Geomorph course registration opens

Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals for River and Stream Restoration

Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, California 17-21 August 2009

This five-day introductory course emphasizes understanding geomorphic and ecological process as a sound basis for planning and designing river restoration, covering general principles and case studies from a wide range of environments. The course approaches river restoration from a watershed-scale and longer-time-scale context, incorporating insights from recent research in fluvial geomorphology and ecology, developing predictive connections between objectives and actions, learning from built restoration projects, and developing restoration strategies and innovative management approaches based on understanding of underlying causes of channel or ecosystem change, rather than prescriptive approaches. The course includes field trips to the Truckee River and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and workshops on stream restoration problems faced by participants for discussion and ideas on analytical approaches and resources.

The course, now in its 15th successful year, will be held at Sagehen Creek Field Station, 15 mi north of Lake Tahoe (45 min from Reno airport). The station combines a beautiful natural setting with excellent research and teaching facilities, free wireless internet, and excellent meals. Participants can stay on-site ($20/night) or commute from hotels in Truckee (15 minutes). With on-site lodging, the inclusive price (registration, course materials, text, lodging and all meals for five days, and continuing ed credit from UC) is $2,080.

The course is taught by leading researchers and practitioners in the field, who bring cutting-edge expertise and methods to bear on planning, design, and evaluation of river restoration. Collectively, the instructors have broad experience on rivers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Principal Instructors:

Matt Kondolf, Professor of Environmental Planning and Geography at UC Berkeley, with experience in planning and evaluating river restoration, sediment management in regulated rivers, and habitat needs for spawning by salmon and trout.

Peter Wilcock, Professor of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, authority on sediment transport and integration of fluvial geomorphic analyses in river restoration design and planning, leader of the Stream Restoration program at the National Center of Earth-Surface Dynamics.

Mary Power, Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, well-known for her pioneering work on stream food webs, aquatic ecology, and implications for restoration planning.

Jack Schmidt, Professor of Stream Geomorphology at Utah State, authority on geomorphic changes to rivers of western North America and implications for river restoration planning and prioritization.

Mitch Swanson, president of Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology, has conducted analyses of stream processes and designed successful stream and meadow restoration projects throughout the Lake Tahoe basin.

Scott McBain, principal of McBain and Trush, has led restoration efforts on large and small rivers in California and elsewhere in western North America, including the Trinity, San Joaquin, and Tuolumne.


Other Instructors

Ken Adams, geologist, Desert Research Institute, authority on geologic context of restoration in region

Matt Kiesse, River Run Consultants, design of restoration projects in Tahoe basin

Chad Gourley, Otis Bay Consultants, planning and design of restoration of Truckee River

Jim Litchfield, Fluid Concepts, design of Wingfield Park (Reno0, other whitewater parks

Tom Taylor, fish ecologist, Entrix consultants

Dave Shaw, Balance Hydrologics, Truckee, stream gauging/sediment sampling/surveying

Text and Course Materials

Included in the course fee is the text, Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology (Wiley 2003), lecture notes, and two CDs of spreadsheets for calculating sediment transport and channel dimensions, along with pdfs of relevant papers and reports.

Other Courses in Stream Restoration

Other shortcourses taught by the same instruction team (in various combinations) also emphasize understanding geomorphic and ecological process as a sound basis for planning and designing river restoration. The introductory courses emphasize integration of hydrology, hydraulics, sediment transport, geomorphology, aquatic ecology, fisheries, and riparian ecology, and include field activities in degraded, unimpacted, and reconstructed channels. An advanced course focuses explicitly on geomorphic, sediment transport, and riparian vegetation principles applied to channel design.

Introductory courses offered in 2009:

> Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey, April 27 - May 1

> Cromwell Valley Park near Baltimore, June 1-5

> Logan, Utah, July 13-17

Advanced design course:

> Logan, Utah, August 10-14

Winter use increasing.

With the new snowcat, we're able to keep the station access road open & reach the upper basin more regularly. Winter station use is already beginning to rise dramatically.



We've had a number of classes & groups, including Bay-area school kids, Highlands Institute, DRI hydrology graduate student training & recruiting.

UNR has added mercury-monitoring for streamwater, wet & dry atmospheric deposition.


DRI is adding to our Keck project sensing arrays, including snow pillows, precipitation gauges & much-needed technical support.


The Keck Project & Sagehen researcher Chris Skalka are developing desperately-needed data backsides.

DRI researchers are looking at black carbon collection & migration in the snowpack.