|
 Media
Joint Venture Partners and
Projects
 North American Bird Conservation Initiative
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network News
Job and Volunteer listings
Other News
Innovative Computer Program Forecasts Impacts of Rising Sea Levels on Refuges
From USFWS Reporter's Tip Sheet available on the Web at http://news.fws.gov/tipsheet/jan-feb-2006/
University of Maryland graduate students, working with the National Wildlife Refuge System, have developed a computer model that predicts the impacts of rising sea levels on national wildlife refuges.
Graduate students from the university's Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology Program estimate that sea level rise threatens the loss of 22 percent of the world's coastal wetlands by 2080. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for about 1 million acres of coastal wetlands across 159 coastal refuges.
The results from the new computer model, called Zone Inundation and Marsh Migration, could well be an important step in helping national wildlife refuge staff decide how to protect and manage the wetlands they manage. The result also could help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decide where to expand national wildlife refuges in order to continue providing wildlife habitat. The computer model offers four methods of analysis: regional context, diagnosis of present marsh conditions, prediction of changes in marsh zones, and analysis of long-term marsh changes.
For more information on the sea-level rise project, contact Brian Czech, conservation biologist, National Wildlife Refuge System, (703) 358-2485. For more information on the University of Maryland program, visit http://www.life.umd.edu/CONS/.
to top of page
Friends of the Petaluma River Launches New Web Site
“Friends” is now online! Yes, their website has just been launched. Check it out at www.FriendsofthePetalumaRiver.org. This is just the beginning of what will be a great resource for keeping the river community informed about the Petaluma Watershed and the activities of the Friends of the Petaluma River. Bookmark the page and return often to watch it grow. Thanks to volunteers Reno LaGrande and Dave Hage for getting the site up and running.
to top of page
Help Save a Bird Each Time You Mail a Letter
Now there is a simple way to support bird conservation, spread the word, and add a unique touch to your letters and cards - ABC's Bird Conservation Stamps.
In conjunction with Zazzle.com, American Bird Conservancy has issued the first ever postage stamps to support bird conservation. Depicting the Cerulean Warbler, a declining songbird, and the newly rediscovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the stamps carry the messages "Save our Songbirds" and "Stamp out Extinction."
These self adhesive stamps can be securely ordered in denominations of 39 cents for first class mail, 24 cents for postcards, or higher values for packages or parcels. A single sheet of 20, 39 cent stamps costs $16.99. Discounts are available for orders of more than one sheet. Twenty seven percent of all net proceeds go directly to support ABC's conservation programs.
Please take this opportunity to help us and let the world know you support bird conservation. Order now at http://www.zazzle.com/ABCBirds.
American Bird Conservancy is the only US-based non-profit organization that works exclusively to protect birds throughout the Americas. ABC is also considered a top-rated charity by the independent group Charity Navigator.
to top of page
New Invasive Parasite Alert
A new pest parasite, Cuscuta japonica or Japanese dodder, has been found invading the East Bay. Please be on the lookout and inform your county agriculture office if you see it.
The leafless, bright-yellow parasitic vine forms dense tangles on on willows, blue elderberry, and wild plums on Cerrito Creek, on the Albany-Contra Costa border. Friends of Five Creeks, a volunteer creek-restoration group, reported the infestation after seeing an Alameda/Contra Costa Weed Management Area alert.
There are many native and non-native California dodders, but no other forms thick, twisted, bright yellow mats in broad-leaf trees and shrubs. This dodder is capable of parasitizing many hosts: The two previous California reports were on orchard trees in the Central Valley and pittosporum at an apartment building in San Pablo.
There is a Department of Agriculture quarantine against importing plants or viable seed. But the rules are weak. Vince Guise of the Alameda/Contra Costa Weed Management Authority reports that seed from a recent, supposedly sterile shipment, imported as herbal medicine, were found to sprout readily.
Plants spread both by seed and vegetatively. Once the sticky seed, or the long, twisting growing tip, finds a home, it sends root-like hausatoria into the host's limbs, sucking out water and nutrients.
Plants should be handled and disposed of with extreme caution. The Weed Management Area recommends that you contact them for removal rather than doing it yourself. If you do work on the parasite, their recommendation is removal of the entire tree or shrub down to the ground, careful double bagging of all debris, and disposal where nothing could possibly take root (buried in landfill with good soil cover, not composted).
In Alameda or Contra Costa Counties, contact Vince Guise, vguis@ag.cccounty.us.
to top of page
City Council Drools Over Prospect of Gigantic Container Port
Excerpted from TOM BUTT E-FORUM, 7/26/06
Perhaps confused by the lateness of the hour and giddy with anticipation of a six-week recess, a Richmond City Council that has been trending upward lately in overall performance fell into the abyss last night
The finance director, the port director, and a gaggle of suits from J.P Morgan in San Francisco came before the City Council to promote a feasibility study for construction of a giant container port on Richmond’s north shoreline, generally in the area north of the Chevron Refinery and south of the West Contra Costa landfill. This area is commonly known as Wildcat Marsh or Chevron Marsh, an estuary where Wildcat Creek spills into the Bay. See City of Richmond Staff Dreams of Giant Container Port On North Shoreline, July 8, 2006.
