 Last Saturday, more than thirty Watershed Council members and friends met to hear a presentation from Joe Sybrian about the beaver-analog dams and other woody debris structures that he builds with Swift Water Design in remote mountain locations to restore creek systems. All the participants brought great energy and questions to the presentation and Mary Olswang, of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, contributed a lot of valuable information about salmon recovery and how it relates to creek restoration.
Joe explained how creeks become degraded, with incised banks and loss of vegetation. He showed how woody-debris structures help to slow down and spread out the water, which increases water retention, gravel beds, and new plant growth, bringing the water and land back into balance. After a short coffee-and-snack break, we circled up to share ideas, concerns and questions. The strong interest in some topics motivated all of us to break out into working groups, exchange email addresses, and discuss future plans. These groups focused on: *Salmon Restoration *Fire/Water Land Management *Proposed Asphalt Plant *Public Trust Protection *Pesticide Use Please let us know if you would like your email address to be added to any of these working groups, or if you would like to view a recording of Joe’s talk. - Jean Redus, Co-chair, AGVWC Board of Directors Related Resources (thanks to Dena Allen and Mary Olswang): *Beavers and Wildfire Video *The Beaver Episode *CDFW Fish Bulletin 185: The Use of Low-Tech Process-Based Stream Habitat Restoration *CDFW Fish Bulletin 184: The Use of Large Wood in Stream Habitat Restoration *The Beaver Restoration Guidebook: (Chapter 6 is about BDAs) *Fisheries Grants Restoration Program (FRGP) *The SHaRP report
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 On Sunday January 19, 2025, AGVWC, in collaboration with the Sebastopol Grange, Common Space Community Land Trust, Weaving Earth / Walking Water and The Water Folk, hosted a screening of the documentary Water Is Love: Ripples Of Regeneration followed by a panel discussion. "Water Is Love: Ripples of Regeneration is a poignant documentary that delves into the intricate relationship between communities and their water sources. The film highlights the challenges faced by various communities worldwide in ensuring sustainable water management and showcases inspiring stories of resilience and regeneration. The filmmakers follow a group of young people grappling with the climate crisis while they weave in inspiring stories of regenerative ecosystem design. The film highlights the challenges of water scarcity and the innovative solutions being implemented to ensure water sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of community-driven efforts in water conservation and the ripple effects that could result in climate resiliency.”
After the hour-long documentary, a panel of Jean Redus and David Beck of AGVWC, Justine Epstein of Weaving Earth / Walking Water and Ethan Hirsch-Tauber of The Water Folk spoke to the attendees about the work each of their groups have been doing and answered questions around water issues in our area. We pondered the importance of watershed health for all life and a functioning water cycle, the cycle itself important for climate stability. The attendees shared their water related knowledge and posed the big question, what do we as a community do next to protect and insure water resiliency. As part of the answer to that question, AGVWC is working to continue the community conversation and education as seen at their January 25 Quarterly Meeting (see blog post for the meeting) where attendees learned about the important work beavers can do for stream restoration and working groups formed to address a variety of water issues. (see blog post for groups you may be interested in joining). If you missed the screening of Water Is Love, there are other opportunities to view it. March 22, 2025 is World Water Day and the global release of Water is Love: Ripples of Regeneration. For those of you who missed the Sebastopol screening or wish to invite your friends to view the documentary, we will be sending you more information for this virtual screening by donation as World Water Day Approaches. - Dena Allen, Co-chair, AGVWC Board of Directors
Many times these plans are supported and justified by agencies that are under staffed, but the plans themselves are weak. Speculative developer pressure is intense, and developers always complain about doing important surveys, delay, and fees. Wildlife folks need to learn and be at the table. Resource staff must be supported by the concerned public and funding and advocacy greatly improved.
Speculative development must not continue at the expense of vital and sensitive habitats and corridors especially now as species are scrambling to survive the climate chaos to which poorly planned development has contributed. We had a great tour at the the Husary Olive Mill and Nursery on October 12th! Mousa Husary gave us the full tour of his oil processing equipment, most of which was made in Italy and shipped directly here to Graton. He also showed us how he propagates olive trees, and offered for tasting two different olive oils that were pressed on site last year. By the time we were done, he had walked us through the entire process from starting a baby tree, through caring for an orchard, harvesting fruit, pressing and filtering the oil, and bringing it to the table! We are lucky in this watershed to have local producers of a variety of organic, quality food! Thank you, Mousa, for being so generous with your time, knowledge - and olive oil! - Jean Redus, Co-chair, AGVWC Board of Directors  editing images Watershed Council members and friends met in Ragle Park today to share information about the watershed and to learn more about how to support native bees. Our speakers, Carol Ellis and Kelli Cox, of the Sonoma County Beekeepers Association, were generous with their time and knowledge, answering our overflowing questions about honey bees, native bees, native plant landscaping, and on and on. I learned a lot about the different types of native bees, and left feeling energized and inspired. I also learned how the Sonoma County Beekeepers Association has expanded its original mission to include not only helping people keep honey bees, but also helping to educate people about, and provide habitat for, native bees. What I like best about our gatherings is meeting new environmental champions for the first time. Their enthusiasm and commitment rub off on me. And the connections keep rippling outward with each new person we meet there. (The coffee and pastries are my other favorite thing!) - Jean Redus, Co-chair, AGVWC Board of Directors |
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