february 2010 watershed watch

7/31/2019 February 2010 Watershed Watch

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VOL 2 No. 2

XHIGHLIGHTSFROMTHECCWGANNUAL MEETING...2

XA EWENIQUEWAYTOMANAGEVEGETATION ......3

XBILL S CORNER .......... 5

WatershedwatchADDRESSI NG THE NEWEST ISSUES EFFECTI NG THE

COTTONWOOD CREEK WATERSHED

February 2010

COTTONWOOD CREEKCOMMUNITY GARDEN TAKES ROOT

After months of planning and going throughthe process of obtaining funding from theTehama County Community Action Agency,the Cottonwood Creek Community Garden isone step closer to breaking ground. The new

garden doesn't look like much now, but over thenext several months, the quarter-acre piece of

property at Evergreen Middle School will betransformed into a community garden. CCWGrecently signed a 5 year commitment agreementwith Evergreen Union School District and lookforward to breaking ground early February.Ditch work will be completed as soon as thereis a break in the weather followed by layingwaterlines and the completion of raised beds.After all immediate construction has beencompleted deer fencing will be installed to

protect the garden.The Cottonwood Creek Community Garden is

a project to help enhance the food supply of low-income families in the Cottonwoodcommunity. Among feeding the low income,senior citizens and disabled in our community,

the garden will serve as an outdoor classroomfor adults and school children. As an outdoorclassroom, youth will have the opportunity tolearn valuable skills, like those involving

practical math, communication, responsibilityand cooperation. It will also provide theopportunity to learn about the importance ofcommunity, stewardship and environmentalresponsibility.

Through the creation of the communitygarden, CCWG seeks to promote the social,environmental, and

nutritional benefits of sustainable gardening.CCWG strives to maintain a healthywatershed. It is our belief that the watershed isnot healthy if the people living within thewatershed are not healthy, says Brynn Nolan,

Executive Director. Excess produce will bedonated to the Shepherds Heart Food Bank,also located in Cottonwood.

The garden will feature seven raised beds fortomatoes, peppers and onions; in addition to alarge area to plant row crops such as corn,

pumpkins, watermelon and potatoes. Gardenplans include a place for composting, an areafor a greenhouse, how-to classes for beginnergardeners, rainwater recycling and pollinatordemonstration projects.

CCWG urges community members tovolunteer and help grow this garden. Forinformation on how you can contribute pleasecontact CCWG by calling (530)347-6637 oremail [email protected].


2/6

The Cottonwood CreekWatershed Group held theirAnnual Meeting on January 28that the Cottonwood CommunityCenter. The event kicked off

with a potluck dinner. CCWGprovided the main course,cornbread, biscuits and drinksand community members

brought salads, side dishes anddesserts to share.Executive Director Brynn

Nolan gave a presentation on thepast years significantaccomplishments and announcedupcoming projects for the 2010year. There were 45 communitymembers and agency personnelin attendance. After the

presentation Ms. Nolan openedthe floor for communitycomments and questions. Les

Baugh, Shasta County District 5Supervisor, stood up towards theend to give his support to thegroup. He commended CCWGfor taking action with FuelReduction efforts, community

garden, environmental educationand community enrichment

projects such as the FarmersMarket. He also noted he was

pleased to hear that we were

funded to eradicate noxiousweeds and do the sediment

budget.Prior to the meeting two of the

qualified candidates running forthe CCWG Board of Directorswithdrew their candidature for

personal reasons. Therefore, noelections were held and the tworemaining candidates wereelected to the Board of Director

by default. CCWG welcomesLouise Wilkinson and RonaldMyers to the Board of Directors

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THECCWG ANNUAL MEETINGThe 2010 CCWG Annual Meeting was held on January 28th

Turmoil in Power SectorFalling electricity demands trips up utilities plans for infrastructure projects

As Reported By: Rebecca Smith, The Wall Street Journal

Falling U.S. electricity production in the pasttwo years is frustrating the utility industry andshaking up timetables for some majorinfrastructure projects.Electricity output decreased 3.7% last year, the

steepest drop since 1938, according to federal

statistics, following a nearly 1% decline in 2008.The recent downward trend is making it trickier

for utilities to forecast future powerconsumption, a critical component of

planning investments in new power plantsand transmission lines.The falling electricity demand and

production are attributed to a weak economy,conservation efforts and, in 2009, a relativelymild summer in many parts of the country.The possible completion date for the $1.8

billion Potomac Appalachian TransmissionHighline, or PATH project, that AlleghenyEnergy Inc. and American Electric Power

