Module 1: Welcome and Overview Iowa’s River Restoration Toolbox Level 1 / Base Training

Getting to Know You Introduce instructors and team leaders Participant names, organizations, goals www.iowadnr.gov/riverrestoration

Goals of the River Restoration Toolbox Bridge gaps between stable natural stream systems and engineering practices Offer practical solutions that enrich recreation, aesthetics, ecology, economy Create a system that leads stream restoration and stability projects to be reviewable, biddable, buildable, and reliable Respect needs for infrastructure protection Draw from the best of the various methodologies already being applied “Iowise” it (made Iowan, and wiser, with review by a statewide advisory team)

The Toolbox Offers Consistent / efficient field assessment Computations that visually flag key drivers of instability A decision tool that ranks potential solutions to address key drivers of instability. A practice guide with dozens of techniques that enhance both stability and habitat Peace of mind: Accepted/vetted design range tables and descriptions for applying each technique in Iowa Soft practices, such as floodplain restoration and riparian buffering, with implications for urban planning

Level 1 Short Course Objectives The participant will: Learn field and desktop techniques sufficient to populate Toolbox data collection questionnaire Know river facets, features, stream types, and functions Understand hydrology / hydraulics sufficient to foster communication among project managers, designers, biologists, and reviewers Be able to interpret Toolbox results, with a conceptual understanding of each key driver of instability

Level 1 Short Course Objectives (cont.) The participant will: Learn about alternatives to walls, revetments, dams, etc. Develop comfort with applying techniques to site conditions, and knowing when more study and analysis is needed (i.e. why do you suppose there’s a Level 2?) Understand accepted design ranges of practices / techniques

Level 1 Short Course Limitations The toolbox cannot apply techniques to a site for you Must spend time with each practice and technique to understand dimensions, angles, material sizing, etc. Experience with practices and monitoring yields successively better results