All the advocates, except Finance Director James Goins, were from places other than Richmond. They are the latest of a long line of industrial movers and real estate shakers from other places who routinely come slumming in Richmond to advise us what our city really needs. Typically, the projects they are selling would never be allowed near their homes in Orinda, Lafayette and southern Marin County. But hey, these things got to go somewhere, and Richmond, have we got a deal for you!
The group was strong on promotion but short on details. The purpose of the next phase, so we were told, is to “partner” with the City to:
- Define the project and appropriate process to assess feasibility
- Create a framework for and advise on value to the City of Richmond
- Analyze alternatives for extracting value
- Assist in evaluation of potential investment partners and execute transactions, as required.
The City Council voted 9-2 to authorize staff to move forward and report back in September.
Among those speaking in support of the proposal was Jim Brumfield (“follow the money”) of Chevron. Note that Chevron owns the major portion of the land (and water) on which the project would be located. Chevron’s zeal to pave over the largest shoreline wetlands north of Fremont seemed strangely at odds with Chevron’s environmental chest thumping on its own website where Wildcat marsh is the poster child for Chevron’s environmental heartstrings:
Preserving and Restoring Natural Ecosystems
The Chevron Richmond Refinery has made great strides in re-establishing natural ecosystems in the region.
We created the Richmond Water Enhancement Wetland, converting 90 acres of former effluent treatment ponds into a vital wetland environment for many plant and animal species. The wetland now serves as a resting spot for migratory waterfowl whose habitat has been decreased by commercial development along the West Coast. Deep channels and dense areas of reeds and duck mounds create an attractive environment for waterfowl. During the spring and fall, an increasing variety of shorebirds seek refuge in the marsh. Presently there are 103 different species of birds that use this new habitat.
We have also completed the Wildcat Creek Marsh Restoration Project on more than 250 acres of natural wetlands northeast of the refinery. Over the years, sediments had been deposited that cut off tidal access to these wetlands. Restoration included forming slough channels to the saltwater marsh. The tides flow through these wetlands and into two restored ponds. The wetlands now provide a critical habitat for two endangered species – the Salt Harvest Mouse and the California Clapper Rail.
The Chevron Richmond Refinery supports many Bay Area organizations dedicated to preserving wildlife. For example, we contribute to the East Bay-based International Bird Rescue and Research Center, which sends experts worldwide to train and lead volunteers in response to oil spills.
Do these people really think that BCDC, EPA, CEQA and NEPA will let them pave over this critical ecosystem?
How about the North Richmond Specific Plan, a subset of the existing General Plan? Isn’t it good public policy for a City Council to follow the General Plan until it is changed? Not this City Council. (Huh, what General Plan?) Here is what the North Richmond Specific Plan says about the area your elected officials want to study for a port:
Protect and Enhance Areas with High Natural Resource Value
The combination of extensive, relatively undeveloped shoreline, low-lying topography and two creeks which cross the plan area provide the opportunity to preserve and enhance the natural hydrologic systems and associated wetland habitats in conjunction with development. While some existing development has impacted the baylands and marshlands, significant portions of the plan area are relatively undisturbed. These areas are generally located where little or no development has occurred, west and north of the planned Parkway and adjacent to the shoreline. They include portions of Giant Marsh adjacent to Point Pinole Regional Park, San Pablo Creek Marsh, and Wildcat Marsh south of the landfill; delineated wetlands; upland habitat; Rheem Creek; and a riparian corridor adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. These areas would be protected from development, and only uses compatible with natural resource protection, such as limited, carefully designed public access, would be allowed within the areas. The areas will be designated as Natural Conservation and Public Access Corridor.
Generally, in a partnership, each partner brings something to the table. At this potluck, Chevron brings the land and J.P Morgan offered to sell the bonds to be floated by an undesignated investor occupying an empty chair. Richmond appears to be hanging around under the table like the family dog scratching for fleas and looking for scraps. Asked what Richmond has to offer, Port Director Jim Matzorkis said, “Richmond has a port authority.” Not quite correct, but we get the drift. There may be a good example of how this new port might work by looking at Chevron’s existing port operation. Perhaps one of the busiest operations on the West Coast (in tonnage), the Richmond long wharf doesn’t bring a dime to the City of Richmond.
I already said it in public. This is the stupidest and dumbest idea I have seen yet! It reminds me of the 1970’s when another generation of big dreamers on the City Council decided to partner up with Matson and build a container port at what is now Terminal 3. It was to be pure gold for the City, but it has turned to lead while we are still paying off the bonds.
I do not want a new world class container port in the City of Richmond. I don’t want the increased rail traffic, the noise, the trucks, the lights or the diesel fumes. I don’t want to sell off our natural heritage and one of the bay’s largest intact marshes for a bunch of money. I don’t want our staff to spend any more time on this when they can’t even get the work done they have on their plate now. If this is what the people of Richmond want, please let me know so I can put my home up for sale and move back to the Ozarks.
