Lecture on Floods and Endangered Species

Salmon River marshes in flood at King Tide. Photo by Corrina Chase.

The public is invited to a presentation by Matt Spangler at the MidCoast Watersheds Council meeting on Thursday, February 2, at 6:30 pm in Newport, to learn about the National Flood Insurance program and the Endangered Species Act. The meeting will be held in the public meeting room at the Central Lincoln PUD building (2129 N Coast Hwy in Newport, across from the Safeway complex).  Refreshments will be served.

Matt Spangler is the Senior Coastal Policy Analyst for the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). Prior to joining DLCD in 2009, he worked for many years as a local government land use planner on the coast, including more than 20 years as the Planning and Development Director for Lincoln County.

When rivers and creeks spill over their banks people think first about property and possessions, but these floodplains are also important for salmon.  Spangler’s presentation will provide a summary of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s recent Endangered Species Act Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the National Flood Insurance Program in Oregon.  It will cover the background on the process leading up to the BiOp, how implementation of the recommendations in the BiOp may affect development and management of floodplains in Oregon communities, and the possible implications for salmon recovery.