Sagehen Courses...

Codornices Creek	Cold Creek	Redwood Creek

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.

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.

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.

Syllabus for 2008 course [Word doc - 28KB].
 

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.: fisheries biology
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

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, August 16-21, 2009.

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 $30/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).

Registration.

Mail the completed registration form [Word doc - 32KB] to:

Sagehen Creek Field Station
P.O. Box 939 / 11616 Sagehen Road
Truckee, CA 96160
Attn: Jeff Brown, Station Manager
Tel: 530-587-4830
E-mail: sagehen@berkeley.edu

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

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

Other Shortcourses Available from this Group.

Most of the material presented in the 5-day Sagehen 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.

• River and Stream Restoration: Geomorphic and Ecological Processes, Duke Farms, New Jersey, April - 01 May 2009
• Institute Beaumont: River Restoration Fluvial-Geomorphic & Ecological Processes, Beaumont de Ventoux, Provence, France 14-19 June 2009
• Ecological and Geomorphic Principles in Stream Restoration, Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore, Maryland, (Dates TBA, June 2009).
• Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration, Part I, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, (Dates TBA, July 2009).
• Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration, Part II (Design Problem), Utah State University, Logan, Utah, Dates, TBA August 2009).
• Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals for River and Stream Restoration, Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, Calif, 16-21 August 2009

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; the River Restoration course in 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, CA, or Provence).