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West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii & the Yukon
Regional Table

Location: Conti/Lafitte
Moderators:
AJ Jones, Wolf Water Resources,
Chelsea Murphy, CKM Environmental,
Matt Varner, Bureau of Land Management
 

8:30 to 11:30 am with a break at 10 am
Panel: Trends and Challenges of River Restoration in the West

  • Roxanne Reale-Pilkenton, CFM, Senior Floodplain Specialist, Mitigation, Region 10
    Reale-Pilkenton’s Presentation

  • Amy Horstman, Fish and Aquatic Conservation - US Fish & Wildlife Service
    Horstman’s Presentation

  • Kenneth “Binx” Brink, Klamath Dam Removal Project

  • Trey Simmons, National Park Service, Fairbanks, AK

  • Matt Varner, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK
    Simmons & Varner’s Presentation

  • Ben Synder, SWCA, Oakland, CA

 
 
 
 

About Roxanne Reale-Pilkenton, CFM
Roxanne currently serves as the NFIP-ESA Integration Specialist. In this role, Roxanne works to integrate the NFIP with ESA issues in response to Biological Opinions in both Puget Sound Washington and the State of Oregon.  During her time at FEMA, Roxanne was deployed to support disaster operations around the country, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Hurricane Michael in 2018 and the Alaska earthquake in 2018. Roxanne joined FEMA in 2016. Roxanne began her career in public service in 1993 in Snohomish County, WA with Planning and Development Services. While at Snohomish County, Roxanne started her 23-year career as a File Room Clerk and ended as a Senior Planner specializing in urban center and agricultural development, and the Floodplain Management Specialist. During her time at Snohomish County, Roxanne had several high-level hearings regarding urban growth, and agricultural practices which created legal precedent. Roxanne lives in Lake Stevens, WA with her husband, two pups, a nested pair of Steller’s Jay, many squirrels, and a majestic Blue Heron who (fingers crossed) will hopefully leave some Koi in the pond. While Roxanne loves back yard full of creatures and her garden, her true passion is her three grown children and her grandson Calvin.

 
 

About Kenneth “Binx” Brink
Most recently, I am the elected Vice-Chairman for the Karuk Tribe. I will be serving our people for a 4-year term, holding an office at our Headquarters in Happy Camp, CA. Previously I was working for the Fisheries Department of the Karuk Tribe for over 22 years. During this time I was honored to host a variety of youth, co-workers, interns, as well as training opportunities. For a period of two years I also worked for the United States Forest Services (USFS) fisheries department in Happy Camp. Throughout my career, I have developed and sustained working relationships with internal and external government officials, providing onsite training, field assessments, and field demonstrations. Bringing new and old concepts to light and training additional generations our way of life regarding fisheries is important to me. Exercising and practicing my cultural beliefs and practices has led to a lifelong goal of passing knowledge down to the future generations.

 
 

About Ben Synder
Senior Ecosystem Restoration Engineer Ben Snyder has over two decades of experience in ecohydrology and restoration design. He is a California-licensed civil engineer who has dedicated his distinguished career to leading interdisciplinary teams in resolving complex habitat restoration challenges. The combination of his expertise in engineering design, hydrology, hydraulics, geomorphology, and ecosystem function has proven to be a formidable asset to many restoration projects, including wetland restoration, dam removal, fish passage barrier removal, and tidal marsh restoration. He brings a process-based approach to engineering design, built on a solid foundation of an understanding of the local flow regime and how it will sustain complex habitat mosaics in the face of a changing climate. Mr. Snyder is based out of SWCA’s Oakland office.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-snyder-hydraulics/