Dear Colleagues and Friends,
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the 2025 Watershed Management Conference: Advancing Resiliency. This year marks 60 years since the first national watershed management gathering in 1965—an event that helped establish watershed-scale planning as a foundation for integrating hydrology, land use, and public policy.
In 2005, we reflected on four decades of progress and looked ahead to emerging challenges related to land development, resource pressures, and water quality. In 2015, we visualized a unique perspective on topics ranging from the history of watershed management to hydrologic modeling and the effects of climate alterations on watershed hydrology. Today, in 2025, we find ourselves navigating an even more complex landscape. The assumption of stationarity in hydrologic regimes has been invalidated, water demands are growing, and ecosystem services are under increasing strain. At the same time, advances in data science, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence are expanding what is possible in watershed modeling, monitoring, and management.
This conference is an opportunity to reflect on these developments and engage in productive dialogue about where we go next. While the broader social context includes a range of perspectives on environmental priorities and policy choices, we believe watershed professionals have a unique role in building common ground through science-based, locally relevant solutions. Fostering trust in scientific processes, maintaining transparency, and working collaboratively across communities and disciplines are central to our shared work.
The 2025 program builds on the strong foundation laid in past conferences and introduces new themes around resiliency and watershed management innovations. We are excited to feature technical sessions, policy discussions, and field experiences that bring together practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers. Special attention is given to emerging leaders, community-engaged approaches, and integrating traditional knowledge systems alongside technological advancements.
As we gather in this milestone year, we are reminded that watersheds remain powerful organizing frameworks for understanding complex systems, coordinating action, and fostering connection across diverse perspectives. Thank you for your continued dedication to this field and for joining us in advancing innovative, sustainable, science-informed watershed management.
We look forward to a thoughtful and inspiring week together.
Watershed Management Conference Organizing Committee
- Chair: John Ramirez-Avila, Ph.D., HG, Ing., P.H., F.FEWRI, M.ASCE
- Vice Chair: Saurav Kumar, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
- Committee Member: Deva Borah, Ph.D., P.E., F.EWRI, F.ASCE
- Committee Member: Tim Ward, Ph.D., P.E., F.EWRI, F.ASCE
- Committee Member: Glenn Moglen, Ph.D., P.E. F.EWRI, F.ASCE
Environmental & Water Resources Institute of ASCE
Created in 1999, the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) is the recognized leader within ASCE for the integration of technical expertise and public policy in the planning, design, construction, and operation of environmentally sound and sustainable infrastructure impacting air, land and water resources.