January 2026 Meeting of the Chapter

Environmental restoration in degraded and dynamic landscapes is inherently uncertain, combining ecological variability, regulatory complexity, and significant capital investment. The Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) project illustrates how large-scale restoration can be delivered as critical infrastructure in a high-risk environment, requiring disciplined program management, adaptive design, and coordinated governance. This presentation examines the transition from conceptual planning to construction and operations for the SCH, a multi-thousand-acre restoration initiative designed to deliver ecological function, dust suppression, and habitat connectivity. Key topics include risk-based planning and phased implementation under evolving environmental conditions; integration of ecological objectives into engineering design and construction sequencing; management of regulatory and stakeholder risk through early and sustained engagement with tribal nations, landowners, and partner agencies; and financial controls used to manage and deploy hundreds of millions of dollars in public investment. The presentation highlights how uncertainty was actively managed, and not avoided, through adaptive management frameworks, performance-based monitoring, and alternative delivery methods that improved schedule certainty and cost control. By focusing on implementation, this presentation offers transferable lessons for practitioners tasked with delivering complex, high-risk restoration projects where ecological outcomes, infrastructure performance, and public accountability must be achieved simultaneously.

Mr. Vivien Maisonneuve is a senior water resources program manager with over 15 years of experience delivering complex, multi-disciplinary environmental and water infrastructure projects on a statewide scale. At the California Department of Water Resources, Vivien leads planning, design, permitting, and construction of large, multi-benefit restoration initiatives, including California’s largest environmental restoration program at the Salton Sea. Vivien has overseen projects exceeding $400 million in capital value, implemented alternative delivery methods such as design-build and progressive design-build to accelerate schedules, and managed matrixed teams of engineers, scientists, planners, and legal staff. With deep expertise in regulatory compliance (CEQA/NEPA), funding strategy, risk management, and stakeholder coordination, Vivien specializes in translating scientific and engineering objectives into constructible, permittable, and fundable projects. Vivien holds graduate degrees in marine biology and aquatic systems and brings a systems-based approach to integrating ecological performance, infrastructure resilience, and long-term operations.