Riparian rehabilitation in agricultural landscapes focusses on reversing degrading processes. On-ground works are undertaken with the assumption these actions will improve ecological function (and related ecosystem services) (Wilson et al 2007), although this has not been well field tested (Gollan 2008, Reich et al 2011). There are also few examples of evaluation of projects from an integrated water resources (IWRM) perspective. This report evaluates a large-scale long term riparian rehabilitation project - Boorowa River Recovery (BRR), based on a six year ecological monitoring program and stakeholder surveys. It was found that on-ground works being completed and maintained, positive trends emerging in terms of ecological response for a number of variables, improvements in water availability in relation to willow removal, and positive responses for native fish.There is significant variability both within, and between sites, and results often did not follow clear patterns. The quality of sites before projects began, and / or the types of works that took place, drought, floods, and pest animals all influenced results, highlighting the complex and long-term nature of ecological improvement, and the importance of ongoing long-term maintenance and monitoring. Governance for BRR was strong, especially the NGO–government–community partnership. Of note was the success of the BRR steering committee, although there was a need for more active engagement by some members, and better recognition of the contribution from others. Human engagement centred on landholders, who had a range of views, and different levels of knowledge. Behavioural change depended on the knowledge platform people were starting from, and took time. Community engagement was facilitated by the history of NRM in the catchment. Areas for improvement included reaching out to the broader community, better understanding non-participation, and greater opportunities for formal knowledge acquisition.Economic outcomes varied depending on the nature of farming systems. Overall, productivity was not negatively impacted, but there was not a significant gain either. Projects were implemented for peace of mind, aesthetics and stock management. Incentives were critical, and BRR provided a boost to local business during long-term drought. Projects of this nature need to embrace complexity and variability, and need to be flexible enough to continually adapt to new people, new ideas and new knowledge.