The entire City Council, except for Gayle McLaughlin and me, enthusiastically supported moving forward. These are the same people who are running for re-election in November. This is a good opportunity to evaluate their sanity and decide if they are really the folks you want running this beleaguered city for the next four years.
Only one opponent in the audience, Debbi Landshoff, saw this coming and rose to question it. She was drowned out by a chorus of supporters and enthusiastic City Council members. Unfortunately, while the environmentalists are still fighting the last war out at Breuner Marsh, the first skirmish of the next one just took place, and the bad guys are celebrating a victory.
TOM BUTT IS A MEMBER OF THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL. WHEN OPINIONS AND VIEWS EXPRESSED, WITHOUT OTHER ATTRIBUTION, IN TOM BUTT E-FORUM, THEY ARE THOSE OF TOM BUTT AND DO NOT REFLECT OFFICIAL VIEWS OR POSITIONS OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND OR THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. VISIT THE TOM BUTT WEBSITE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT TOM BUTT'S ACTIVITIES ON THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL: http://www.tombutt.com. PHONE 510/236-7435 OR 510/237-2084.
to top of page
Now Available Online: KPFA Radio Show About Creeks
Featuring:
- Emma Gutzler, Urban Creeks Council
- Susan Schwarts, Friends of Five Creeks
- Jean Stewart, Friends of Garrity Creek
People can listen online to the archived 1/2 hour show at http://kpfa.org/archives/index.php?show=23 (select July 21st
segment).
to top of page
New Report Documents First Ever Multi-State
Review of Feral Cat Impacts on Birds
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has published a new report, Impacts of Feral and Free-ranging Cats on Bird Species of Conservation Concern: A Five-State Review of New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Hawaii, which, for the first time, analyzes the effects that cats are having on some of America’s most at-risk bird species at cat predation hotspots. The five-state review illuminates troubling threats to endangered species such as the Florida Scrub-Jay, Piping Plover, and Hawaiian Petrel, and other key birds such as the Painted Bunting, Least Tern, and Black Rail.
The report highlights the growing trend of so-called “managed” feral cat colonies that use Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) techniques, and their effects on birds, particularly at State and Globally Important Bird Areas. The evidence is clear: free-roaming cats are bad for birds. The report draws other important conclusions, perhaps most significantly that state and federal resources for controlling feral cats must be significantly increased in order to achieve the goals identified in Endangered Species Recovery Plans and State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies.
The report is available for download in pdf format from the Cats Indoors! section of ABC’s Web site, along with a host of other educational tools such as brochures, fact sheets, posters, a teacher’s guide, print and radio public service announcements, and more. These materials are designed to be used in efforts by the public to educate neighbors, friends, clients, and others that cats and wildlife are safer when cats are kept indoors, and that humane, permanent removal of cats is needed to protect our native wildlife.
State and federal wildlife agencies, conservation and animal welfare groups, veterinarian associations, wildlife rehabilitators and thousands of individuals have supported ABC’s Cats Indoors! Campaign since it’s inception in 1997. The report was made possible through a generous grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
For more information on the report or the Cats Indoors! Campaign, please contact Linda Winter, Director of ABC’s Cats Indoors! the campaign for safer birds and cats, at 202-234-7181, ext. 201.
to top of page
Arroyo de la Laguna Restoration Project Status
A major erosion control and stream restoration project on lower Arroyo de
la Laguna in Pleasanton will begin the week of September 5, 2006. Zone 7 Water and
Flood-Control Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Alameda
County Resource Conservation District, Alameda County Public Works and the
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will begin work the week of September 5 on a
$650,000 pilot project to restore a 1,000-foot section of Arroyo de la
Laguna between Pleasanton and Sunol.
The arroyo and its wildlife habitat have been severely impacted by
additional runoff from past upstream development, along with local
urbanization and channel instability from peak storm events. Bank erosion
and channel widening along the lower 5 miles of the arroyo are tearing
away trees and destroying riparian habitat, and major amounts of
sedimentation and debris are carried out through Niles Canyon and toward
the Bay.
The restoration project focuses on reducing stream bank erosion,
establishing vegetation and improving riparian habitat through a series of
federally approved “bioengineered” stream restoration practices such as
attaching large tree logs and their root masses to boulders along the bank
to form a more natural channel, trap sediment and create a healthier
habitat for wildlife. The restoration work will continue until
mid-October. Watch for a press release on the project later this week
from Zone 7 Water Agency.
to top of page
Final Ruling on Resident Canada Geese
Excerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - September 2006
In recent decades, the numbers of Canada Geese that nest or reside
predominantly within the conterminous United States (resident Canada Geese,
also known as "Giant" Canada Geese) have undergone such dramatic growth
that their numbers are increasingly coming into conflict with human
activity. In many parts of the country there are concerns over personal and
public property damage, as well as over public health.
Expansion of existing annual hunting seasons and the issuance of control
hunting permits have all been recently used to try and reduce the numbers
of resident Canada Geese. Unfortunately, these efforts have met with
varying degrees of success.
