ORAL PRESENTER TITLE: Floodplain-related regulatory challenges and opportunities for wetland and hydrologic restoration in Wisconsin ABSTRACT: Wetland restoration, stream restoration, and other hydrologic and watershed enhancement projects often involve work in a mapped floodplain. There are numerous federal, state, and local regulations that affect and may limit physical changes to and construction work in a mapped floodplain. In some cases, floodplain characteristics and floodplain rules may create major challenges to implementing a project, even if the proposed project has numerous ecological, environmental, and social benefits. In other cases, floodplain impacts would be negligible or limited and could be easily identified and addressed. I will provide an overview of Wisconsin and federal floodplain regulations that are most likely to affect wetland restoration, hydrologic restoration, and similar projects. I will explain floodplain map zones such as the floodway, flood fringe, flood storage areas, and Zone A approximate floodplains. I will summarize common regulatory submittals such as a floodplain hydrologic/hydraulic study, CLOMR, LOMR, and no-rise certifications. I'll discuss how floodplain-related regulations may affect restoration activities such as ditch plugs, ditch fills, berming, wetland scrapes, land reshaping, and culvert modifications. Examples will illustrate how to navigate these regulations to minimize impacts on project effectiveness, cost, and schedule. BIO: Aaron Volkening is a water resources engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the use of hydrologic and hydraulic analysis to provide insight on environmental and ecological restoration and protection projects. Areas of practice include floodplain management, wetland restoration, watershed planning, and stormwater management. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Wisconsin.