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Napa Gateway- A Creek Runs Through It
An Interview With Charles Slutzkin
Charles Slutzkin isn’t in a profession that people readily connect with environmental restoration. As project manager for the Napa Gateway project, he facilitates the development of commercial and industrial projects on lands near the Napa County Airport. For the past 16 years, Charles has worked to locate industries on Gateway lands, with a careful eye to insuring that the business environment is compatible with the surrounding natural one.
When the project began to focus on lands west of the highway 13 years ago, one of the first challenges he faced was what to do with Sheehy Creek. At the time, the creek was little more than an “eroded gully”, winding its way from the hills above Jamieson Canyon down to the Napa River. With its high, vertical banks totally devoid of vegetation, motorists rushing by on Hwy. 29 considered it to be nothing more than a barren ditch. A very un-picturesque eyesore.
Having heard of the successes of the RCD’s Huichica Creek Land Stewardship project, Charles wondered if a similar approach of bringing resource agencies and landowners together to restore the land might work in a more urban setting. Following a series of meetings to organize and launch the Sheehy Creek Stewardship, a plan began to take shape. The gully that decades before had once been a creek, would be restored once again to a living, breathing riparian environment. Thus began a journey, he would only be able to look back on and appreciate years later.
Charles notes, “At first, we felt like we had a win-win situation. Agencies like the CA Department of Fish and Game saw the restoration proposal as a great tool to help inspire other developers to do the right thing with creek side properties”. As time went on, over a dozen agencies with permit and approval authorities would have a hand in setting requirements for the project. Plans were revised, additional environmental studies were conducted, letters were written and re-written. At one point, one of the key federal agencies overseeing certain aspects of the project simply ceased to respond. No comment, no approval. Just silence. Various agency personnel moved on, and the new replacements had to get acquainted with the project all over again. The pendulum on the restoration clock swung ever so slowly.
Through it all though, Charles persevered, and at long last, the creek restoration was completed this past fall. The experience has inspired him to speak out frequently in public for reasonable, fair, and efficient environmental regulations. His calls for responsive government policy certainly seem quite timely, given the recent outcome for Measure “P” at the polling booth.
As we walked along a creek side nature trail, carving a serpentine path through plantings of numerous native trees and shrubs, Charles spoke in a decidedly upbeat tone about the decision to see the project through. “In the midst of it, I said to myself only a naïve fool would have taken this on! Pain for me has a short memory. It’s like raising teenagers- if you’d only known what you were getting into….” His voice trails off as we listen to rushing water and watch the clouds move along over Sheehy Creek. What a beautiful spring day.
NSWG Hosts Largest Workshop To Date:
Sustainable Weed Management in VineyardsThe following text is an excerpt of NSWG’s February 2004 newsletter.
The newsletter can be found on NSWG’s web site at: www.nswg.org/newsletters.htmOn February 25, one hundred and sixty attendees spent one of the stormiest days of the year at NSWG’s Sustainable Weed Management workshop at the Napa Valley Exposition, making it the largest NSWG workshop to date. The workshop’s master of ceremonies was Ed Weber, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Napa Valley Vineyard Technical Advisor and NSWG member. The event was quite a success, with attendees coming from all over Napa County, from Calistoga to Pope Valley to Carneros and even Sonoma County.
The program began with a research presentation entitled Alternatives to Pre-Emergents by Kendra Baumgartner, UC Davis and USDA plant pathologist research scientist and NSWG member. Tom Lanini, UCCE Weed Specialist based at UC Davis, spoke about Organic and Low Input Weed Control in Vineyards. Lanini discussed the pros and cons of treatments such as several options for under the vine row (UVR) cultivation, including the Kimco, the Bezzerides, the Weed Badger, and a customized over the vine row UVR 2-row cultivator. Joe DiTomaso, UCCE Weed Specialist based out of UC Davis presented Yellow Star Thistle Management, a very relevant topic considering yellow star thistle has significant distribution in Napa County.
