LOW - TECH Process-based Restoration of RIVERSCAPES | DESIGN MANUAL
Topics: How to do River Restoration, River restoration in general,
Regions: Greater Europe, Published: 18-04-2025 , ISBN: Utah State University Restoration Consortium, Department Watershed Sciences'5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-5210 , Authors: Edittors: Joseph M. Wheaton, Stephen N. Bennet, Nicolaas Bouwes, Jeremy D. Maestas & Scott M. Shaverdian Contributers: Stephen N. Bennet, Nicolaas Bouwes, Reid Camp, Christopher E. Jordan, William W. Macfarlane, Jeremy D. Maestas, Elijah Portugal, Scott Shahverdian, Nichoilas Weber, & Joseph M. Wheaton Graphical & Production Editor: Adrea Wheaton, Graphic Designer, Anabranch Solutions, Logan, UT
Importantly, the manual conveys underlying principles guiding use of low-tech tools in process-based restoration in systems impaired by insufficient structural complexity. Although intended to be simple, low-tech restoration still requires some basic understanding of watershed context, riverscape behavior and channel evolution, and careful planning. The manual provides interested practitioners with sufficient conceptual and applied information on planning, design, permitting, construction and adaptive management to get started, as well as references to additional information and resources. Detailed design and construction guidance is provided on two effective low-tech tools: 1) beaver dam analogues (BDAs) for mimicking beaver dam activity, and 2) post-assisted log structures (PALS) for mimicking wood accumulation in riverscapes. Throughout the manual, readers are reminded that the structures themselves are not the solution, but rather a means to initiate specific, desirable processes. Ultimately, embracing the design principles will help practitioners better understand the ‘why’ behind structural interventions and allow for more efficient and effective riverscape restoration.
The purpose of this design manual is to provide restoration practitioners with guidelines for implementing a subset of low-tech tools—namely post-assisted log structures (PALS) and beaver dam analogues (BDAs)—for initiating processbased restoration in structurally-starved riverscapes. While the concept of process-based restoration in riverscapes has been advocated for at least two decades, details and specific examples on how to implement it remain sparse. Here, we describe ‘low-tech process-based restoration’ as a practice of using simple, low unit-cost, structural additions (e.g., wood and beaver dams) to riverscapes to mimic functions and initiate specific processes. Hallmarks of this approach include:
• An explicit focus on the processes that a low-tech restoration intervention is meant to promote
• A conscious effort to use cost-effective, low-tech treatments (e.g., hand-built, natural materials, nonengineered, short-term design life-spans)
• ‘Letting the system do the work’, which defers critical decision making to riverscapes and nature’s ecosystem engineers