AGENDA

This agenda is for the 2025 shortcourse. Check back for the updated 2026 agenda.

GEOMORPHIC & ECOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALS FOR RIVER RESTORATION
August 18-22, 2025 Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, California

Monday
8h Welcome, overview of shortcourse, Sagehen Ck introduction (Kondolf, Wilcock)
8h45 Channel processes, patterns & forms, floodplains, vegetation interactions (Kondolf)
10h00 Break
10h30 Alluvial sediment. Types of sediment problems, grain entrainment and benthos adaptation,
frequency and distribution of disturbance (Wilcock)
11h30 Organisms in fluvial environments. Natural history, population biology, flow regime
adaptation. (Limm)
12h30 Lunch (Be dressed for the field by the end of lunch)
13h30 Channel adjustments & sustainable sediment management; alluvial water table and riparian
vegetation (Kondolf)
14h30 Sagehen Creek: Habitat mapping, meadow transect (Limm, Kondolf) (Sagehen Ck below
main camp) Small groups prepare meadow transect and riparian/channel feature/habitat map
16h30 Downtime
17h Participant introductions, (classroom, refreshments)
18h Native American cultural resource protection for restoration projects (Scher)
19h Dinner


Tuesday
8h Controls on ecosystem function. River food webs and ecosystem services (Limm)
9h Hydrology and hydraulics, estimating transport rates and their uncertainty. Flood frequency &
flow duration, estimating critical discharge, sediment transport, uncertainty (Wilcock)
10h15 Break
10h45 Restoring mining-impacted rivers (Monahan)
11h45 Stream table demonstration concurrent with lunch (Zalduondo, Monahan) Groups of appx
10-12 rotate through for 20min each. (Be dressed for the field by the end of lunch)
13h Floodplain overview and re-connection (Tompkins)
14h Sagehen Creek: Monitoring bed conditions. (Sagehen Ck below main camp) Flow msmt,
sediment sampling (Shaw). Bed material mapping & sampling (Wilcock, Limm, Kondolf, Shaw)
16h Pebbles & Cheer: Analyze data from field, sediment transport spreadsheet exercise.
Calculate frequency of floods, sediment disturbance & transport (classroom, refreshments)
17h Meadow hydrology & restoration (Shaw, Natali), Wednesday field trip preview (classroom)
18h Channel classification, stable channel paradigm vs restoring process (Kondolf)(classroom)
19h Dinner

Wednesday
(prepare bag lunch during breakfast)
8h Incorporating sediment transport in channel design. Equilibrium vs performance-based channel
design. (Wilcock)
9h30 Process-based restoration – overview (Kondolf)
10h Depart on field Trip to the Truckee River basin (Kondolf, Wilcock, Sega, Shaw, Natali):
Truckee River Gorge: human alterations and restoration strategies (Sega); Perazzo Meadows: pond
& plug restoration (Shaw, Natali) (Board vans/cars for field trip in parking area above kitchen)
16h30 Return to station. Downtime
17h30 Optional discussion of observations from day’s field trip (classroom, refreshments)
18h Overview of stream restoration in the Lake Tahoe basin, preview of Thursday’s field trip
(Swanson and others)(classroom)
19h Dinner


Thursday
06h45 Early breakfast (prepare bag lunch during breakfast)
07h45 Early departure on field trip to Upper Truckee River and Lake Tahoe basin: Cookhouse
Meadow (Swanson), Upper Truckee River (Swanson, Schurr), Truckee River Marsh, Meeks Ck,
Blackwood Ck (Swanson, Schurr, Carroll, Kondolf, Wilcock) (Board vans for field trip in parking
area above kitchen, Optional: bring swim suit for Lake Tahoe at Meeks Ck)
18h Return to station. Downtime. Optional discussion of observations from field trip. (dining
area, refreshments)
19h Dinner


Friday
8h Student workshop, Part 1: Participants present problems faced in their work for discussion.
(McBain, Wilcock, Swanson, Monahan, DeCesare, Kondolf)
9h45 Break
10h Trinity River Restoration Program and geomorphic studies: large-scale restoration at the
program scale, geomorphic flow basis & application (tracer rocks, riparian scour, sediment
transport, release hydrographs). (McBain)
12h Lunch (pack up during lunch hour)
13h River restoration and widening: European experiences (DeCesare)
14h Student workshop, Part 2: Participants present problems faced in their work for discussion.
(McBain, Wilcock, Monahan, DeCesare, Kondolf)
16h Course conclusion, depart Sagehen (Reno airport shuttle departs at 15h)