Codornices Creek	Cold Creek	Redwood Creek	Laje River

Why take this course?
 River restoration has become big business in the US, with well over $17b spent on over 40 thousand projects since 1990. Despite strong public support and the magnitude of the investment, the field has not advanced as quickly as one might expect, because learning through post-project evaluation is rare, and insights from current research are often not effectively incorporated in planning and design. Not surprisingly, many restoration projects are ecologically ineffective or have washed out, although the extent of failure is hidden by the lack of post project evaluation. River restoration can be more effective when it is designed with an understanding of processes and the larger context, when it benefits from systematic learning from previous built projects, and when it is based on predictive connections between objectives and actions.

 This shortcourse emphasizes sustainable river restoration through:
 - understanding geomorphic and ecological processes in rivers
 - watershed-scale and longer-time scale context
 - incorporating insights from recent research in fluvial geomorphology and ecology
 - developing predictive connections between objectives and actions
 - analyses of effectiveness of built restoration projects
 - strategies to restore (where possible) physical and ecological processes in rivers
 - setting goals in the context of a continuum from urban-to-wilderness settings
 - developing restoration strategies and innovative management approaches based on understanding of underlying causes of channel or ecosystem change, rather than prescriptive approaches
 - knowing when to intervene and when the river can ‘heal itself’ without meddling

The course balances lecture with field observation and discussion.
This course consists of organized lectures, backed by lecture notes, a reference text on measurement and analysis methods in fluvial geomorphology, spreadsheets, and other relevant reading, field trips, exercises, and discussions. The course includes several field trips to rivers and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the nearby Sierra Nevada range, and Truckee River with their spectacular mountain scenery, diverse fluvial environments, and range of human impacts (and their often very visible consequences). The course includes workshops on geomorphic river restoration problems faced by participants, who briefly present the problem for discussion by instructors and colleagues in a workshop format, for discussion and ideas on analytical approaches and resources. The overall content of the course will be similar to the successful offerings of previous years, with adaptations to the new environment that will be updated on the website and in course information as it develops.
 

Photos from 2006 Summer Shortcourse in Lake Tahoe, California:

The course instructors:
Principal instructors:
 Peter Wilcock, Johns Hopkins University: sediment transport, river mechanics
 Matt Kondolf, University of California Berkeley: fluvial geomorphology, post-project appraisals
 Mary Power, University of California at Berkeley: aquatic ecology, food webs
 Jack Schmidt, Utah State University: fluvial geomorphology, managing large western rivers
 Mitch Swanson, Swanson Hydrology/Geomorphology: Trout and Blackwood Creek restorations
 Scott McBain, McBain & Trush: hydraulic engineering, geomorphology, Trinity River restoration

Other instructors:
 Matt Kiesse, River Run Consulting
 Jim Litchfield, Truckee River Foundation
 Tom Taylor, ENTRIX, Inc.
 Chad Gourley, Otis Bay LLC: Truckee River restoration
 Ken Adams, Desert Research Institute: geology, techtonics of Tahoe Region
 Mark Tompkins, University of California Berkeley: civil engineer, environmental planning
 Shannah Anderson, University of California Berkeley: post-project appraisals

Who should take this course?
The course is ideal for anyone responsible for managing and restoring rivers and streams, including those who have previously taken shortcourses in the field, as this course offers insights and approaches unlike those typically taken in many restoration projects today. Practitioners and agency staff responsible for reviewing restoration proposals will benefit from the high caliber of instruction and direct link to current research. This course is a good choice for those seeking an understanding of process-based river restoration in contrast to the form-based projects commonly implemented. And this course is unique in offering the opportunity to learn from such an extensive and growing data set of post-project appraisals of restoration projects, and to learn how to conduct effective post-project monitoring. The number of participants is limited to 28 to provide opportunities for one-on-one instruction.

Course details
 The course fee of $1,980 includes tuition, continuing education credits through UC Riverside Extension, field trip transportation, and course materials, including printed copies of lecture notes, CD with PDF files of additional papers and spreadsheets, and a copy of the reference work Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology. The course fee also includes three meals per day for five days, beginning Sunday dinner through Friday lunch, 12-17 August.

Other Shortcourses Available
Most of the material presented in the 5-day shortcourse is presented by some of the same instructors in two comparable shortcourses, offered in Logan, Utah, and Baltimore, Maryland.  Like the 5-day Sagehen (Tahoe) course, these assume a basic understanding of stream reach characterization.

Ecological and Geomorphic Principles of Stream Restoration
June, 2008 (Date TBA)   Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore
http://www.palmerlab.umd.edu/
(please note - website update coming soon)

River Restoration: Fluvial-Geomorphic and Ecological Processes
June 23-27, 2008 Beaumont du Ventoux, Provence, France
http://institutbeaumont.com/

Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration
July, 2007 (Date TBA)   Utah State University, Logan
http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/

An advanced class is offered in Logan in August.
Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration, Part II (Design Problem)
August 2007 (Date TBA)  Utah State University, Logan, UT
http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/

How These Courses Relate
The 5-day "principles" shortcourses (Ecological and Geomorphic Fundamentals, River Restoration: Fluvial-Geomorphic and Ecological Processes, Principles of Stream Restoration, and Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals) share many of the same instructors, and are designed to cover much the same material, although adapted to the specific environments in which the courses are offered, and the River Restoration coursein Beaumont emphasizes fluvial geomorphic approaches, and includes comparisons of restoration contexts and approaches in Europe and North America.

The advanced 4-day course in sediment transport calculations and channel design includes a full design problem, including hydraulic and sediment transport modeling, site layout, and riparian planting.  It is open to students who have completed any of the 5-day shortcourses (in MD, UT, or CA).

Lodging
Participants can make their own lodging arrangements among a choice of hotels in Truckee (about 10 mi south of Sagehen, near Hwy I-80) or can take advantage of comfortable, inexpensive accommodations on the beautiful grounds of the research station.  Lodging at the field station is $20/night per person, which entitles you to a bunk bed in a cabin with 6-8 beds, and clean, updated bathroom facilities.  You can stay in the bunk bed in the cabin or pitch your tent outside on the station grounds (and use the bunk to store gear if you wish).

Sponsors
Presented by the UC Berkeley Sagehen Field Station.

Registration
Mail the completed registration form to:
Sagehen Crek Field Station
POB 939, 11616 Sagehen Road
Truckee, CA 96160
Attn: Jeff Brown, Station Manager
Tel: 530.587.4830

Note: UPS and US Postal Service are most reliable for shipping to Sagehen.

For questions, please contact river.restoration.shortcourse@gmail.com.