The Challenges with Urbanization and Protection of Water and Aquatic Environments

Our April speaker is Jack Imhof.  Jack will speak about how urbanization changes the water cycle of the landscape, the implications for ecological and physical processes, and how our management of water resources tends to minimize water resource protection, resulting in degraded environments. He will also touch on how stormwater management and development planning processes risk contributing to degrading these resources.

Jack specializes in restoration ecology, watershed science and management and natural channel design, and has spent over 50 years working on river and watershed restoration. During that time Jack has also been an active fly fisher and has fished across Canada and the USA as well as England, Australia, and Argentina. His work has won him multiple awards for his ongoing efforts to improve the health and quality of Canada’s watersheds, including the Conservation Pioneer Award at the 19th Annual A.D. Latornell Symposium (2012), and the title of Legend in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences by the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society (2022). Since retiring in 2017 as the National Biologist and Director of Conservation Ecology for Trout Unlimited Canada (now Freshwater Conservation Canada), he has been developing and teaching the Watershed and Stream Rehabilitation Training Program of FCC/TUC. During his working career he was a provincial Aquatic Ecologist and Watershed Research Scientist with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and an adjunct professor at University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, Brock University and Trent University. In retirement he sits on advisory boards and continues to provide policy and science advice to various NGOs and municipalities.