In February 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for resident Canada Goose management.
The following year, a proposed rule was recommended to establish proposed
action, known as Alternative F. The USFWS said that it received more than
2,700 written comments on the 2002 draft Environmental Impact Statement and
almost 3,000 public comments on the 2003 proposed rule. In November 2005,
the notice of availability for a Final Environmental Impact Statement
(FEIS) was published, followed by a 30-day public review period.
The upshot is that this final rule now sets forth a policy, Alternative F,
which would authorize State wildlife agencies, private landowners, and
airports to conduct (or allow) indirect and/or direct population control
management activities, including the take of birds and expanded hunting
methods, on resident Canada Goose populations.
This final rule will go into effect on 11 September 2006.
to top of page
GGNRA Internship Program Looking For Companies/Nurseries Involved in Habitat Restoration
The GGNRA has a great internship program in restoration ecology and native plant nursery production. Their post grad (BS) interns spend a year in the park and are involved in all phases of restoration or seed collection and nursery production.
In October they will work with their interns to support their job search. Part of that support is a list of companies and nurseries involved in habitat restoration and those who would be willing to spend a little time with an intern doing an informational interview about their area of the field.
You can help these great and deserving interns by looking at the current list of companies and nurseries involved in habitat restoration and:
- providing names of other companies or agencies that are involved in EIRs, design, or implementation for restoration or nursery production or botanical surveys
- if you are already on the list, let them know if that is OK or if your name should be removed; also check phone number or fill in missing information.
- let them know if you would be willing to provide an informational interview along with any parameters
Thanks much for helping these young people take the next step in their careers.
Please contact:
Betty L Young, Director of Nurseries
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Bldg. 201, Fort Mason, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94123
byoung@parksconservancy.org
to top of page
$2 Million Approved for Restoration at Bair Island and the South Bay Salt Ponds and for Coastal Marin Wetlands at Giacomini Ranch and Big Lagoon
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 — The federal Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) approved funding for the two NAWCA projects submitted by the SFBJV and recommended by the NAWCA Council. This will deliver close to $2 million for restoration at Bair Island and the South Bay Salt Ponds and for Coastal Marin wetlands at Giacomini Ranch and Big Lagoon.
Thank you to JV partners for your participation and input throughout the process.
to top of page
New Law Formalizes Private Lands Conservation Program
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2006 — Today President Bush will sign the Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Act into law to enhance efforts of private landowners to protect
species and restore habitat. Senator James Inhofe sponsored this law and
Congressman Richard Pombo [see note below] supported it in the House. They were both
instrumental in its passage and in this major breakthrough towards a
partnered approach to conservation. The Partners Act provides a
Congressional authorization for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program,
a successful private-lands conservation program popular with landowners and
conservationists alike.
The law authorizes the Department of the Interior, through the Partners
Program, to provide technical and financial assistance to private
landowners to restore, enhance, and manage private lands to improve fish
and wildlife habitats.
"This law formalizes a program that exemplifies cooperative conservation,"
said Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. "The program
puts financial and technical resources into the hands of willing landowners
to help them manage their lands for imperiled plant and animal species.
Next year we will celebrate the program's 20th year. The law represents a
perfect anniversary gift for this conservation success story."
In August 2004, President Bush signed an Executive Order on Cooperative
Conservation asking all agencies to strengthen their efforts to work
together and with Tribes, states, local governments, and landowners to
achieve conservation goals. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act affirms
the Fish and Wildlife Service's dedication to cooperative conservation and
its commitment to work with private landowners to further the country's
conservation goals while honoring individual rights. This new law will
provide stability, highlight the successes of private partnerships and
habitat conservation, and recognize the importance of the Partners Program.
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program is a cornerstone in the
Service's cooperative conservation efforts working with private
landowners to restore valuable habitat for fish and wildlife. Since the
creation of the Program in 1987, it has helped conserve fish and wildlife
resources on nearly 800,000 acres of wetlands, 2,000,000 acres of uplands,
and 7,000 miles of riparian and stream habitats through nearly 40,000
formalized partnership agreements.
Program successes range in scale. One project led to the creation of four
small, emergent wetlands and enhancement of a remnant of native prairie on
a 16-acre tract of land in Texas. As a result of the landowner's efforts,
and with the help of the Partners Program, thousands of migratory birds now
stop over at the property each year during their annual migration. The
landowner refers to the Partners Program as "the most rewarding and
landowner-friendly (conservation) program of them all."
A large corporate partnership supported by the Partners Program helped
protect 13,000 acres of rainforest and wetlands on the island of Maui in
Hawaii. The Partners Program also provided matching funds to a local
agricultural operation to protect sensitive lands under their care, with a
focus on native plants and wildlife.
The Service is moving the program to the next phase with public input on
priority areas and tasks. By identifying and restoring vital areas of
habitat, the Partners Program supports recovery plans for threatened and
endangered species and helps prevent future listings of species. Through
the Partners Program, the Fish and Wildlife Service works collaboratively
with many nonprofit conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and
The Nature Conservancy, as well as Tribes, states, and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead federal agency responsible
for conserving and protecting the nation's fish and wildlife resources.
