Above:
Atascadero marsh near Graton, CA will be part of a larger program assessing endangered coho salmon habitat.
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December 2018
The news on your RCD's latest efforts to conserve and protect our most valued natural resources, support a thriving agricultural community and promote a
sustainable local economy.
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In this month's edition:
- Thank you to our donors
- Stewards of the Land, Vol 18, Annual Newsletter released
- Join our 2018 Board of Directors Projects Tour
- Healthy Soils for Small Coastal Dairies workshop
- How can communities prepare for wildfire?
- Help us unravel the mysteries of Atascadero Creek
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We could not do this work without a community that cares.
Your donations mean the world to us. With this, we will continue to gather our community in an effort to address fire safety, plan for drought, improve water quality, locally adapt to and mitigate climate change, enhance salmon habitat, promote healthy soils, educate our youth about the value of stewardship, and more.
Your generosity supports your RCD in working with public and private landowners to find win-win solutions that protect and conserve Sonoma County’s precious natural resources.
Full of gratitude, Gold Ridge RCD Board and Staff
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Haven't donated yet?
The RCD has a goal of raising $10,000 by the end of the year
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Stewards of the Land
2018 Annual Newsletter released
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We are excited to release Volume 18 of
Stewards of the Land
, our annual newsletter, sharing with the community select highlights of year:
*Growing the RCD Project Tracker
*Partnering with winegrowers to improve vineyard soil health
*Hosting an international audience to discuss the carbon farming solution
*Welcoming a new forester to the RCD team
*Exploring the mystery of the Atascadero Creek subwatershed
*and more.
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2018 Board of Directors Projects Tour
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December 20, 2018, 1:30-5:00pm
Meeting location provided upon RSVP.
RSVP to Adriana@goldridgercd.org or call (707) 823-5244.
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Join the fun! The annual Board of Directors Projects Tour is an occasion to see two or three of this year's projects, celebrate the year's achievements and thank our partners for all the work they do.
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Upcoming Workshop:
Healthy soils for small coastal dairies
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Please join the Gold Ridge RCD for a Healthy Soils for Small Coastal Dairies workshop in Valley Ford on December 18th. The workshop is intended for dairy producers and ranchers who are interested in learning more about the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Healthy Soils Program.
Gold Ridge RCD received grant funding for a CDFA Healthy Soils Demonstration Project at the Ocean Breeze Dairy. The project will demonstrate the benefits of two carbon beneficial conservation practices: compost application on 30.0 acres of grassland and two acres of riparian forest buffer. The first year of compost application has taken place and the riparian planting will happen in 2019.
The workshop will take place at the dairy. Directions will be provided upon registration. Please contact William Hart (william@goldridgercd.org) with questions.
At the workshop, we will discuss the CDFA's Healthy Soils Program and the Alternative Manure Management Program. We will be joined by Renata Brillinger, Executive Director for CalCAN and Randi Black, Dairy Adviser from the UCCE Sonoma County. We will learn more about agriculture's role in mitigating climate change and the current funding opportunities available.
We will also discuss the Carbon Farm Plan process and how it relates to our Demonstration project. We will be joined by two local ranchers to learn more about why they are motivated to look at their respective operations though the Carbon Farm lens.
Finally, we will discuss our Healthy Soils Demonstration Project work plan at the dairy. We will discuss the role and importance of partnerships between agricultural producers, private business, local goverment and funding agencies.
This project is part of
California Climate Investments
, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
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How can communities prepare for wildfire?
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There are many ways that communities can prepare for wildfire, and the Gold Ridge RCD and its partners are here to help. We have outlined a brief list of tactics, below:
1. Focus on your home's defensible space.
2. Prepare your family and community for a safe evacuation.
3. Prepare your neighborhood for any emergency by creating a COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) group.
4. Plan and act on your community's wildfire risk by creating a Community Wildfire Prevention Plan. This plan can earn grant money for implementing your plan in years to come.
5. Get recognized for your efforts, and become a certified FireWise Community.
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What is home defensible space?
If your home's exterior is flammable, it can ignite even from the smallest of embers. In fact, that is how many of the recent wildfires in Northern California have spread to such large sizes. Embers produced from the area where the fire started float for miles before landing on another flammable surface, such as wood-shingled roofing, dry needles near the base of the home, or wooden patio furniture, and catching flame once again.
This video
and
these webpages
describe the steps to creating defensible space.
Who can help with safe evacuation plans?
What is a COPE group?
COPE was started by residents of the Santa Rosa community of Oakmont, in cooperation with the Santa Rosa Fire Department and American Red Cross. The mission of COPE is to help residents, families, and neighborhoods become and remain better prepared to respond to and recover from emergency situations. This includes developing individual response plans, maintaining individual emergency supply kits, and outreaching to neighborhoods in the community.
Learn more about forming a COPE group here
.
What is a Community Wildfire Prevention Plan?
Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) enable communities to plan how they will reduce the risk of wildfire. Plans identify strategic sites and methods for fuel reduction projects across the landscape and jurisdictional boundaries.
Learn more here
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What is a Certified FireWise Community?
The Firewise USA® program provides a collaborative framework for neighbors to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. The national recognition program’s annual criteria is designed to empower and engage residents living in wildfire prone areas with a plan and actions that can increase their home’s chances of surviving a wildfire, while also making it safer for firefighters.
Learn more here.
Ready to prepare your neighborhood for future wildfires?
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Help us unravel the mysteries
of Atascadero Creek
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Above: Coho salmon spawning in neighboring Dutch Bill Creek. Photo credit: Brock Dolman
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Lying just west of Sebastopol is the Atascadero-Green Valley Creek watershed. This important watershed starts in the coastal hills, flows through Graton and Forestville, and continues north to empty into the Russian River. It has been identified as critical and restorable habitat for the endangered Central California Coast coho salmon, and it regularly supports the Russian’s most robust wild coho population. However, for reasons that haven't been identified, the Atascadero Creek subwatershed, which is the system’s largest subwatershed, hasn’t shown evidence of wild coho salmon presence since the California Department of Fish and Wildlife started monitoring the creek in the 1960s.
In December 2017, the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program reintroduced coho into Atascadero Creek. Another release of juvenile coho is planned for this December 2018.
The Gold Ridge RCD will begin reaching out to landowners along the tributaries of the Atascadero Creek subwatershed in January. We look forward to connecting with many of you about the past, present and future conditions of this mysterious and valuable resource.
Read the
full article
about Atascadero
and view the full subwatershed map,
as published in
Stewards of the Land,
Vol 18, on page 10.
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Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
2776 Sullivan Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 823-5244
www.GoldRidgeRCD.org
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