The Truckee River is in the spotlight at a conference this week for the nation's flood managers at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks.

About 1,300 floodplain managers and staff are attending classes and field trips to study local flood control efforts, said Diane Brown, conference director for the Association of Flood Plain Managers.

"We are highlighting a 'living river' approach to flood control," Brown said. "This approach considers all aspects of the river, so it preserves and sustains our environment for generations to come."

The $800 million Truckee River Flood Control Project utilizes this approach, aiming to restore the river to a more natural state by blending needed flood control with recreational access and conservation. It is a collaborative project among the three local governments, the University of Nevada, Reno, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Pyramid Lake Paiutes and environmental, water quality, flood control and recreation representatives.

"We're starting to see that people are looking at all the options that are out there in seeking the best use of a floodplain, and in many cases they are the multi-use and multi-functional projects," said George Reidel, deputy executive director of the Association of Floodplain Managers.

Brown explained that the key buzz words for this conference are “flood mitigation” and “residual risk management.”

"What you do to protect your own property — whether it be a resident, business owner, federal, state or local agency — flood loss reduction efforts should not affect your neighbors downstream," Brown said.

Reidel acknowledged the challenge of facing a weak economy while trying to promote important flood control projects nationwide.

"It's not going to be easy, but people are beginning to understand that these types of projects are worthwhile," Reidel said.

The 32nd annual conference was one opportunity for certified floodplain managers from public agencies, federal state and local officials to take continuing education courses needed to maintain their certification.

The convention included about 80 exhibits featuring information from government agencies, as well as companies offering information, engineering and planning services and materials.