Mailing Address: PO Box 11526 Santa Rosa, Ca 95406
Location: 970 Piner Road Santa Rosa
Phone (707)569-1448 Fax (707) 569-0434 Email us
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Sotoyome Resource Conservation District page 4 |
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ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 |
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Russian River Watershed Projects Invasive Species Removal and Native Species Re-Vegetation Projects: The objective of this type of project is to improve riparian habitat by removing non-native riparian vegetation and re-vegetating the barren area with native plants. Some of the non-native species that are targeted for removal are arundo donax, ivy, vinca, tamarisk and blackberries from creek corridors. These areas are then re-vegetated with native species such as willow, cottonwood, alders, redwood. The goal of these projects is to improve riparian habitat by reestablishing native species that can support wildlife, increase bank and upslope stability and reduce erosion. This past year invasive species removal and re-vegetation projects were completed along Fife, Hulbert, Maacama, Morrison and Parsons Creeks Parsons & Morrison Creeks Ground Water Monitoring and Willow Re-Vegetation Trials Project: The lower portion of Parsons Creek, where the stream courses across the floodplain of the Russian River, has little vegetation in many areas and in the areas where there is vegetation much of it is non-native – mostly arundo donax and tamarisk. This project had three main objectives: 1) improve riparian habitat by removing non-native riparian vegetation, 2) perform a study to determine if groundwater levels were a limiting factor in the lack of vegetation along the lower portion of Parsons Creek, and 3) to perform a native species (willow sprigs) re-vegetation trial to determine where it is best re-plant in the mostly barren areas. This project will be completed in the upcoming year and a report on this study will be issued. Outreach and Education Efforts Watershed Stewardship Workshop: This workshop was a watershed planning and management workshop designed specifically to enhance communication and cooperation in dealing with natural resource management. It focused on land stewardship concepts; reaching consensus, community goal development, and watershed plan implementation and was held to help train individuals in watershed stewardship leadership roles. The training included two full days of hands-on workshops in land stewardship concepts, watershed planning and management and watershed dynamics. Roads Workshop: The workshop introduced roads related issues and discussion of roads as a major source of sediments in creeks and how they can change drainage patterns so that they negatively affect water quality and fisheries habitat. Participants walked a road were an assessment was complete and half of the sites had been repaired giving the opportunity to compare before and after implementation. Invasive Plant Workshop: The workshop focused on educating landowners in the lower Russian River on how to manage their property to maximize native plants and habitats. It offered participants land management methods for slopes, creeks and river or creek side areas to remove non-native plants while protecting existing natives and/or re-vegetating with native plants. Attendee participated in identifying non-natives in the field. Erosion Control Workshop For Grape Growers: This hands on demonstration workshop was offered twice last winter. Grape growers from throughout the Russian River attended to learn the application of both routine winterization & erosion avoidance measures and emergency erosion control practices in vineyards. Common wet winter problems such as rilling on hillsides and vineyard roads, gully formation; slope slippage and drainage system problems were discussed. A demonstration was performed of how to evaluate the cause of the problem and how to properly install the control methods for the problem. Some of the projects funded for this upcoming year include:
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Presented by the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation
District
and funded by a grant from the Department of Conservation