The workshop concluded with a dynamic panel of diverse speakers including Kirk Grace from Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Richard Camera from The Hess Collection, Jon Kanagy from Nord Coast Vineyard Services, and Pete Richmond from Silverado Farming Company, all NSWG members. Grace discussed practical applications of many organic techniques, as he is the vineyard manager for 160 acres of organic vineyards for Robert Sinskey Winery. Jon Kanagy discussed the best management practices for use of glyphosate-based herbicides such as Round Up. Pete Richmond manages 200 acres in Napa, one third of which are organic, on 23 separate properties. Richmond, aside from sharing the best management practices he applies in his business, echoed Kanagy’s concerns of UVR tillage because of the potential disruption of fine roots in the upper soil layer and the damage to grapevines from the machines. Richard Camera’s vineyard management philosophy is low chemical inputs on Hess’s 350-acre vineyard on Mount Veeder. His challenges are one of a hillside farmer, where steep, rocky terrain creates a major potential for erosion and makes the use of mechanical tillers difficult if not impossible. Camera also maintains a composting program and applies composted wood chips UVR.
The take home messages from the workshop were to use a variety of techniques in weed management in a vineyard. Timing of operations is critical with every control option. An intimate knowledge of a particular site is essential to develop a program that is environmentally friendly but cost effective and successful.
This workshop is to be followed by a field demonstration of many of the aforementioned techniques. Please refer to the NSWG website www.nswg.org/newsletters.htm for detailed seminar handouts from the above presentations.
GPS at NRCS
Napa’s Natural Resources Conservation Service office is now using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to help customers plan conservation projects.
“GPS is often an easier and lower-cost way to create an accurate map of the landowner’s project” says Chip Bouril, NRCS Soil Conservationist. Formerly, surveying transits, measuring tapes, and a multiple-person crew were required. Now many projects can be mapped by one person, while walking in the field with the landowner.
The new NRCS hand held GPS receiver is similar to those used by hikers and hunters. The difference is that the hand held receiver is connected to a backpack with a booster antenna. This antenna allows the GPS unit to receive stronger signals from the GPS satellites and more accurately record locations in places regular hand held units couldn’t function, such as under heavy tree canopy.
For example, the GPS receiver makes it much easier to map patches of Pierce’s Disease host plants within the dense riparian vegetation along rivers and creeks.
Back at the office, the GPS data collected in the field is downloaded to an NRCS computer mapping program. This mapping program places the field data in the correct location on an aerial photo of the property. “We can use the computer to draw planned structures and conservation measures to scale, and can quickly measure the needed areas and distances” said Mr. Bouril. The resulting plan map can be printed out at any scale desired.
So if you see any of Napa’s NRCS staff out and about wearing an orange backpack with a white antenna on top, you’ll know what they’re doing.
Sulphur Creek Land Stewardship-Notes From the Field
Projects to restore steelhead passage in Sulphur Creek continue to show promise for the future of this fishery. The Sulphur Creek Land Stewardship has put a priority on protecting water quality and improving salmonid spawning waters in their watershed. Over the past year, 2 major in-stream projects have been implemented, and a 3rd major project is set to be completed in 2004 on Heath Canyon Creek, a major headwaters tributary to Sulphur Creek. Field work is also complete on a Cal-fed funded study of the watershed, and we will be working with landowners to complete and publish as response, a watershed management plan in 2004.
Napa Green Farm Certification Program Launched in the Napa Valley
Landmark Environmental Incentive Program for Grape Growers Designed to
Help Restore and Sustain Aquatic Habitat and Improve Water QualityWorking to improve and protect the valuable natural resources of the Napa Valley, a public/private partnership has launched the Napa Green Farm Certification Program: Fish Friendly Farming™ for the Napa Valley.
