Overview

​This 2-day course is a hands-on, field based course focused on in-the-field implementation of cheap and cheerful stream restoration. We will cover the principles behind cheap and cheerful restoration and spend most of our time in the field building and maintaining Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) and Post-Assisted Log-Structures (PALS). This course is designed for individuals/groups that are responsible for implementing the restoration designs of more experienced practitioners. We will focus on interpreting and understanding restoration design through applied understanding of basic cheap and cheerful principles and focus on logistic considerations and construction methods of a variety of restoration structures.

​There are thousands of miles of degraded streams and rivers across the United States. In order to address the scale of degradation of our streams and rivers we need approaches to restoration that can be applied over large areas and for lower costs than traditional, engineering-based approaches. This workshop focuses on two ‘cheap and cheerful’ stream restoration structures, BDAs and PALS. 

View the 2018 workshop flyer!

Target Audience

This workshop is intended for individuals who are responsible for building and constructing cheap and cheerful restoration projects that utilize a variety of BDA and PALS (e.g. Conservation Corps Crews, Construction Leads, Etc.). This class does not cover planning and design.​

instructors

Scott Shahverdian will lead this workhsop. Scott has a wealth of experience designing, planning, building and coordinating construction of such structures.

Joe Wheaton

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PRimary learning outcomes

This course is intended for individuals who will be responsible for the on-the-ground implementation of cheap and cheerful stream restoration projects. Participants will come away with:

• An appreciation of the complex feedbacks between beaver dams and large woody debris (LWD) and hydrogeomorphic processes, riparian vegetation, and fish ecology
• An understanding of how different types of BDAs and PALS can be designed to achieve a range of different restoration goals
• An ability to interpret and implement restoration designs for a variety of BDAs and PALS
• The ability to make in-the-field decisions regarding BDA and PALS construction grounded in scientific understanding of cheap and cheerful restoration principles
• First-hand experience building a range of BDAs and PALS to accomplish multiple restoration objectives.

Meeting time and place

This course will meet at the Fluvial Habitat Center, Utah State University, Logan Utah.
First day will begin at 9 am, April 23. Day 2 will begin at 9 am and will be in the field.

Registration

Use the link below to register and pay for the course! Cost is $375 per person that pays for instruction, transportation and field materials. The price also includes 1 Continuing Education Unit (USU maintains a transcript for you), which can count as elective credit towards our new Graduate Certificate in Restoration.

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