Process-based restoration of fluvial systems removes human constraints on nature to promote ecological recovery. By freeing natural processes, a resilient ecosystem may be restored with minimal corrective intervention. However, there is a lack of meaningful design criteria to allow designers to evaluate whether a project is likely to achieve process-based restoration objectives. We describe four design criteria to evaluate a project's potential: the expansion of fluvial process space and connectivity lost because of human alterations, the use of intrinsic natural energy to do the work of restoration, the use of native materials that do not overstabilize project elements, and the explicit incorporation of time and adaptive management into project design to place sites on recovery trajectories as opposed to attempts to “restore” sites via a single intervention. Applications include stream and infrastructure design and low-carbon construction. An example is presented in California's Sierra Nevada foothills.

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We review a 28‐year project to restore a Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus population in a small Oregon watershed. Restoration evolved from eradication and exclusion of nonnative fishes within the boundaries of a national park to stream reconstruction and reconnection of a historical stream network across state and private property. Management of the project evolved from unilateral actions by a single federal agency to collaborative actions by multiple federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private land owners. The project removed nonnative fish from 24 km of one stream by electrofishing and application of chemical piscicide. As a result, Bull Trout abundance and distribution increased from approximately 150 fish occupying 2 km of stream to over 2,000 fish occupying 19 km. Stream restoration included construction of 4 km of stream channel, planting riparian vegetation, fencing to exclude cattle, transfer of water rights to instream use, and facilities to manage fish passage and water withdrawals for irrigation.

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