natural materials and processes and targeted revegetation.

As with all natural and engineered infrastructure, looking at anticipated future impacts of climate change, such as an increase of extreme weather and precipitation events, is also a crucial component of restoration efforts. Herrington and The Nature Conservancy also look to the services river ecosystems provide in reducing downstream harm from pollution, sediment and bed degradation.

Steve Herrington is the Director of Science and Impact Measures for The Nature Conservancy in Missouri. An aquatic ecologist with over twenty years’ experience in fish and stream ecology, Steve completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and doctoral degree at Auburn University in Alabama. Steve joined The Nature Conservancy in 2004 and currently directs all science actions in Missouri, as well as leads and collaborates on several large‐scale freshwater initiatives across the U.S., including dam removal and stream restoration, environmental flow development for water resource protection and allocation, and legal protection of priority freshwater habitats.

Directions

• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO
• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It’s the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in upstairs in the restaurant. The restaurant is no longer open on Tuesdays but the bar is! You are welcome to bring your own food or snacks.