In early August EFICENT and the FRISK GO project did meet deep in the Black Forest with 42 students and their professors from Wisconsin at the Salmon hatchery of Baden Wurttemberg. 

Using the Atlantic Salmon as flag ship for nature conservation, re-construction of natural streams, land use like forestry along rivers and in water catchment areas, we discussed the influence and opportunities of integrating a multitude of objectives in an approach of combining nature conservation with risk management, namely flooding.

During the rest of the day we visited various sites of re-constructed rivers showing a wide variety of measures to mitigate flood risk. The role of forestry as the major land use in the catchment areas of the River Rhine tributary streams in the Black Forest was discussed intensely, comparing and sharing expertise from the States. We also saw newly constructed flood dams, presented the public discussion in local communities around “building walls” and tried to relate these walls to measures one could take in the catchment areas, river beds and natural flooding areas within and through forest management.