Selune Valley Revival

Selune Valley Revival!

Dam Removal Europe, European Rivers Network and partners invites you for an amazing international seminar on 24-26 September 2019.

International Seminar on dam removal in France

Read the full report (French) about the seminar here.

Dam Removal Europe and partners invites you to the “Selune Valley revival” International Seminar on dam removal in France. This will be the fifth Dam Removal Europe International Seminar and it will take place on 24-26 of September 2019. It will happen thanks to an amazing French partnership and collaboration of European Rivers Network (ERN), the French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB), the National Federation for Fishing in France (FNPF) and the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA). The main organizer is ERN and you will be able to find more information (also in French) in ERN website. This seminar will be hosted near Mont-Saint-Michel and will feature the Selune Dam removal project. Many other examples from France and abroad will be the basis of inspirational exchanges and debate. The seminar will be 3 days and will take place at 3 different locations.

First day: 24 September

The first day will take place in the town of Rennes, Brittany (with international airport and direct trains from Paris). There will be presentations which will look at the scientific aspects of dam removals and will include presentations of restoration of ecological continuity projects and policy, in France, Scotland, Finland. Also, the scientific program of the Sélune project will be presented including its initial results.

8h : Opening doors – coffee reception
9h : Welcome and opening conference
17h30 : End of the day and transfer by bus to Avranches and dinner near Avranches

9am: Opening

Roberto Epple (European Rivers Network – France): Dam removal in France: history and portrait;
Claire-Cécile Garnier (Ministère de l’écologie – France): French legislation « ecological continuity »;
Pao Fernández Garrido (World Fish Migration Foundation – Spain): Portrait of a new European movement of opening up swimways in rivers;

10:20am : Break

Françis Hayes (Scottish Environment Protection Agency – Scotland, UK): Water Environmental Fund for river restoration;
Ollikainen Hanna, Sampsa Vilhunen (South Karelian Foundation for Recreation Areas, WWF Finland): The largest dam removal in Finland, River Hiitolanjoki, paving the way for new era in river restoration;
Nina Richard (CETU Elmis Ingénieries, Université de Tours – France): Maisons-Rouges removal on the Vienne river, 20 years later: monitoring sedimentary dynamics, habitats and fauna and flora;
Gordon Grant (Forest Service, PNW Research Station- USA): Lessons learned about the physical and aquatic response of rivers to dam removal;

12:10am : Lunch

Gilles Berrée (Direction Départementale des Territoire et de la Mer de la Manche – France): Selune dams removals operation;
Stéphane Fraisse (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique- France): The Sélune Research Program;
Marie-Anne Germaine (Université Paris Ouest Nanterre – France): Is the removal of the Selune dams also a failure? Social approach to ecological restoration;

2:45pm: Break

Alain Crave, Ophélie Fovet, Anne-Julia Rollet, Candide Lissak (Université de Caen, INRA, Université Rennes, CNRS – France): Hydro-sedimentary, biogeochemical and geomorphological characterization and dynamics of the Sélune River;
Claudine Thenail, Audrey Alignier, Simon Dufour, Ivan Bernez (INRA, Université Rennes – France): Landscapes and regions of the Sélune Valley (Séripage project): design of an observatory device and pre-dismantling inventory (2015-2018)
Christophe Piscart, Jean-Marc Roussel and Eric Petit (CNRS, INRA – France): Biocenoses of the Sélune, functioning and evolution
Discussion

5:30pm: End

(At the end of the day we transfer by bus from Rennes to Avranches. Book your hotel in Avranches – see recommended hotel, in practical info section)

Second Day: 25 September

The second day will take place in Avranches, Normandy. It is 85km away from Rennes (attendees will be escorted there by bus).

The main themes of this second day will be restoration issues for a general interest audience and for the territory (general economy, fisheries, local population…). The sharing of experiences from France, Denmark, USA, South Corea… dam removal projects to inspire local debate.

