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

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