In this month's edition:
- Pie Auction a Grand Success
- Reflection on the 2019 Annual Projects Tour
- Good times at the Healthy Soils Workshop
- 2,000 young coho released in Atascadero Creek
- Videos of construction projects
- Sign up for your own Carbon Farm Plan
- Farming in the New Normal workshops with USDA
- Forest Stewardship Workshops with UCCE
- ROI Carbonator 500 Demonstration Day
|
|
Only once a year do
we ask for your financial support
.
Your contributions make it possible for us to help people help the land. Property by property, inch by inch, we nurture the land that nurtures us. Please donate today.
|
|
Time to celebrate and prepare for the New Year!
We'll be closing our office December 23 - January 3.
|
|
Pie Auction a Grand Success!
|
|
Reflecting on the 2019 Annual Projects Tour
|
|
It’s not often that we have the privilege of sharing a day with our close partners, talking about things that matter and getting to know one another better. We so enjoyed spending the day with our partners at the 2019 Annual Projects Tour. It was a great chance to see a few project sites and share about some of our current and future work. For us, it was a wonderful way to wrap up the year.
Thank you for being our partner in conservation.
|
|
Good times at the Healthy Soils for Small Coastal Dairies workshop
|
|
On December 17
th
, 35 attendees gathered at the Ocean Breeze Dairy in Valley Ford for a public workshop on soil health. Gold Ridge RCD provided an update on the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Climate Smart Agriculture funding programs, as well as, an overview of the
Healthy Soils Program
Demonstration Project currently underway. Gregg Young, Certified Professional Agronomist, presented information about how to interpret soil sampling results for nutrient management planning and animal health needs. Gregg also reviewed the monitoring and reporting requirements associated with the recently adopted
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Dairy Program’s General Waste Discharge Requirements
.
After lunch, Chris Potter, Ph.D. from
CASA Systems 2100
, presented information about their initial findings from a similar
Healthy Soils Program Demonstration project with Yolo County RCD,
as well as, remote sensing analysis at Ocean Breeze Dairy. The group had a lively discussion about soil health, photosynthesis, carbon sequestration, above ground biomass production, vegetation communities, on-the-ground field work, and current and future remote sensing capabilities. Many thanks to the Sonoma Marin Pasture Club, the CDFA Healthy Soils Program, and the Bordessa Family Dairy for an educational and informative workshop.
|
|
2,000 young coho released in Atascadero Creek
|
|
For the third December in a row, US Army Corps of Engineers released thousands of young coho salmon, raised at the Warm Springs Hatchery, into Redwood Creek - a tributary to Atascadero Creek. These broodstock fish share genes with wild Russian River coho. Scientists at California Sea Grant
will be monitoring their activity
via PIT tag detection to see if Atascadero Creek is a viable home for coho. If it is, these juvenile fish may one day return as adults to spawn and foster a truly wild population.
Gold Ridge RCD is evaluating the quality of coho salmon habitat in creeks within the Atascadero subwatershed in
this study
.
|
|
 |
One-year old coho are transported from the hatchery in a tank full of cold, oxygenated water. They are released into the creek one hand net at a time.
|
|
|
|
Redwood Creek was chosen as a release site for its year-round water. It's spring-fed, providing flowing cold water 12 months out of the year.
|
|
|
|
Watch
wildlife habitat construction in action
|
|
The RCD is currently offering assistance to owners of vineyards, rangeland and forestland to develop
LandSmart Carbon Farm Plans
. These plans assist landowners in identifying practices which encourage the sequestering of carbon from the atmosphere in an effort to not only improve productivity, but support the health of our environment. Carbon farming involves implementing conservation practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or soil organic matter. Best management practices also increase soil water infiltration and holding capacity, increase crop or pasture productivity, and helps protect water quality while improving wildlife habitat.
If you would like a carbon farm plan for your vineyard, ranch or forest, contact Craig Macmillan, Agricultural Specialist, at
craig@goldridgercd.org
for more information.
|
|
Working Lands Calendar 2020
|
|
Who doesn't want a beautiful 2020 calendar with Sonoma County working lands as the backdrop?
We worked with our partners Ag + Open Space, Sonoma Land Trust, Sonoma RCD,
UCCE
and USDA NRCS to create a beautiful calendar, available at our office starting January 6.
They make great gifts for your friends to learn more about our working lands. Calendars are free.
Stop by and get yours:
Gold Ridge RCD, 2776 Sullivan Rd, Sebastopol, CA 94572
|
|
Farming in the New Normal with USDA
January 7, 8am-4:30pm, Vacaville, CA
|
|
Join USDA for a workshop for growers on agriculture and climate. Explores how your operation can adapt and thrive in a new climate reality.
Topics include:
- Coping with extreme weather
- Soil health and climate adaptation
- Optimizing irrigation water use
- Grazing system strategies for drought
- Pest control in a changing climate
|
|
UCCE California Forest Stewardship Workshops
Ukiah - Redding - Berkeley
|
|
This three-day workshop will help participants develop a forest management plan for their property. In-classroom and field learning will help participants develop a better understanding of their forest goals and how to achieve them. Participants who develop their plans will be eligible for a free visit by a Registered Professional Forester to assess its content.
|
|
Choose one of three locations to attend the three-day workshop:
January 11, 12 & 25
University of California Cooperative Extension Office, Ukiah, CA
February 1, 2 & 8
Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA
March 7, 8 & 14
Room 1213, Shasta College, Redding, CA
|
|
ROI Carbonator 500 Demo Day with Sonoma Biochar Initiative
Jan 14, 11am-3pm, Cazadero, CA
|
|
Dan Falk of Falk Forestry is hosting a ROI Carbonator 500 Demonstration Day on January 14th to showcase the use of this biomass processor. This machine can process large amounts of surplus biomass in a more efficient and less polluting way than open pile burning while also producing biochar, a valuable soil amendment.
|
|
This new technology is similar to an air curtain burner but designed to convert and save some of the biomass as biochar. This demonstration day is an opportunity to see it in action. This industrial-scale machine is on tracks and is movable from site to site, making it ideal for use on fuels reduction or fire recovery projects where large volumes of low-value material can be upcycled into a value-added product.
|
|
|
|
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
(707) 823-5244
www.GoldRidgeRCD.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
