eNewsletter
August 4,  2016 

In this Communication
*RCDs Seek Rangeland Specialist
*Salmon Creek Water Resources
*Good Reads 
 *36th Annual Bodega Big Event BBQ
*3rd Annual Farmer Olympics

Gold Ridge & Marin RCD Seek Rangeland Specialist 

The position will assist the RCDs in engaging agricultural producers as ecosystem stewards to provide on-farm ecological benefits, improve agricultural productivity and enhance agroecosystem resilience. The position will develop two countywide agricultural carbon sequestration programs with producer outreach, technical and economic support. 

We seek a highly skilled Rangeland Specialist and experienced professional to assist grazing operators and dairy producers with conservation planning, grazing plans and carbon farm plans.

Application can be found here on our website. Interested parties should apply by Monday, Aug 15th. 

"Water Conservation and Groundwater Recharge" Event Educates on Salmon Creek Watershed Hydrology


On July 10, the Bodega Land Trust hosted a community event for the Salmon Creek Watershed.  Recent UC Berkeley Ph. D. recipient and author Cleo Woelfle-Erskine shared his research on groundwater/surface water interactions and effects on salmon in the Salmon Creek watershed:
History of use: Residents of Salmon Creek Watershed today use 5 times the amount of water they did in 1850, due to an increase in the number of households in the watershed.
Current status for salmon: Salmonids are fighting for survival in scarce water. These fish are born and seek sanctuary in even the smallest of coastal streams, so long as there is cold enough, plentiful enough and oxygenated enough water.
Citizen science: The curiosity and participation of locals in recording data such as wet and dry mapping, well monitoring, and fish counting can significantly aid our understanding of what it takes to keep salmon and the multispecies community that flourishes with them.
Guidance for Water Managers: Citizen and academic science are gather data that gets us closer to understanding what conditions fish need to survive. They help answer questions like "Do salmon want humans to catch rainwater?" and "Is groundwater recharge the most effective method for supplying surface water?" Answers to these questions will be very useful guidance to water managers. 
Gold Ridge RCD lead scientist John Green offered water-saving solutions for watershed residents:
Reduce: Too often water is lost through inefficient irrigation systems, and ample rainwater that could be stored for use later is forced off the site by pipes, channels, roads, and gutters. The water that we need so badly in the summer is swiftly drained from the landscape in the winter, shooting down impervious surfaces, carrying pollutants like soil, fertilizers and car oil, undermining roads and eroding stream banks as it heads to the ocean.
Reuse: Catching and storing clean rainwater before it hits the ground is a practical solution for meeting non-potable water demand year-round. Rainwater capture and storage comes in many forms-from a simple barrel at the end of your home's down spout, to an impressive 150,000 gallons stocked in a steel tank, to a discreet water pillow laid below your deck.
Recycle: In a place that experiences annual drought, using water multiple times and recycling water back into the watershed by recharge makes a good deal of sense. Greywater systems enable residents to send their laundry water out to garden planters, and pervious landscaping settles and absorbs water instead of removing it. "Slow it, store it, spread it, sink it" is a motto all Salmon Creek residents could ado pt.

Karl Andersen, a Bodega landowner who partnered with the RCD on a rainwater system at his home in 2010, shared his experience. Karl demystified the construction and use of a rainwater system for the average resident and how having an alternative source of water impacts both water use and awareness of water on the landscape.

Thank you to all who attended!


Good Reads and New Reads 
from the Gold Ridge RCD Library

  New titles available from the Gold Ridge RCD lending library

-  The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security

-  Watershed Best Management Practices for Cannabis Growers and Other Rural Gardeners

-  Barnyards and Birkenstocks: Why Farmers and Environmentalists Need Each Other


 

Old favorites we love to reference, yours to borrow or purchase:

-  Slow It, Spread It, Sink It!: A Landowner's and Homeowner's guide to Beneficial Stormwater Management 

-  Stewardship Guide for the Russian River



Partner News

36th Annual Bodega Big Event BBQ & Parade
Aug 7, 2016, 10-5pm Downtown Bodega 

Don't miss a local gem - the Bodega Fire Department hosts its annual big bash benefit. The d ay starts out with Sonoma County's Shortest Parade at 10:30 AM. Live music by Queen Anne's Lace (Country) and Used Goods (Rock n Roll) from 11am- 5pm. Enjoy BBQ Chicken and Tri-Tip lunch served with salad, beans and garlic bread. Adults $15 Child $8. Beer on tap, wine, mimosas and Bloody Mary's. Desserts, kids games, and craft vendors. Pet Friendly. Free Parking. All proceeds benefit Bodega Volunteer Fire Department. 


3rd Annual Farmer Olympics
Sept 17, Noon-7 PM, Petaluma Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma, CA 94952

Start training for the 3rd Annual Farmer Olympics! This interactive festival invites farmers, food-lovers and families alike from all across the state to try their hand at haybale-stacking, wheelbarrow relays, and more. With local food, live music, and dozens of partnering farms and organizations, this annual celebration of sustainable agriculture combines entertainment with education to explore where our food comes from and who grows it.

Celebrate 75 Years of Service 
    

See what's recent at the



Read our musings at the 

The staff of the Gold Ridge RCD thanks you for your continued support.