Co. intend to build from West Virginia,through Virginia, to Maryland may bedelayed by several years because of weakerelectricity demand.Government energy experts believe a

strengthening economy will lift electricityproduction this year, but don't foresee areturn to prerecession levels anytime soon. TheEnergy Information Administration expectsindustrial demand for electricity to increase2.2% this year and 2.5% in 2011, which suggestsa return to prerecession levels by 2013.Energy industry consultants Black & Veatch,

which recently polled utilities, said it expected"a moderate economic rebound" this year that

would lift electricity demand 1.7% a year from2010 to 2013 before slowing to a 1.1% growthrate. Those estimates take into accountincreasing energy-conservation efforts.

Mark Griffith, managing director of Black &Veatch, said utilities may be forced to defer

infrastructure projects that weren't criticallyneeded in light of the recent weak demand.

Puget Sound Energy said this week that it was

reassessing its customers' energy needs, which itmay have underestimated last summer, "in aneffort not to overstate our need," said spokesmanRoger Thompson. The utility based in Bellevue,Wash., now estimates that it will need 1,600 to1,800 megawatts of new generating capacity by2017, mostly to replace aging power plants andexpiring energy contracts. The company plans to

meet about a third of that through energy-efficiency investments that would permanentlyreduce consumption.

Puget Sound estimated that its energyefficiency efforts would reduce natural-gasconsumption by the equivalent of 108,000

homes by 2020 and would cut electricity usageequal to 400,000 homes by that same date.

Utilities are being encouraged by regulators tofind greener ways to meet customers' energyneeds, relying less on fossil fuels that create

pollution and waste-disposal problems."There have been tremendous numbers of

cancellations of proposed coal-fired plants,"said David Owens, spokesman for the EdisonElectric Institute, a trade group for investor-owned utilities. "There has been a dash togas," which burns more cleanly. EEI counts 43coal plant cancellations or deferrals since 2008and 15 new projects announced.

Lower energy use is already having animpact on the U.S.'s carbon-dioxide emissions.In 2009, emissions fell by 6.1% to 5.45 billiontons, according to the Energy InformationAdministration's monthly short-term outlook.

Greenhouse-gas emissions are expected torise 1.5% to 5.53 billion tons in 2010 as a

healthier economy lifts industrial demand.A 1.7% increase in greenhouse-gas output is

expected in 2011.President Barack Obama has set a goal of

cutting greenhouse-gas emissions to 17% below2005 levels by 2020.


3/6

A EWENIQUE WAY TO MANAGE VEGETATIONA look at a local and green business to help you manage vegetation on your property.

Hi, my name is Raul, I own and operateEwenique!, A Vegetation ManagementCompany, based in Shasta Lake, CA. I have

been in business since January 2008, eightmonths in Lompoc, CA in Santa BarbaraCounty, and one year and four months in ShastaCounty. For over seven years prior to my

business venture, I cleared lots, fields, hillsides,and even yards informally using Navajo-Churrosheep. Before continuing Ill briefly discuss my

background in sheep. My great-grandfather wasa sheep-herder in Arizona and New Mexico andgrazed his band of sheep throughout the FourCorners region. My grand-mother and motherspoke often of him, though they nevermentioned if they accompanied or assisted himwith herding duties, but my dad says sheepherding is in my blood, so if anything, theyforwarded the sheep-herding genes! Some ofmy first memories are of horses, sheep andgoats. O.K., so here is my official description of

the business.Ewenique! is a Sole-Proprietor, Service BasedBusiness specializing in small and large scalevegetation management projects using grazing

livestock; Navajo-Churro Sheep and SpanishGoats, in urban, sub-urban, and semi-rural areaswithin a 50 mile radius of Redding, CA. I have

a

thorough knowledge of livestock husbandry forsheep and goats, as well as a strong

understanding of the invasive vegetationcommon to Redding and Shasta County.By utilizing the natural physiology,

characteristics, and foraging abilities of sheep

and goats to perform vegetation managementservices including vegetation suppression, weabatement and fuel load reduction, I havesuccessfully completed numerous grazing

projects for numerous homeowners and sub-divisions. An advantage I draw on is the smasize and sure footedness of sheep and goats,enabling them to graze small and large landareas that are; uneven or steep, heavily treed, contain fixtures or obstacles where largeequipment, prescribed burning, hand crews, oherbicides, are not safe, practical, or costeffective.For heavier work beyond the scope of grazin

such as limbing low branches, thinning densebrush, and removing fallen trees, I employ ahand crew using gas operated power equipmesuch as chain saws, power hedgers, and weedtrimmers.

