North coast tour reveals grim outlook for forest health

On Tuesday, June 26, I hosted a North Coast Forest Tour. I was joined by Board of Supervisors Chair James Gore, representatives of local environmental nonprofits, state and county agency staff and Cal Fire leadership. Registered Professional Forester and Sustainable Forestry Berkeley grad Matt Greene led the tour. Environmentalist forester Fred Euphrat and Brook Edwards (Jenner Headlands Preserve Manager) shared their expertise and knowledge, as well. We were there to assess the state of the North Coast Forest, to learn about sustainable forestry management practices and to talk about how we could work together to improve forest health and reduce fire risk to our rural communities.

When it comes to our local forests, the news is grim. Even longtime forest managers have been personally emotionally affected by the amount of tree mortality they’ve seen over the past year. In Russian Gulch, we witnessed 75 percent tanoak mortality due to Sudden Oak Death — and that dramatic 75 percent mortality became apparent over the past three months. Trees that died this year had been infected last year. With a warm, wet spring, foresters fear that next year, mortality in the area will approach 100 percent.

Fort Ross State Park is another site of widespread Sudden Oak Death. On Fort Ross Road, we stood in a parking lot surrounded by forest that had been reduced to pale skeletons strung with brittle, ivory leaves. (We didn’t linger long — these trees also represent a serious safety hazard, and could fall at any moment.) The loss of tanoak means the loss of a foundational food supply for many local wildlife species. Across the U.S., acorns feed more than 100 vertebrate species. In Sonoma County, tanoak acorns provide food for local birds, squirrels, rabbits and deer — which in turn provide food for local predators such as bobcat, mountain lions and coyote. Tanoaks are also critical to stream ecology. In short, the sudden and dramatic loss of tanoak trees threatens the stability of our coastal ecosystems.

Looking at our coastal conifers, they’re not faring much better. Coastal pines are falling victim to Pitch Pine Canker and pine borer beetles. Bishop Pine, a fire-dependent species, is also dying due to lack of fire. (The species requires fire to reproduce, and fire suppression has meant that no new pine trees are growing.) Dramatic pine mortality can be witnessed at Fisk Cove and Gerstle Cove. Euphrat, a professor who teaches sustainable forestry, noted that he takes his students to Gerstle Cove to show them an example of decomposing pine forest — and a site where campgrounds have been closed due to falling trees. He requires his students to wear hardhats when visiting.

But there is some good news. In Sonoma County, there’s a strong desire to address some of these challenges. While we cannot prevent sudden oak death, we can work across state, local and federal agencies — in partnership with local non-profit organizations — to manage the dead trees, reduce fuel loading and consider replanting opportunities. For the past six months, I’ve been working on bringing together state and local partners to secure funding to run a holistic assessment of our forests and develop a plan to reduce fire risk and improve forest health. We don’t yet have the money in hand, but we’re not giving up until we do. 

And in the meantime, we have submitted a grant application to fund an effort to remove dead trees from roadsides in west and north county. This would help to create shaded fuel breaks that could assist our local firefighters in protecting communities from wildfire, and it would also reduce the number of trees falling across the roads in winter storms.

Burbank Housing provides 79 new affordable housing units

On Friday, June 15, we celebrated the completion of the Crossroads Apartments, a 79-unit, multifamily rental development serving Sonoma County households earning 60 percent or less of area median income. This is the first affordable, multifamily housing community in Roseland as well as the first housing development of large scale since the October wildfires. I'm proud of Burbank Housing's hard work and dedication to serving our community. The partnership between the county and the city of Santa Rosa has enabled families in need to find affordable, secure housing. Congratulations to everyone who worked on this project. Let's keep the momentum going!

Bird Rescue Center needs new home

Our birds need help! The Bird Rescue Center, which processes more than 3,000 birds annually through the work of 20,000 volunteer hours, provides services to both the county and the City of Santa Rosa. For nearly 40 years, the Bird Rescue Center has been located off of Chanate Drive on the county property poised for housing development. Unfortunately, the development means the center needs a new home.

The Board of Directors writes, "In the aftermath of the horrific fires that devastated so much of Sonoma County, our work is more important than ever. That same fire that destroyed homes and displaced so many families also destroyed the natural habitats, trees and nests that our local wild birds called home. While we always have a sense of urgency to save as many of the birds that come into our care as possible, this year that urgency has escalated tenfold. Replenishing our native wild bird populations is critically important to maintaining a balance in our eco-system. These birds play an integral part in balancing rodent populations, controlling insects and mosquitoes and contributing to a thriving, healthy environment in general."