Program

8h : Opening doors – coffee reception
9h : Welcome and opening conference
17h30 : End of the day and transfer by bus to Mont-Saint-Michel for the evening

9am : Opening

Gilles Traimond (Sous Prefecture d’Avranches): Welcome
Jean-Paul Doron (Fédération Nationale de la Pêche en France): Associative organisation for recreational fishing and river continuity;
Aurélie Jouée et Erick Goupil (SAGE Selune et Communauté d’agglomération du Mont Saint-Michel Normandie – France): Selune Valley revival;
Pablo Rault (INRA- France): Selune Observatory;
Jenny Shin (Korean Federation of Environmental Movement – South Korea): Korea’s Dam Removal Campaign, Restoration of Four Major Rivers;
Discussion

11am : Break

Jean Allardi (Association Internationale de défense du saumon Atlantique): Creation of values by the return of the salmon in a free valley;
Samuel Jouon (Lannion-Trégor Communauté- France): Screening the movie River basin “Léguer Valley” : Reclaiming the river;

12:20am : Lunch

Joshua Royte (The Nature Conservancy- USA): Ecological and social impacts of dam removals on the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers, Maine;
Olivier Fauriel et Stéphane Le Villain (Agence Française pour la biodiversité et Agence de l’Eau Seine Normandie – France): Restoration of ecological continuity in Orne river, benefits and biological response;
Kim Birnie-Gauvin, (Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark): Barrier removal and river restoration: benefitting fish, people and the economy;

3:00pm : Break

Beth Lambert, (Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, USA): The economic impacts of ecological restoration and dam removal in Massachusetts
Christopher Grzesiok, Paul Herickx (Environment Agency – England, UK) : Dove Cliff Weir Removal: River Restoration or Heritage Vandalism;
Mathieu Georgeon (Fédération du Pas de Calais pour la pêche et la protection du milieu aquatique – France): Restoration of the La Hem river basin in the Nord Pas de Calais
Discussion

5:30pm : End

(Book your hotel in Avranches – see recommended hotel, in practical info section)

Third day: 26 September

The third day will be the fieldtrip, where attendees will be taken to the Selune Valley, tocheck the dam removal works of the Vezins Dam.

8h30 : Departure from the Salle Victor Hugo (bus stop in front of hotels – see practical information, shuttle tab)

Back to Rennes train station at 2 pm and 4.30pm.

During this event you are also encouraged to participate

September 23rd from 8:30 pm to 10:30pm in Rennes: Public conference for the International Year of the Salmon organised by Bretagne Grands Migrateurs (Location : Maison des associations in Rennes) – conference in French

September 24th at 8 pm: Dinner organized for the participants of the conference (Restaurant le 13 Assiettes).

September 25th at 6pm: Visit to the dam in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel including a free visit to the Mont itself.

Registration

Rates and options according to the number of days selected. Minimum 2 days registration. For any question please contact Corinne Ronot (ERN) at Email: corinne.ronot@rivernet.org

These are fixed rates. Activities included: Lunch, coffee/tea breaks, according to selected days, the transfers by bus (Rennes – Avranches), shuttles to hotels and Mont St Michel, dinner on the 24th of September.

Hotel reservations are the responsibility of the participants. (See a list of hotel recommendations below)

Practical information

Conference rooms:

24th of September: “Couvent des Jacobins – Centre des Congrès de Rennes Métropole”, 20 Place Sainte-Anne, 35000 Rennes view location map, From the station, you can reach the location by subway 7-minutes or a 20-minutes’ walk.

25th of September: “Salle Victor Hugo d’Avranches”, place Carnot, 50300 Avranches view location map A shuttle will be organized between some hotels and the Victor Hugo conference venue: reference to times and stops in the “Shuttle” section. Transfer between Rennes and Avranches will be provided: see section “Shuttle”.

26th of September: Sélune fieldtrip: Bus from the Victor Hugo conference venue – hotel stops (see timetable and stops in the section “Shuttle”) – and return to the Rennes train station (via Avranches).

Traveling to Rennes

TGV train

Take the metro or RER in Paris to go to “Gare Montparnasse” Station.
Departing from “Gare Montparnasse”, the TGV train journey to Rennes is one and a quarter hours. there are 41 connections/day, a train leaves every half hour or so.

By plane

Rennes is 1 hour from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
Rennes airport is 20 minutes away from the city center (by bus number 57 – see bus stop map, train or by cab). Rennes airport – national flights: daily direct flights from the main French cities (Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Nice, Lyon). Rennes airport – international flights: many connections are available (1h30) from any number of major European cities (London, Southampton, Birmingham, Exeter, Manchester, Dublin, Cork, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rome …)

By car

By road, Rennes is 3.5 hours from Paris via the A11 and A81.
Rennes, the Breton capital is also 55 minutes from Avranches and a little more than 1 hour from Mont-Saint-Michel. · Think about carpooling: ask for the list of participants (by city of departure) or propose / search a carpooling trip

Traveling to Avranches

With the conference shuttle

A special conference shuttle will be chartered to run between Rennes and Avranches on September 24th 17:30. Departure in front of the convent of the Jacobins. The return to Rennes has also been organized for the afternoon of the 26th (see tab “Shuttle conference”).

