Faced with these failures, those working in fisheries enhancement were forced to turn toward watershed restoration. In doing so over the past few decades, they developed an integrated, or systems, view of creeks and rivers. O nce the goal of restoring a stream system, rather than a fish population, is shouldered, the complex nature of stream systems reveals itself. A stream system is more than the sum of its parts, so restoring missing parts is an incomplete solution. The system incorporates the stream's water and streambed, its watershed, plant, and animal inhabitants, the physical and biological processes by which they all interact, its history and future, and even global processes such as tectonics and climate change.
Processes are major, if less tangible, features of a stream system.
Artificially stabilizing meanders does not suffice. The meanders must be free to traverse the flood plain slowly. Simply put, the stream must be brought back to a state where it produces its own missing parts. The most basic processes of a stream system are the cyclical changes in its water flow. These flow cycles are the most important aspect of the long-term health of a stream and are, unfortunately, the most threatening to the personal property of those inhabiting the flood plain.