News of Interest

Practitioner-level training sessions for the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM)  visit www.cramwetlands.org for more information

Southern California Training
CRAM Riverine  & Estuarine Training in Costa Mesa, CA

WHAT: A two-part practitioner level training course intended to equip participants with the skills necessary to conduct an accurate assessment for riverine and estuarine wetlands using the California Rapid Assessment for Wetlands (CRAM).

WHEN: Session 1 (October 19-21, 2009) focuses on riverine wetlands; Session II (October 22-23, 2009) focuses on estuarine wetlands.

WHERE: Both trainings to be held at the offices of the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) in Costa Mesa, CA.

TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION: Available through the UC Extension website http://extension.ucdavis.edu/. To navigate to the class: click on Land Use and Natural Resources program area and then on the left side bar, click on Natural Resources and scroll down to find the class and/or enroll.

MORE QUESTIONS: Contact Nancy Barker at 530-757-8889, nlbarker@ucdavis.edu or visit www.cramwetlands.org

Pajaro River Mitigation Bank trades conservation credits for wetlands development

By Donna Jones – Santa Cruz Sentinel – January 4, 2008 At $225,000 an acre, the land isn't cheap. But if you're a developer looking to build on wetlands in the Pajaro River watershed, Wildlands Inc. has a deal for you. The company has purchased 273 acres in San Benito County to create the Pajaro River Mitigation Bank, which can be tapped to offset the impact of development elsewhere in the 1,300-square-mile watershed that covers portions of Santa Cruz, San Benito, Santa Clara or Monterey counties. For full article, go to: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?storySection=Local&sid=64607

Putting A Price On Riparian Corridors As Water Treatment Facilities

By Ann L. Riley, Ph.D., Watershed and River Restoration Advisor, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, Oakland, CA, Jan. 2008 -- The monetary value of natural riparian environments that provide water quality treatment functions by processing nutrients, storing sediment, moderating temperatures, and other services can be estimated by calculating the costs associated with the construction of brick and mortar water treatment plants built to achieve similar functions. For a direct link to this discussion paper, go to: http://www.aswm.org/putting_price_riparian_corridors_riley_21108.pdf

CA: Wetlands No. 2 on list of most endangered

By Michael Shea – the Modesto Bee – January 13, 2008 When high snows melted in the Sierra or heavy rains pounded the Central Valley, long before the days of dams and canals, the mighty San Joaquin River overflowed and the Grassland was born. The meandering marshland from Stevinson to Dos Palos, the Grassland Ecological Area creeps as far east as the Merced National Wildlife Refuge and westward to the San Luis Reservoir on Interstate 5. The elevation on this western edge of Merced County is low. Just under the surface is clay and just under clay is a very high water table, said Candace Sigmond, education coordinator for Grassland Environment Education Center. For full article, go to: http://www.modbee.com/local/story/178722.html

CA: Storm-damaged wetlands restored

By David Reyes – Los Angeles Times – January 13, 2008 Robert Johnson steered his pickup carefully along an earthen levee ringing the newly renovated wetlands behind Prado Dam, which straddles the Riverside-Orange county border. He braked to watch a red-tailed hawk soar overhead and pointed proudly to young plants already sprouting where earthmovers had recently tracked. "People ask whether we have to plant those bulrushes and cattails out there, and we tell them no. They grow alarmingly fast. By spring this area will look overgrown." More than two years ago, the wetlands, constructed by the Orange County Water District in 1996, were wiped out when the Santa Ana River -- which feeds into the dam's vast reservoir -- changed course due to near-record rainfall, said Johnson, the district's director of wetlands operations. For full article, visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-prado13jan13,1,1045449.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

CA: Fish and Wildlife Service Claims Sacramento River Islands

Two islands in the Sacramento River owned by the federal government have been closed to filing of new mining claims and are proposed to be withdrawn from the general land laws and transferred from the Bureau of Land Management to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Todd Island and Foster Island are isolated tracts of public land within the boundary of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge and are proposed for withdrawal and transfer to the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect riparian habitat along the river, which is critically important for fish, migratory birds, plants, and river system health. For full story, go to: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-02-096.asp

Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development (LID) Strategies and Practices

Publication Number EPA 841-F-07-006, December 2007. EPA’s recently released report provides information to cities, counties, states, private-sector developers and others on the costs and benefits of using Low Impact Development (LID) strategies and practices to help protect and restore water quality. LID practices are innovative practices that manage stormwater close to its source by mimicing a site's predevelopment hydrology and use design techniques that infiltrate, evapotranspirate, and reuse runoff. LID practices are increasingly being used by communities across the country to help protect and restore water quality. This report provides information on the cost savings and benefits that can be achieved by implementing LID practices versus conventional stormwater practices. For a link to access to the report, go to: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/costs07/

DWR Releases Independent Report – A California Challenge

A California Challenge – Flooding in the Central Valley, is an independent report written by a panel of national flood experts assembled at DWR’s request. Though the report validates the flood management funding already provided by Governor Schwarzenegger and corrective actions taken by DWR, it finds that the current flood control system needs further improvement. (01/08/2008) http://www.water.ca.gov/news/newsreleases/2008/101507challenge.pdf

 New Ecological Assessment Database Available

This database was created to help users identify suitable methods and quickly ascertain their utility for a specific application. This searchable database focuses on methods and also includes selected guidance documents which address key classification systems, sampling protocol, or method critiques. For a direct link to this newly available resource, go to: http://assessmentmethods.nbii.gov/