The Bird Rescue Center is asking for community assistance to help find a new location with:

·   Approximately 2 acres of buildable land (preferably with utilities onsite)

·   6,000 square feet of space in a single or in multiple buildings

·   Easy access to the Highway 101 corridor

·   A site centrally located within the County

·   A safe, secure and relatively quiet area for rehabilitating birds

In addition to finding a new location, the Center is also in need of ongoing support and funding.

"In the wake of these fires, many of our supporters have had to focus their time, energy and money on rebuilding not only their homes, but also their lives," writes As a result, the critical funding that sustains The Bird Rescue Center has dwindled as has our army of volunteers. While we know this will change once our community recovers, and that we will once more enjoy their support, this crisis is hitting us at the same time we are being forced to relocate and create a new Center."

Those interested can email Sam at @sam@thebirdrescuecenter.org. To see what the Bird Rescue Center does, check out their visitor's day on Saturday, July 7 at 10 a.m.

Ombudsman hired to assist septic owners and operators in Lower River Communities

In partners with the County of Sonoma, the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District and Sonoma Resource Conservation District, we have hired an ombudsman to provide residents of the lower Russian River with assistance and support regarding changing septic system regulations.

Septic systems, also known as Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS), have been in the news quite a bit lately. In order to combat pathogen pollution concerns, State policies have been updated and County standards for OWTS are being revised. These revisions will change the way OWTS are regulated in Sonoma County, and you may be wondering how the changes will affect you. While the regulations are still evolving, neighborhoods and communities in the lower Russian River area will be affected in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, making sense of all the laws, manuals and acronyms is no easy task – and for the many residents who depend on OWTS, it can be hard to know where to start. To that end, there is now a resource that is dedicated to providing communities with resources and support regarding the OWTS issue. 

David Wood was recently hired as the Lower Russian River Ombudsman. Ombudsmen are hired to work in a variety of institutions – from governmental to educational to private organizations – but their essential function is to provide unbiased assistance to individuals with concerns about a specific issue. As a non-regulatory, informational resource, David’s job is to assist residents of the lower Russian River area with OTWS related issues. Specifically, David can help with questions about regulations, provide confidential information to residents about their septic systems and identify grants and other financial assistance opportunities to help them with upgrades or improvements. David will also be tracking other issues related to water quality in the lower Russian River, so that he can help interested residents learn more about how OWTS fit into the larger picture. If you live in the lower Russian River area, David can help.

David can be reached by phone at 707-806-4723 or by email at david@goldridgercd.org. He has drop-in office hours on Wednesdays between 3 and 7 p.m., and on Thursdays between 9 a.m. and noon. He is available on other business days and Saturdays by appointment and will be attending local meetings and community events related to this issue. His office is located at 9925 Main St., Monte Rio, CA 95462, next to the Monte Rio Amphitheater. If you have an upcoming community event or neighborhood meeting that you would like David to attend, please contact him.

Public comment open for Green Valley Creek project

As many people are aware (especially those who live in Graton), Green Valley Creek experiences recurring flooding, leading to extended road closures and hazardous driving conditions on Green Valley Road, stranded fish and wildlife species, and damage to the roadway and adjacent farmland. In recent years, flooding has become worse, lasting longer, causing more damage and occurring with greater frequency.

The county has been working on a project to help mitigate those issues. The proposed project would excavate and maintain channels in the creek and install native plants along the banks to reduce flooding of Green Valley Road and nearby properties and improve aquatic habitat. The project is expected to be implemented in fall 2018. Although construction is likely to temporarily disturb fish and wildlife, over the long term, the project would improve fish passage, reduce the number of fish stranded by receding floodwaters, improve habitats for other aquatic species and support healthier habitats downstream by decreasing sediment flows from the area.

Copies of the project area available online at www.scwa.ca.gov/environmental-documents . Hard copies are available for purchase by request at 707-547-1900 or at the Water Agency’s administrative office, located at 404 Aviation Boulevard, Santa Rosa.. Hard copies are also available for public viewing at the following locations:

Please send any questions and/or comments to: Sonoma County Water Agency, c/o David Cook, 404 Aviation Blvd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 or email at  David.Cook@scwa.ca.gov . All comments are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24.

It's almost time for the Sonoma County Fair! This year's theme, "Salute to Heroes" honors those who fought the October firestorms. The event, which runs from Aug. 2 to Aug. 12, includes Wine Country Horse Racing, dirt track events in the Chris Beck Arena, carnival rides, junior and professional livestock exhibits, music, livestock shows, auctions and more. For more information, visit sonomacountyfair.com.