For more information contact:

Ewenique!

P.O. Box 5281Shasta Lake, CA 96089

(530) 275-1657


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4

Storms help, but spring snowpack will hold key.

As Reported By: Matt Weiser, The Sacramento Bee

The question now gurgles up from every stormdrain and creek in California: Is the droughtover?

The simple answer is no. The reasons why arenot so simple.

Two weeks of heavy rain and snow nice as itis cannot entirely erase three years of droughtstatewide.

For starters, California's largest reservoirs arefar from full. This includes Shasta, Oroville andFolsom, all vital storage points for state andfederal water supply canals.

These reservoirs likely won't fill completelywith the snowpack on the ground now,especially if there is no more of it by AprilFools' Day.

"Until we get the reservoirs back to normal

and see a normal to slightly above normalspring snowmelt coming, it would be perilous tosuggest the drought is over," said Rob Hartman,hydrologist in charge at the California NevadaRiver Forecast Center, an arm of the NationalWeather Service in Sacramento. "There's a lotof winter yet to go and anything could happen."

Beyond that, and despite the state's economicwoes, California keeps growing. That meansever-greater water demand, which each yearpushes total salvation from drought furtheraway.Nature gives California a finite water supply,

whether it's snow in the mountains orgroundwater deep beneath our feet. It is now

widely recognized that all of our water suppliesare overtapped.

The governor's Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force,for instance, revealed in 2008 that state officialshave granted water rights equal to eight timesthe average annual flow in the Sacramento-SanJoaquin Delta watershed, which catches half ofCalifornia's precipitation. Even more water-rights applications are pending.

Climate change throws another wrench in the

works. Global warming is expected to bringmore rain and less snow. This will mean lesswater melting from the mountains to slake

California's thirst through summer and fall.Environmental protections are another

limitation. To save salmon and protect waterquality in the Delta, federal officials have ruledthat we must divert less water.For all these reasons, the state Department of

Water Resources estimated in a draft report thisweek that it will be able to send State WaterProject customers only 60 percent of contractedwater amounts in average water years. Droughtyears would produce even less.The water project serves a portion of the waterdemand for about 25 million Californians from

Napa to San Diego.

"We have to operate under the premise thatthere's less water to deal with than we've had inthe past," said Mark Svoboda, climatologist atthe National Drought Mitigation Center in

Nebraska. "It's all of our responsibility to reallymanage water like we are in a drought everyyear."

The state snowpack on Thursday stood at 117percent of average for the date, thanks to thosebig storms over the past two weeks. That's goodnews.

But it's not enough good news.What really matters is snowpack on April 1,

considered the end of winter.Maury Roos, DWR hydrologist, said a

snowpack that's still at 117 percent on April 1could mean the end of drought conditions.

But we don't know what the next two monthswill bring. Long-range forecasts still suggestincreased odds for above-normal precipitationthrough April due to El Nio conditions in thePacific Ocean.

But the next 10 days look relatively dry. AndEl Nio can be fickle.

"We're being cautious because we've seen

them fizzle in the past," said Roos.Without more storms the snowpack will

continue to shrink. Water will be lost toevaporation and groundwater percolation.Reservoir operators also are required to releasewater to maintain flood-storage space throughJune.Even if this winter's snows continue piling up

to above-average depths, it could be just a wetpulse in a much longer string of drought years.

With these factors in mind, there is no formula

in a dog-eared state policy manual for declaringan end to the drought. Instead, it's a "judgmentcall," said Wendy Martin, DWR droughtcoordinator."Regardless of what this year is or what this

month is, the message is that we have to changehow we use water," Martin said. "People needto prepare for a drier reality."

