How we stopped worrying and learned to love the flood: Long-term riparian restoration on Lower Cache Creek, Yolo County, CA

Cache Creek is a highly-managed California river undergoing long-term restoration after an intensive land-use history, including mining. The multi-decadal restoration program goal is riparian vegetation recovery, yet 20+ years of observations and modelling has shown that active restoration is severely constrained by abiotic extremes, groundwater variability, invasive species, and a dynamic flow regime (10–30,000+ cfs) including high flows that annually reshape the channel. Embracing these constraints results in a longer restoration timeline and more focus on passive restoration including invasive species control, channel maintenance to protect mature vegetation, and consideration of e-flows combined with strategic planting in “safe sites”.