The Service strives to fulfill this responsibility through the
establishment of innovative programs that offer opportunities for the
Service to partner with private landowners to protect species and enhance
their habitat. With the vast majority of this habitat in private
ownership, these partnerships are central to conservation success.
# # #
Contact info:
Joshua Winchell
Division of Public Affairs
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street NW
Mailstop 3238
Washington, DC 20240
voice: 202 219-7499
fax: 202 219-2428
*Note from Deb Schlafmann, Habitat Restoration Division, Conservation Partnerships Program: Senator Inhofe and Congressman Sullivan authored the bills - not Pombo, as the news release credits.
to top of page
Urban Creeks Council Survey for Partners that Work with Individual Landowners
SFBJV Note: Partners that work with individual landowners are encouraged to respond or circulate this survey request to landowners.
Urban Creeks Council (UCC) seeks feedback from government agencies on how
UCC can assist both creekside property owners and public agency staff in
better care for creeks.
To take one or both of the surveys, please go to the following links.
Each survey contains only 10 questions:
to top of page
Agencies Begin Study of Stream Flows Needed for
Alameda Creek Steelhead Trout Restoration
Multiple Agencies Join in Cooperative Study
October 16, 2006—Studies to restore threatened steelhead trout within the Alameda Creek watershed will soon get under way. A formal agreement to collaborate on water flow and fish habitat studies was signed this month by 17 public agencies and nonprofit organizations.
“These studies should identify how much water is needed, when it is needed, and in what stream reaches,” said Jeff Miller, Director of the Alameda Creek Alliance. “We believe we can provide water to restore a steelhead run without compromising water supply, and in the process provide beneficial habitat for other native wildlife.”
The agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct jointly-funded studies of how much water might be needed at critical times to support a viable steelhead population - while also considering other native fish and wildlife and minimizing potential impacts to drinking water supplies. The $240,000 technical study will be conducted in two phases by an independent consultant.
Contributions of $30,000 each were approved this year by four of the signatories - the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Livermore-Amador Valley’s Zone 7 Water Agency, Alameda County Water District (ACWD) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The $120,000 provided by these four agencies will be matched by the California State Coastal Conservancy, for a total of $240,000.
“The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is a milestone in the process of restoring steelhead to Alameda Creek,” said Paul Piraino, Alameda County Water District General Manager. “Water supply and environmental issues are not always seen as going hand in hand. In this case, however, all the parties agree that these studies are an important step in determining how to provide enough water for both steelhead and the residents of the Bay Area.”
“We have a responsibility to make environmental improvements on Alameda Creek even as we rebuild the seismically vulnerable Calaveras Reservoir upstream,” said SFPUC General Manager Susan Leal. “I believe together we can restore this wonderful and unique steelhead population. I’m proud that our new Natural Resources Division is now a strong partner in the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup and played such a key role in developing this important agreement.”
Other participating organizations include the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Alameda County Resource Conservation District, Alameda Creek Alliance, American Rivers, California Department of Fish and Game, East Bay Regional Park District, National Marine Fisheries Service, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Efforts to restore steelhead to areas of the Alameda Creek watershed where there were historical trout populations are gaining momentum on other fronts as well. For example:
- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded $1 million to ACWD to remove an inflatable diversion dam in Alameda Creek and to install fish screens at the district’s water supply diversion point at the mouth of Niles Canyon.
- Agencies are cooperatively pursuing funding to address other barriers to steelhead trying to migrate from San Francisco Bay up Alameda Creek, particularly the “BART weir” in the flood control channel in lower Alameda Creek
- More hurdles to fish passage were cleared last month when the SFPUC completed removal of two obsolete late 19th century dams in Niles Canyon below Sunol.
- PG&E has pledged to make its natural gas line passable to fish as part of a comprehensive plan to restore the riparian habitat of Alameda Creek. The once-buried natural gas line is far upstream. Creek erosion has exposed the pipe.
The largest tributary of southern San Francisco Bay, Alameda Creek may be the best candidate of Bay Area urban streams for restoration of migratory fish runs. Historically, portions of the nearly 700-square mile watershed supported populations of steelhead and coho and chinook salmon. But by the late 1950’s, urban growth in the East Bay had resulted in poor water quality and dams that adversely altered the creek’s hydrology to such a degree that salmon runs disappeared and steelhead dwindled to unsustainably low numbers. Subsequent water supply and flood control projects added barriers that have prevented migratory fish from reaching spawning and rearing habitat.
Steelhead trout in the central California coast (including the Bay Area) were listed under the Endangered Species Act as a federally threatened species in 1997. That same year the Alameda Creek Alliance also began advocating for restoration projects to allow migratory fish to reach spawning and rearing habitat in upper Alameda Creek. A multi-agency fisheries workgroup formed in 1999 is pursuing a concerted effort of creek management and dam modifications or removals to reestablish a healthy steelhead run.