RAINS NOT WITHSTANDING,STATE DROUGHT ISNT OVER


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BILLS CORNER

Hi Folks. It seems this century is whizzingalong. Were into 2010 already!! Make thisyear count for you. It is the first year of the restof your life!The firstBills Cornerarticle focused on

What to Do now that you have a piece ofheaven in the country. We reviewed together

the first step in making your ranchingexperience provide for quality of life, incomegeneration, and enhancement of your land forfuture production. Hopefully, applying Step 1,you have sat down with your family membersand asked them individually what they enjoymost about country living (young childrenshould be part of this process since theirfeelings count too), and what their futureexpectations or dreams are for what they wantthis land to provide for them. If, or when, youhave this discussion consolidate their responsesto develop a picture of your familys needs and/or desires.The second article, second step focused on

dividing your family goal into three parts: (1)Quality of Life (2) Forms of Production and(3) Future Resource Base.You should now be ready for STEP THREE,

the fundamentals of what biological principalsyour land is based upon. Remembering whyyou have decided to live in the country vs.living in an urban subdivision. Rememberingwhy you are a ruralist rather than an urbanist isreally important since you will probably need toremind yourself when the coons get into yourchicken pen and dine on several chickens, oryour goats get out and eat your roses, or worse your neighbors roses!, or you have agrasshopper outbreak that consumes your wholegarden. The list of fun challenges goes onand on, doesnt it? But isnt it wonderful tohave a great day with your family building afence together or picking fresh peaches fromyour own trees, or simply enjoying your littlepiece of heaven. Hopefully you havecompleted the first and second steps by writingdown why youre doing this land thing andhave possibilitized the kinds of crops or animalsyou want to raise to provide for family needs, orto sell or trade for profit, and have written downwhat you want your land to be and look like farinto the future. Youre now ready for Step 3,which is understanding how biological systems

work. Biological systems (agriculture andnatural resources) are much harder to managethen mechanical systems. We were able to put aman on the moon which was a phenomenalaccomplishment. The reason we were able todo so is because it was a mechanical linealsystem. For example we would run into one

problem at a time, evaluate, troubleshoot andsolve them until all the kinks would be adjustedand the mission could be accomplished.Biological systems do not work in such a linealway. Let me illustrate by an example: Envisiona calm pond with no ripples. Now envisionthrowing a pebble into the pond (representing

an infestation of insects attacking your garden).Now throw another pebble into the pond thatwould represent a disease infesting your garden,add another pebble that would indicateextremely cold nights and/or extremely hotdays. You could continue adding pebbles thatwould represent all the variables that could

affect the productivity of your garden. Biologyis a very complex interaction in nature that ourlineal minds usually have a hard timeunderstanding.So to understand biological systems we must

understand the complexity of our ecosystem(ecosystem = the relationship of environmentalfactors that affect the resulting behavior of anenvironment). Even though there is only oneecosystem in any given area or environment Imgoing to break an ecosystem into 4 parts forease in understanding the importance of each

part, or process.Im going to begin with one process most of us

understand the Water Cycle. Water, of

course, is fundamental for any living organismfrom the very simple to the very complex. Inagriculture we need to understand how tomaximize the use of this aspect of theecosystem, how to filter water into the soil andsave it for plant growth whether it be fromseasonal rains or from some type of irrigation.We can store water in the root zone of plants forlong periods of time if we know how. Ill coverthis how in a future article.The second ecosystem component is the

Mineral Cycle. Notice I use the term cyclesince we need to cycle minerals on our ownfarm or ranch rather than losing them to run-off,leaching, volitization or other means. There are16 or 17 essential nutrients/minerals for plantgrowth and a couple more for effective animalgrowth. So cycling these nutrient/minerals isvery important in building biological capital onyour land.The third ecosystem component is called

Community Dynamics. Many biologistswould probably call this process succession.However, succession simply means the movingof an ecosystem from simple to more complex.Community Dynamics includes all biologicalinter-relationships, including insects, weather,man and others.The final ecosystem component is Energy

Flow. This relates to how much solar energywe can collect from the sun by using solarpanels daily and annually. A leaf is nothingmore than a biological solar panel. The numberof plants, size of leaves and length of sunlightshining on the leaves determine the amount ofenergy we can harvest which is collectedthrough photosynthesis. Perennial grasses havea longer growing season than annuals andtherefore collect more energy.I hope this discussion of ecosystem processes

hasnt confused you, however it is a veryimportant aspect for agriculturists tounderstand. To simplify your understanding of

the ecosystem processes you need only to keepin mind one major idea here it is: KEEP THSOIL COVERED WITH GREEN GROWINGPLANTS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Once th

plant dies get it on the soil surface as soon aspossible to reincorporate the minerals and give the soil coverfor solar protection and to minimize erosion.

