Napa RCD Monthly Newsletter

Helping you care for our land, water, soil, and wildlife

This Month's News

Program Spotlights

Napa RCD Providing Assistance with Healthy Soils and SWEEP Applications

News & Announcements

October Rainfall Report
Tell Us About Your Salmon and Steelhead Sightings!
Community Oak Planting Day- Nov 26

In Case You Missed It

We Need Stream Watch Volunteers

Upcoming Programs

See below for details

Program Spotlight

Napa RCD Providing Assistance with CDFA Healthy Soils Program and SWEEP Applications

Napa RCD and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are hosting FREE virtual workshops to assist farmers with navigating the CDFA SWEEP and HSP grant application process. 25% of the funds allocated for these grants will be awarded to priority populations and socially disadvantaged farmers as defined on the CDFA website.

SWEEP (State Water Efficiency & enhancement Program) provides financial assistance to implement irrigation systems that reduce greenhouse gases and save water on California agricultural operations.

HSP (Healthy Soils Program) offers financial assistance for implementation of conservation management practices that improve soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Napa RCD is offering a virtual SWEEP workshop on Tuesday, Nov 16 from 9-11am. CDFA is offering 3 separate HSP virtual workshops on Nov 18, Dec 16, and Jan 20 all from 9-11am. You can register for all of these workshops at NapaRCD.org/CDFA2021

Need one-on-one help?

We have teamed up with our friends at Napa Green to offer one-on-one assistance to farmers applying for either of these grant programs. Ruby and Miguel from Napa RCD and Ben from Napa Green will be on hand to work with farmers as needed. To schedule a time to meet, visit NapaRCD.org/CDFA2021

News & Announcements

October Rainfall Report

by Paul Blank, Napa RCD Environmental Scientist

Water Year 2021-22 started off with a bang with nine days of measurable rainfall at most Napa County ALERT monitoring stations (napa.onerain.com) in October. Rainfall totals ranged from 8.6 to 17.1 inches during the month, approximately 33% of mean annual precipitation. This almost equals last year’s total of 37% for the entire year. On average, we only get 5% of our annual rainfall during the month of October.

It was the second wettest October on record with 9.3 inches measured in the City of Napa area (10.4 inches were recorded in October 1962). The majority of the rainfall, 7.45 inches in the City of Napa, fell in a single day on October 24, 2021. The rainfall event is considered a 100-year event, meaning that there is a 1% chance of such a rain event in our area in any given year. It was the most rainfall ever recorded in Napa in a 24-hour period, smashing the prior record of 5.85 inches on November 21, 1977. Even with the extremely parched state of the watershed after back-to-back “Very Dry” years, this rare storm produced an approximate 2-year flow on the Napa River at Oak Knoll Avenue.

Although this storm has given us a great head start, we’ll still need average to above average rainfall for the remainder of the season to recover from drought conditions.

Tell Us About Your Local Salmon and Steelhead Sightings!

It's the time of year when we start seeing our anadromous fish in the Napa River and surrounding creeks and streams!

We've had a few reports so far of Chinook salmon in St Helena and Calistoga. Steelhead are typically seen in the watershed a little after the Chinook, but that is highly dependent on the flow of water.

As part of our watershed monitoring program, staff count adult fish and map their spawning distributions, observe juveniles through snorkeling surveys, and capture and count juvenile salmonids as they out-migrate to the ocean as “smolts”. We also conduct long-term tracking of individual steelhead with implanted tags.

So what do we need from you? When you see Chinook salmon or steelhead trout in the Napa River now and in the coming months, please let our staff know! Photos and videos are much appreciated if you are able to get them. Napa RCD staff track sightings and, when possible, collect otoliths (hard, calcium carbonate structures located directly behind the brain of bony fishes) from carcasses of both the steelhead and salmon.

To report a sighting of either a live fish or carcass, contact Martin Perales, Napa RCD Environmental Scientist, at MartinP@NapaRCD.org or 707-690-3118.

Join us for the Community Oak Planting Day November 26

We are excited to announce that we are hosting a Community Oak Planting Day on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving!

We need volunteers to help us build tree protection cages, dig holes, mulch plantings, and put those acorns on the ground.

We request that you RSVP so we know how many folks to expect and how many tools and other materials we should bring. This is a great opportunity for students to get their required volunteer hours as well as families to spend some time outside together giving back to the natural spaces we have here in Napa County.

Wear long pants and sturdy shoes and make sure you dress in layers for the weather. Bring a filled water bottle. Bring your mask as they will be required while we are together in a large group. For more information, please visit NapaRCD.org/CommunityOakDay

In Case You Missed It

Excited about the water in our streams?

Join the Stream Watch Team!

Stream Watch is a community science project in partnership with Napa RCD and Napa County to monitor the flow status of streams in the Napa River Watershed.

You can choose to adopt a site and monitor it every week from October to May, or you can choose to "Explore the Watershed" and visit one of the 28 sites when you have time.

Volunteers make simple observations about the flow status of streams, and note whether or not trash is present. Observations can be made in 10 minutes -- it's just that easy!

Visit NapaRCD.org/StreamWatch for more information about the project and to see the locations of the sites.

If you are interested in volunteering to Adopt a Site, please review the information here and then contact Ashley@NapaRCD.org or 707-690-3117