Additional quotes from participating agencies and organizations:
Zone 7 Water Agency
“Zone 7 supports the effort to restore historic steelhead populations in the watershed and will ensure its projects do not impede fish migration in the event they get here,” said agency General Manager Dale Myers. Zone 7 recently installed fish ladders as part of a flood control project in Arroyo las Positas between Livermore and Pleasanton.
California State Coastal Conservancy
“Steelhead are hanging on in the Bay Area by their fins. Everything we can do to provide them with more spawning and rearing habitat will keep alive this part of the Bay Area's ecological heritage. We’re participating in this project because Alameda Creek represents one of the best places to restore a viable population of this species,” said Brenda Buxton, Project Manager at the Coastal Conservancy, a state agency that provides funding for habitat restoration and open space protection projects.
Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
“The Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District is committed to modifying the County-owned ‘BART Weir’ to provide passage for steelhead trout,” said Daniel Woldesenbet, Director of the Alameda County Public Works Agency. “Having led the efforts of the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup for the past seven years, we are pleased to see the group working cooperatively to collect and generate the critical information needed to make steelhead restoration in this watershed a reality.”
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
“It is wonderful that such a diverse group of stakeholders have come together to work together toward this goal. PG&E is committed to this task and is pleased to contribute $30,000 toward the creek flows and habitat restoration study,” said Bob Howard, PG&E vice president of gas transmission and distribution. “PG&E also agrees to modify our natural gas line crossing in a manner that won’t pose a barrier to the fish, or become a problem should the creek channel change again over time.”
Natural Resources Defense Council
“The signing of the flow studies agreement represents a high level of cooperation and commitment among the groups toward restoring flows and fish to Alameda Creek,” said Monty Schmitt, Restoration Scientist with Natural Resources Defense Council. “For decades, the impacts of flow diversions and surface storage have severely harmed native fish including steelhead. The studies called for in the agreement will determine the flows necessary to restore native fish to the largest watershed in the South Bay while also providing water for residents and businesses.”
# # #
This press release is posted at http://www.alamedacreek.org/Press_Releases/index.htm
Contact:
Jeff Miller, Alameda Creek Alliance, (510) 499-9185
Maureen Barry, SFPUC, (415) 554-3297
Bonita Brewer, Zone 7 Water Agency, (925) 454-5015
to top of page
Eden Landing Levee Breach — Links to News Clips
to top of page
Prop 84 results - Coast and SF Bay counties
Here are the tallies from coastal and SF Bay counties for Proposition 84:
| Proposition 84 |
|
|
|
|
| County |
Yes Votes |
No Votes |
% Yes |
% No |
| State Totals |
3,470,895 |
2,984,648 |
53.80% |
46.20% |
| Alameda |
183,253 |
102,686 |
64.10% |
35.90% |
| Contra Costa |
146,755 |
97,704 |
60.10% |
39.90% |
| Del Norte |
1,938 |
3,892 |
33.20% |
66.80% |
| Humboldt |
16,656 |
22,058 |
43.00% |
57.00% |
| Los Angeles |
959,376 |
630,851 |
60.40% |
39.60% |
| Marin |
42,913 |
27,313 |
61.20% |
38.80% |
| Mendocino |
6,873 |
7,457 |
47.90% |
52.10% |
| Monterey |
35,131 |
25,089 |
58.40% |
41.60% |
| Napa |
14,217 |
14,726 |
49.10% |
50.90% |
| Orange |
237,637 |
273,384 |
46.50% |
53.50% |
| San Diego |
279,132 |
287,786 |
49.20% |
50.80% |
| San Francisco |
115,291 |
42,862 |
72.90% |
27.10% |
| San Luis Obispo |
33,577 |
40,473 |
45.30% |
54.70% |
| San Mateo |
91,377 |
59,533 |
60.60% |
39.40% |
| Santa Barbara |
45,257 |
43,766 |
50.90% |
49.10% |
| Santa Clara |
203,157 |
142,851 |
58.80% |
41.20% |
| Santa Cruz |
41,441 |
25,770 |
61.70% |
38.30% |
| Solano |
32,536 |
30,055 |
52.00% |
48.00% |
| Sonoma |
73,925 |
56,721 |
56.60% |
43.40% |
| Ventura |
70,877 |
65,742 |
51.90% |
48.10% |
Submitted by Dick Wayman, Communications Director & Real Estate Manager with the California State Coastal Conservancy
to top of page
Final Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) Now Available
The Final Bay Area IRWMP is now available at http://www.bayareairwmp.net/. The Final Bay Area IRWMP includes feedback and responses to comments received during the public review period (please note: due to the large file size of these documents, it may take several minutes each to download so please be patient!). The Technical Coordinating Committee's goal is to have member agencies approve and adopt the Final Bay Area IRWMP by January 1, 2007.
to top of page
California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) Update
For those that hadn’t heard yet, we did it! Thanks to everyone who has been involved in development, testing, and outreach for the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM), we recently "rolled out" the first public version (v. 4.2). The User's Manual, scoring sheets, online data-entry tool ("CRAM-IT"), and supporting materials are now available at a new CRAM website: www.cramwetlands.org.
