Water Resource Collections and Archives

Overview of River Restoration Studies at UCB

The University of California faculty and students have been actively involved in environmental planning and restoration for nearly four decades. In 1973, Luna Leopold started Hydrology for Planners, a foundation course for environmental planning students pursing restoration studies, and the course has been offered annually since. Over the years, restoration-related courses have been taught by Alex Horne, Kara Nelson, Vince Resh, Adina Merelender, Don Ermin, and Mary Power, and students have pursued river- restoration-related research in programs such as Civil Engineering, Environmental Planning, Environmental Sciences, EPS, ERG, ESPM, Geography, Integrated Biology, and Landscape Architecture.

The Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning has been active in teaching and research related to restoration since the 1960's, with early GIS planning in the Lake Tahoe Basin (which provided the basis for current regulatory and restoration programs). The Department has offered two courses devoted to stream restoration for over a decade. Restoration of Rivers and Streams (LA 227) emphasizes restoration principles, research, and post project appraisal. Ecological Factors in Urban Design (LA 201) is a studio course in which students conduct inventory, analysis, and develop plans and designs for river corridors. In addition, other courses offered across campus, as well as dissertations and theses, offer further opportunity to engage restoration from a range of disciplinary viewpoints.