By car

By road, Avranches is 30 minutes from Mont Saint Michel, 55 minutes from Rennes and 1 hour from Caen.
Think about carpooling: ask for the list of participants (by city of departure) or propose / search a carpooling trip

By train

Avranches has a train station with connections to Rennes and Caen

HOTELS

Please, book through email or phone call and make sure you give the code “colloque DRE”, because if not they might not give you any room!

Hotels in Rennes

If you arrive on September 23rd to Rennes, the eve of the conference, you may need book accommodation in:

Hôtel Lanjuinais : prox station, 10 min walk from Jacobins Convent (rooms from 55 €), Telephone: (+33) 02 99 79 02 03
Hôtel Sevigne : prox station, 10 min walk from Jacobins Convent (rooms from 82 €), Telephone: (+33) 02 99 67 27 55

Many other offers are available online.

Hotels in Avranches

For the night of September 24th and 25th we have blocked rooms in the following hotels, available until August 1st. Please book by email or phone using the code “colloque DRE”

N.B: A shuttle will pick up and bring people to and from the following hotels: see “Shuttle” section for dates and times.

Hôtel Patton: located in the center of Avranches, 10 minutes’ walk from Victor Hugo venue (room between 59 and 72 €). Telephone: (+33) 02 33 48 52 52. Email: hotelpatton@orange.fr
· Hôtel Ibis Avranches Baie du Mont Saint Michel: located outsided Avranches, 7 min by bus from the Victor Hugo venue (room 84 €). Telephone: (+33) 02 33 89 64 89. Email: h0882-re@accor.com
Hôtel le 13 assiettes: located outside Avranches, 7 min by bus from Victor Hugo venue (room 59 €). Telephone: (+33) 02 33 89 03 03. Email: contact@les13assiettes.com
Auberge de la Sélune: located outside Avranches, 10 min by bus from Victor Hugo venue(room 59 €). Telephone: (+33) 02 33 48 53 62. Email: info@selune.com

Other hotels (no shuttle service and booking code):

Hôtel de la croix d’or : located in the center of Avranches next to Hotel Patton (room from 87 €). Telephone: (+33) 02 33 58 04 88
Hôtel Formule 1: located next to Hotel IBIS (room from 32 €)

SHUTTLES

24th of September

Shuttle Rennes – Avranches: Departure 5:50 pm from the Convent of the Jacobins (Rennes) >> Avranches: stop at the Hotel le 13 assiettes, Auberge de la Sélune, Hotel Ibis, Hotel Patton
Shuttle hotels – Dinner on Tuesday evening (diner in Hotel 13 assiettes) : Departure 7:45pm Hotel Patton, 8 pm Hotel IBIS, 7:45 pm Auberge de la Sélune
Return shuttle restaurant -hotels
- Departure at 9:45 pm from the restaurant (stop Hôtel Ibis, Hotel Patton,Auberge de la Sélune)
- Departure at 10.30 pm from the restaurant (stop Hotel Ibis, Hotel Patton, Auberge de la Sélune)

25th of September

Shuttle Hotels – Room Victor Hugo: Departure 8:00 am Auberge de la Sélune, 8:15am Hotel le 13 assiettes, 8:25am Hotel Ibis. Be careful this shuttle does not stop at the Patton Hotel!
Returns to Rennes and hotels on 25 September will be organized by carpooling and minibus (please register)
Shuttle Room Victor Hugo – Mont Saint Michel: Departure 6pm from the Victor Hugo Room (no stop at the hotels)
Return shuttle hotels from Mont Saint Michel: Departure from Mont Saint Michel at 10:30pm (stop Hotel le 13 assiettes, Hotel IBIS, Hotel Patton, Auberge de la Sélune)

26th of September

Bus Sélune fieldtrip : Departure 8:30 am Victor Hugo Room, 8:40 am Ibis Hotel, 8h45 am Hotel le 13 assiettes, 8h55 am Auberge de la Sélune. Be careful this shuttle does not pass by the Patton Hotel!
Shuttle la Mazure – Rennes (via Avranches)
- Departure 12:00 am from the Mazure, 12:30am Avranches (Victor Hugo room), 2:00pm Rennes (train station)
- Departure 2:30pm from the Mazure, 3:00pm Avranches (room Victor Hugo), 4:30 pm Rennes (train station)

For any question please contact Corinne Ronot (ERN) at Email: corinne.ronot@rivernet.org Telephone: (+33) 0621844793

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