Please feel free to take a look at the fruit of our collective work, and spread the word about CRAM availability to your colleagues. If you would like to be apprised of the latest CRAM news, you can even register through the website to be on the CRAM mailing list.
Next steps in the CRAM process include development of training workshops for agency staff, consultants, land managers, and watershed groups who have an interest in implementing the method. Announcements about workshops will be made through the website and mailing list. Our initial objective for the use of CRAM and the Wetland Tracker on the Central Coast is to quantify the results of all new wetland restoration projects funded with State funds. The strategy includes completing a CRAM assessment for all Central Coast restoration projects before and after restoration activities have been completed. We have already completed CRAM assessments of next years Moro Cojo and Morro Bay restoration projects and project information and CRAM scores will be available soon at www.cramwetlands.org as well as links to the information from our central coast website: www.centralcoastwetlands.org.
So far, CRAM 4.2 has been calibrated for the estuarine and riverine wetland classes. We intend to use these tools to help quantify the central coasts efforts to restore wetland habitat and achieve a "No Net Loss" in wetland acreage and habitat condition.
A hearty "Thank you" to everyone for all your help with getting CRAM to this point. We hope that CRAM will be of great use to you and/or your colleagues into the future. Please contact us regarding questions or ideas.
Sincerely,
The Central Coast CRAM team
to top of page
Stamp Prizewinner
Exerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - November 2006
On 8 October, wildlife artist Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware, won the 2006 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest in Memphis, Tennessee with a depiction of a pair of swimming Ring-necked Ducks.
Clifton's painting - chosen from among 297 entries - will grace the 2007-2008 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly called the Duck Stamp. The sale of stamps raises approximately $25 million each year to fund wetland and grassland habitat acquisition for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the $15-stamp go toward supporting the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund which secures properties for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
This year's competition was co-hosted by Ducks Unlimited, the Greater Memphis Arts Council, and the Memphis College of Art and was supplemented by a week of public events at the Memphis College of Art. The announcement of the winning artwork helped launch National Wildlife Refuge Week.
Second place in the contest went to Joseph Hautman, who painted a pair of flying Wood Ducks. Hautman, a previous winner for 1992-3 (Spectacled Eider) and 2002-3 (Black Scoter) is from Plymouth, Minnesota. Third place went to Ed Yanok of North Canton, Ohio, who painted a pair of swimming Cinnamon Teal.
You can see their artwork here:
http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/federal/results/fedresults06.htm
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps bearing Clifton's winning design will go on sale in late June, 2007, at post offices, National Wildlife Refuges, certain national retail chain stores, and at various sporting-goods stores throughout the country. The Stamp not only allows holders to hunt waterfowl, it also serves as a "free pass" to the limited number of National Wildlife Refuges that charge for entry.
to top of page
Migratory Bird Stamp Efforts
Exerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - November 2006
In an attempt to increase the value of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp some interesting and creative proposals were recently made by the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV). The Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, founded in 1987 to help implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), is a dynamic partnership that functions as a network that seeks to link conservation partners at all levels. Today it has objectives and a structure to deal with the conservation of non-game birds that parallel its otherwise outstanding regular work that concentrates on waterfowl. The PPJV's recent 2005 Implementation Plan now includes shorebirds, waterbirds, and landbirds, as well as waterfowl.
The PPJV suggestions for the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp that were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month included ideas for strengthening refuge support (where stamp funding is spent to acquire habitat) and plans to seriously increase stamp marketing efforts. The suggestions included increasing and standardizing National Wildlife Refuge entry fees, posting the acreage-acquisition percentages at refuges and federal WPAs (Waterfowl Production Areas) that are the result of stamp revenue, using the full name of the stamp when possible, increasing the "shelf-life" of the stamp, increasing the size of the stamp (to allow for the inclusion of more art), and providing an increase in advance public information about where the stamp dollars go before such funds are actually committed, thus allowing for local acquisition campaigns to take place, whenever or wherever appropriate.
These ideas were presented as ways to possibly make the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp more appealing to a broader bird-conservation constituency than the waterfowl community that has already been supporting the stamp since the 1930s. These suggestions all deserve further exploration.
to top of page
NWRA Refuge Photo Contest
Exerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - November 2006
The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) has launched its second annual Refuge Photo Contest - a digital photo contest designed to showcase America's national wildlife refuges.
Images may be of birds, mammals, insects, fish, other animals, plants, people, or simply refuge scenery; in short, almost any aspect of a National Wildlife Refuge can be submitted for this contest. The contest submissions must be made by 15 January 2007.
Judges will be Maria Cecil ( editor of WILDLIFE REFUGE magazine and former editor of DEFENDERS magazine), Jim Clark (nature photographer, writer, motivational speaker, and instructor), and Karen Hollingsworth (professional nature photographer). Two rounds of judging will select the winning entries. The first round will select up to 200 images to be included in the NWRA Refuge Image Library. The second round will result in the selection of the top prizewinners.
