During the California floods of January 1995, the nightly news aired dramatic reminders of how human efforts to control rivers have failed -- or worse -- caused even bigger problems. "We created last year's flood damage," says UC Davis geology professor Jeffrey Mount, author of the new book "California Rivers and Streams" (UC Press, 1995). "There's been some local progress, but we haven't learned our lessons, and we have another winter coming with exactly the same odds of a flood happening as last winter." Mount points out that the traditional engineering approaches to flooding and water supply, involving costly levees, channels and dams, conflicts with the natural behavior of rivers. In the long run, Mount says, it's cheaper, safer and more environmentally sound to adapt to a river, than to force it to adapt to us. Mount will host a media river tour, and optional rafting trip, of the South Fork of the American River on Tuesday morning, Oct. 17.