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Napa County Resource Conservation District |
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Napa County Resource Conservation District |
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Vineyard Grew Out of Huichica Creek Land Stewardship
In 1988, the Napa County Resource Conservation District assisted in the formation of the Huichica Creek Land Stewardship, which was made up from the 63 landowners of the Huichica Creek basin, and over a dozen federal, state, and local agencies. The cooperative effort resulted in a watershed wide natural resource protection and land management plan. As an outhgrowth of the efforts and programs of the stewardship, the RCD purchased a 21-acre parcel of land in 1991 in the watershed with a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy. The land was purchased to develop a vineyard to demonstrate the compatibility of natural systems with commercially viable agricultural systems that are properly designed and maintained. In the early years the property was developed almost entirely with volunteer labor and donations from growers, contractors, and vendors. Later the necessary capital to complete the development was secured from the State Revolving Fund. The Fund's administrators, accustomed to funding such public works projects as sewer plants, were at first reluctant to support the demonstration. Our community rallied, however, and through a strong letter-writing campaign convinced the Board that the vineyard would generate information that would support the Fund's environmental objectives.
Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration
The vineyard is located in the Carneros region in southern Napa County and borders the Napa Marsh State Wildlife Area. The project will be operated for a 50-year period to demonstrate the benefits of low input farming practices.
The Vineyard is being developed as a "hands on" farm that will bridge the gap between formal research and everyday farming realities. There are no other sites that utilize an entire system of integrated low input viticulture and that are open to public examination. By long term monitoring of water quality, soil nutrition, insect pest populations, biodiversity changes, and the economics of sustainable management, the RCD will create a useable tool for use in education and demonstration.
Several cover crop strategies are being explored:
- Low vigor blocks are being planted annually to “green manure” producing species, including cereal barley, oats, and various legumes. These crops are incorporated in the spring to increase soil organic matter.
- Our highest vigor block is planted to a mix of native perennial bunchgrasses, that is managed by mowing only (no tillage)
- Moderately vigorous blocks are planted and managed with the two treatments described above, in alternate rows, one tilled and seeded annually and the other non-tilled.
Objectives of the Vineyard Demonstration are:
- To protect water quality by encouraging the widespread adoption of low input farming practices;
- To provide education and assistance for growers and landowners;
- To demonstrate commercial viticultural methods that are environmentally sensitive and economically reasonable;
- To maximize the use of bio-diversity to control grape pests and diseases, and to enhance wildlife habitat in and around the vineyard;
- To make the vineyard available as an educational tool and outdoor classroom to encourage the adoption of sustainable agriculture techniques in perennial crops of California;
- To operate the vineyard as a commercial firm capable of producing high quality fruit to be made into premium wine representative of the Carneros Appellation.
Vineyard Surrounds Wetland
In June of 1998 a weir was installed in the vineyard to recreate a historic wetland. During past winter storms, Huichica Creek overflowed its right bank upstream of the Duhig Road bridge. The overflow crossed a pasture and moved through a low-lying "bypass" area in the middle of the vineyard before it rejoined Huichica Creek farther downstream. This area was formerly a wetland, but had been ploughed under, farmed and grazed for the past sixty years.
Several sets of boards were installed in the weir and by February 1999 a foot of water had collected. Evidence of waterfowl use began to accumulate. Pintails, mallards, shovelers, bluewing and Cinnamon teal, greater yellow legs, egrets, herons, canada geese, sandpipers, killdeer, pheasants, red-tailed hawks, vultures, sparrows, finches, robins, snipes and miscellaneous frogs enjoyed the temporarily expanded aquatic habitat.
As the level of the water encroached upon the vines the boards were removed. Bud break occurred in mid-march and the last of the boards were removed to provide vineyard drainage and control mosquitoes; by late April the pond was dry.
Wetland vegetation was surveyed along transects that were established the year prior to the weir construction. There appeared to be a reduction in Harding grass and Italian ryegrass as a result of the impoundment of water. A substantial stands of Juncus balticus (Baltic rush) and Leymus triticoides (Creeping wildrye) have also appeared within the first season. We will continue to monitor the continued transformation of this vital area in the coming years.
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