Prizes will include items from Steiner Binoculars, TrekTechnologies, Swarovski Optik, Wild Bird Centers, and Houghton Mifflin. Also, each photographer submitting an entry will receive a complimentary one-year membership to the NWRA.
See the following site for more information on the contest, including procedures, rules, and other details:
http://www.refugenet.org/contest/2007ContestHome.html
To view the current images in the NWRA Refuge Image Library see:
http://www.refugenet.org/contest/RILibrary.html
to top of page
Refuge Birding Activities
Exerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - November 2006
The Refuge Improvement Act of 1997 recognizes that "compatible wildlife-dependent recreation is a legitimate and appropriate general public use of the [National Wildlife Refuge] System." As such, a group of birders, bird-industry practitioners, and avi-tourist experts has been asked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide some feedback on birding on Refuges. The birders team's chairman is Jon Andrew, Chief of Refuges from Region 4 (Southeast).
Members of this new team first met in late September to discuss the Refuge System's conservation of migratory bird habitat strategy. An effort was also made to explore the group's experience with strengthening a bird-conservation and bird-appreciation constituency, and encouraging awareness of birds' needs through quality wildlife dependent recreational opportunities.
The Refuge System is increasingly interested in educating Americans about the importance and value of conserving our nation's birds. Key refuge staff want to know how their current bird-recreation and conservation efforts are faring on NWRs, as well as how they are contributing beyond their boundaries. For example, how does the Refuge System contribute to regional birding trails, local nature festivals, and neighboring communities?
If you have particular insights or concerns in this area, you are welcome to pass your thoughts along to either of the E-bulletin editors (see the end of the bulletin for our e-mails). We will make sure your concerns reach the Refuge Birders Team.
to top of page
Now Tracking Marbled Godwits
Exerpted from Birding Community E-bulletin - November 2006
In September, we brought to your attention a website for following migrating Long-billed Curlews:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/sepSBC06.html#TOC07 or
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/sept06.html
We mentioned that Marbled Godwits would be the next satellite-site to come on line.
Recently, Adrian Farmer (USGS) and Bridget Olson (USFWS) have created a website that provides information about the movement of Marbled Godwits that were marked with satellite transmitters at Great Salt Lake (Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge). This winter, if all goes as planned, an additional godwit should be marked on the Marismas Nacionales in San Blas, Mexico. . The new website is found at:
http://www.fort.usgs.gov/Resources/GoGodwits/
to top of page
College Student Birding Scholarship: Trip to Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival
The Tim Schantz Memorial Foundation will send a college age scholarship recipient to the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska May 10-13, 2007 to help in the student’s study of migrating shorebirds. The Kachemak Bay Area, a magnificent setting, is renowned for the diversity and numbers of shorebird species that pass through each spring.
Tim Schantz, recognized for his dedication and expertise in field bird identification died suddenly of a heart ailment in 2001 at the age of 36 while guiding an birding tour to Gambell, Alaska. The Tim Schantz Foundation has been established to insure that Tim’s passion for birds live on in other young aspiring students and has sent a student to the festival the past 5 years. The scholarship trip will include the following:
- Roundtrip airfare to Anchorage, Alaska
- Transportation from Anchorage to Homer, Alaska
- Four nights lodging for the festival
- A copy of the ABA Alaska finding guide
Part of this experience will involve being on the program for the shorebird festival and doing an original ornithological presentation as well as serving as an interpretive guide for the public. For more information on the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival go to homeralaska.org/shorebird.
To request a scholarship application send an email to schantzbird@aol.com or write to:
Tim Schantz Memorial Foundation
6608 Medinah Drive
Ft. Worth, TX 76132
to top of page
Wildlife Protection Fence at Shollenberger
by Gerald Moore
(excerpted from the Autumn 2006 Petaluma Wetlands Alliance Newsletter)
On 12 November Boy Scout Troop 74 built a post-and-rail fence at Shollenberger Park to cordon off a sensitive bird habitat area located behind the four picnic tables near the first kiosk that serve as the PWA outdoor education area. The project was conceived by PWA and was taken on by scout Paul Shaw for the public service portion of his Eagle Scout requirements. With a little advice and encouragement from docents Andy LaCasse and John Richards, Paul organized the entire project and brought a crew of fifteen people to carry out the job. His father and the troop scoutmaster are contractors, so they had plenty of equipment. The fence looks great and was in place within several hours. PWA paid for the fencing and cement mix. This is a good example of how we can work with community groups for the betterment of our public wetlands.
to top of page
Migration Science & Mystery - A Distance Learning Adventure
Take your class on a journey and travel more than 6,500 miles with millions of shorebirds as they migrate from Panama to Alaska. Join migrating flocks of shorebirds beginning December 4, 2006 in Panama and at key stopover sites along the way to learn about the mystery and science of migration.
For Grades 5-8. Provided by Internet & Satellite and meets National Science Standards.
For information, call 1-800-609-2680.
Schools register free at http://migration.pwnet.org.
to top of page
|