This installment may prove somewhatconfusing to you if you are embarking onfarming for the first time so dont hesitate togive me a call (530-529-1535 or email:[email protected]) for clarification ordiscussion on any aspect of Bills Corner.

An excellent reference for these articles is:

Holistic Management by Allan Savory w/ Jod

Butterfield. Island Press, Washington D.C. oCovelo, CA. ISBN 1 55963-488-X

A series of articles for decision making for you, your family and your land.

About Bill

Bill Burrows is a Certified

Registered Educator for Holis-tic Management

International, withInternational headquarters in

Albuquerque, NM. He hasgiven seminars throughout theWestern US, and severalcountries in Africa. He and his

family operate a SunlightHar-vesting ranch west ofRed Bluff, CA, raising cattle,sheep, goats, dry land farming

with majority of income fromAgritourism (Hunting club forWild Boar, Blacktail Deer,Wild Turkeys, Dove, Quail

and a guided CaliforniaGround Squirrel hunt).


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Brynn NolanExecutive Director

Keith HackneyAmeriCorps VISTA

Board of Directors

Jim CurryPresident

Jim BusherVice President

Sheri CurrySecretary

Judy HuddlestonTreasurer

Louise WilkinsonDirector

Ronald MyersDirector

A PUBLICATION OF:Cottonwood CreekWatershed Group

PRDUCED BY:Sheri Curry

P.O. Box 11983645 Main Street

Cottonwood, CA 96022Office (530) 347-6637

Fax (530) 347-6346www.ccwgrp.org

FEBRUARY 10th - Fire Safe Coun-

cil Meeting located at 3645 Main St.,

Cottonwood. Limited seating, call to

RSVP (530) 347-6637.

FEBRUARY 10th - Buy Fresh, Buy

Local Farmer Workshop located at the

Farm Bureau Conference Room, 831

5th Street, Orland, CA from 3-6pm.

For more information call (530)894-

7738.

FEBRUARY 11th - CCWG Board

Meeting located at 3645 Main St., Cot-

tonwood at 5:30pm.

FEBRUARY 15th - 19th -

National FFA Week.

MARCH 11th - CCWG

Board Meeting located at

3645 Main St., Cottonwood at 5:30pm.

MARCH 26th - 28th - Spring Hom

& Garden Expo at the Shasta Distri

Fairgrounds in Anderson, CA. Formore information visit

www.reddinghomeexpo.com.

If you would like your event added

our Calendar be sure to contact

CCWG by calling (530) 347-6637 o

visit us online at www.ccwgrp.org.

UPCOMING EVENTSABOUT US

The Cottonwood CreekWatershed Group(CCWG) is an organizedassociation of landowners,residential home owners,business owners, andother private parties.

The groups goal is towork together to maintain,conserve and restore ahealthy and productive

Cottonwood Creek Water-shed. CCWG will workto preserve the environ-ment, private property andwater rights, and the eco-nomic resources of Cot-tonwood Creek Watershedthrough responsible stew-ardship, liaison, coopera-tion and education.

Re/Max Top ProperKEN ROB

605 MainRed Bluff, CA

(530) 52

ken@kenrobisoGhost town No. 33: Pinckney

Pinckney was established in 1881 when most ofthe residents who lived in the low lying areas of

Cottonwood Creek at Gas Point moved 2 milesaway to Pinckney for one reason: to escape therampant malaria carrying mosquitoes who livedat the water.

Gas Point resident Dr. Kenneth Davidson spear-headed the move and named it for a Michigansettlement where he once speculated on land.Pinckney was located just northeast of the

present Pinckney Cemetery on Gas Point Road.As far as I know, nothing remains. The entirearea has been completely dredged for gold.

TAKING CARE OFHISTORYBY DOTTIE SMITH OF REDDING.COM
http://www.ccwgrp.org/http://www.ccwgrp.org/

february 2010 watershed watch

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