Photo courtesy of SERCAL
After a decade of accelerating restoration to revitalize our habitats and ecosystems, we know that establishing permit pathways is just the first step. Outreach, education, and technical resources ensure agencies and restorationists can use the tools we help them build to restore our state.
Learn more about Accelerating Restoration’s work to simplify restoration permitting!
Our Accelerating Restoration team participated in four major conferences in the first half of the year to give technical trainings on permitting tools, build relationships, and catalyze collaboration with consultants, local governments, regulatory agencies, and restoration practitioners. We shared our recent work on innovative permitting tools and learned about the latest challenges and opportunities in restoration and regulatory permitting to align with broader conservation goals and trends in California.
AEP Conference – March
Accelerating Restoration Senior Program Director Erika Lovejoy represented our team at the AEP Conference in Anaheim. The conference was a fantastic outreach opportunity, particularly for connecting with restoration consultants and local governments that can benefit from the new permitting tools. Erika presented on a panel alongside Meredith Parkin, Jill Sunahara, and May Lau, all from Environmental Science Associates (ESA).
Erika highlighted our statewide permitting work along with the progress of recent restoration and efficient permitting initiatives like Cutting Green Tape, 30×30 California, and Gov. Newsom’s Salmon Strategy. The session also covered example projects that took advantage of the Statewide Restoration General Order for expedited permitting, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pathway, as well as other restoration permitting pathways that helped make them possible. The panel ended with a lively discussion about how to leverage the new tools and how it takes partnerships between agencies and project proponents to build these restoration pathways.
Erika Lovejoy presenting alongside ESA’s Meredith Parkin, Jill Sunahara, and May Lau. Photo courtesy of Meredith Parkin’s LinkedIn
SRF Conference – March
The entire Accelerating Restoration team attended the SRF Conference in Santa Rosa, which caters to aquatic restoration and environmental conservation professionals. Erika co-moderated a session with Brad Henderson from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Cutting the Green Tape initiatives to promote restoration projects. The panel included several agencies, project implementers, and Senior Project Manager Stephanie Falzone and Project Director Katie Haldeman also shared insights on permit pathway implementation.
Katie presented on using the Statewide Restoration authorization with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while Stephanie demonstrated our Protection Measures Selection Tool. We’d like to extend a special thanks to the State Coastal Conservancy for supporting our outreach efforts!
SERCAL Conference – May
Stephanie and Katie attended the SERCAL Conference in Redlands. This year’s theme, “Holistic Restoration: Restoring and Reconnecting People to Place,” brought together biologists, engineers, academics, consultants, landscape architects and others who restore California’s native habitats to share their work and learn about the latest restoration implementation challenges and opportunities.
The conference featured sessions about Tribal engagement, coastal resource restoration, and navigating funding challenges. A field tour of The Wildlands Conservancy’s Oak Glen Preserve highlighted efforts to plant oak trees resistant to the Goldspotted Oak Borer. The event was an excellent opportunity to connect with individuals, organizations, and projects that could benefit from our permitting training and resources.
Photos courtesy of SERCAL
State of the San Francisco Estuary Conference (May 2024)
Stephanie attended this gathering organized by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership in Oakland. This conference was ideal for connecting with restoration project funders, proponents, community members, and regulators who work in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. The presentation sessions included partnerships with California Tribes, sediment reuse for sea-level rise, scaling living shoreline projects, and of course, restoration permitting. The poster session showcased various restoration projects and was a platform to discuss our resource site and learn about new techniques, successes, and challenges specific to estuary restoration.
To read more about our team’s work to support the development of new restoration permitting pathways see California Cuts the Green Tape and A Roadmap for Restoration. For more information on permitting or technical resources for environmental restoration, visit the Accelerating Restoration website or email us at restoration@suscon.org to set up a time for a permitting consultation.
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