California

This applied workshop featured analyses of contemporary environmental problems in a multidisciplinary fashion. Students were exposed to both environmental science and policy, tackling some of the toughest issues facing California: water resources, multiple downstream demands, and climate change adaptation. By using the Tuolumne River as a case study, students had the opportunity to learn about the history and future of this landmark river in our nation's history.

Students from diverse backgrounds worked in collaborative research teams to collect and analyze field data from the Scott River watershed, a tributary to the Klamath River system. Teams reported on a key ecological issue within the watershed: what characterizes rearing habitat for juvenile Coho salmon in the Scott River watershed and how can this be applied to on-going restoration strategies?

This class was a field-based multidisciplinary study of the ecology, geomorphology and management of rivers in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, with a focus on the Tuolumne River watershed.