European waters are required to achieve good ecological status by 2015, and there are similar goals to restore ecological functions in many US rivers. These goals have motivated an increasing number of projects to restore ecological functions of rivers and streams. To effectively restore rivers requires that we first understand the causes of their degradation, and this requires that we understand human-induced disruptions of fluvial-geomorphic processes that underlie ecological declines in many rivers.
This workshop provides training in fluvial geomorphic tools to assess the status of rivers, to identify on-going trends and their causes, and to develop programs of measures to reverse ecological decline and restore fluvial processes that can create habitats and improve water quality. We cover general principles and case studies from a wide range of environments, with specific applications and field visits to Mediterranean and mountain environments, and rivers where managers have undertaken innovative environmental management and restoration. 
Geomorphic and ecological principles are systematically presented in lectures, discussions, and course readings, complemented by on-site visits to completed restoration projects (on the Ain and Rhône rivers), analysis of monitoring data, demonstration of state-of-the-art GIS and granulometric analyses in the laboratory, and field training in geomorphic and ecological assessment techniques (in the Ouveze River basin). Effects of catchment land-use changes on sediment supply and channel form, and implications for identifying reference reaches and developing restoration measures are illustrated using an excellent data set for Rhone River tributaries, with demonstration of field relations in the Eygues River catchment. Participants then apply geomorphic assessment tools and restoration approaches to a Rhone Valley tributary (the Lez) where flooding problems and ecological degradation are motivating comprehensive channel and floodplain restoration. An urbanized case study (the Yzeron) highlights effects of urban development and illustrates opportunities for improved flood management coupled with ecological restoration.
The workshop draws upon the more extensive experience implementing restoration measures in North America, highlighting programs to restore floodplain connectivity, flow regimes, and sediment loads on rivers in North America (e.g., Colorado, Missouri, Mississippi, Trinity, San Joaquin, Sacramento, and Truckee), emphasizing learning opportunities from completed projects through systematic post-project appraisal, adaptive management, and assessing benefits of river restoration programs. We draw lessons from a recent nationwide assessment of river restoration in the US, and consider essential questions to be addressed in assessing restoration project performance.
Course materials include the reference text Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology (John Wiley & Sons 2003), a CD-rom with over 40 relevant papers and manuals, and printed lecture notes and field trip guides. The workshop is suitable for managers, landscape architects, planners, ecologists, engineers, and members of other professions with interests in river restoration.
Download a printable course announcement here: institutbeaumont-announcement.pdf