This historic voluntary program was derived from the Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) Program that has been in use in the Russian, Navarro and Gualala watershed since 1999. Subsequent development of a similar program for the Napa watershed was initiated by Napa Valley’s agricultural community and involved an 18-month collaborative effort between grape growers, public officials and environmental groups, including the Napa Group of the Sierra Club with one common goal – to improve water quality, and restore and sustain fish habitat in the Napa Valley watershed.
The result of this collaborative effort was, in part, the creation of a workbook of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) with a Farm Plan template. The workbook and accompanying workshops serve as the centerpiece of the program and assist landowner participants in evaluating natural features on their farms; assessing current management practices; and, implementing improved practices.
Over 40 growers, representing more than 10,000 acres in the Napa Valley have already signed up for the first two series of Napa Green workshops that began on January 12, 2004. The positive response to Napa Green has exceeded all expectations and both workshop series were expanded to accommodate all interested growers.
The goals of Napa Green are to: 1) ensure compliance with all local, state and federal environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act; 2) implement BMPs and promote sustainable agriculture and ecosystems; 3) improve water quality and aquatic habitat; 4) develop and implement restoration and soil erosion control projects; and, 5) expand community awareness of responsible management by grape growers.
“This is a graduate program for sustainable farming,” said Zack Berkowitz, a longtime Napa Valley grape grower who was involved in the development of the original certification program, dating back to 1997. “Napa Green helps growers identify what’s truly sustainable and what’s not and, it’s a third party certification by actual regulators inspecting your Farm Plan and its execution,” he added.
Execution and management of the Napa Green Program is through a partnership of the RCD and Laurel Marcus & Associates (LMA), a natural resource consulting firm with over 20 years experience in restoration and erosion control on agricultural lands. LMA wrote and has directed the FFF program in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties since 1999.
Funding for program development and implementation are made possible with grants from the California Coastal Conservancy and the State Water Resources Control Board (Proposition 13). For more information about Napa Green, please contact Jenny McIlvaine at 707/252-4188.
RCD CalFed Project Update: Stewardship-based Watershed Management Plans for Carneros and Sulphur Creeks
An article in our February 2003 newsletter described our CalFed project presentations at the 2003 CalFed Science Conference in Sacramento, which were very well received. Since then, the project has been moving forward in a quieter fashion, and now we are getting very near our goal.
The presentations at the conference were based on preliminary results from the array of watershed assessments made by members of our technical team. We did these assessments because the stewardship groups on these two creeks asked for a science-based management plan to guide their restoration work and other activities. After much discussion at team meetings and via e-mail, a set of five or six individual technical reports on each creek watershed was put into final form in June 2003, and these reports were presented with great pride to the stewardship groups.
Since then, RCD staff have been working with our technical partners from San Francisco Estuary Institute (Oakland) and Pacific Watershed Associates (Arcata) to prepare draft management plans for the two creeks. This has turned out to be a quite complex task in its own right, in some ways a more difficult job than carrying out the technical assessments. However, a draft of the Carneros Creek plan is scheduled for presentation to the Carneros Creek Stewardship Steering Committee at their March meeting, and a draft of the Sulphur Creek plan should roll out soon after. We are looking forward to sharing our work with the stewardship groups and then producing finished documents that landowners will accept and use as they manage their land. There should be many specific suggestions for things landowners can do right now, as well as monitoring and other activities the group can plan for the future.
Sediment Stations on Local Creek
The District’s sediment stations on Carneros Creek are now up and running. There are two of them, located at key points on the creek, and at each one an impressive array of equipment has been installed to measure water levels, turbidity and to collect samples of stream water, which are analyzed to determine their suspended sediment concentration.
Turbidity is an optical quality – it refers to the ease with which light passes through water – and it is, of course, related to sediment concentration: the more sediment suspended in the water, the more turbid it is.
Anyone who’s been paying attention in recent years knows that the Napa River system is considered by the state to be impaired by excess sediment. Unfortunately, there is a lack of good data on sediment loads in our streams. With a grant of Federal Clean Water Act money and with the help of other scientists, especially Rand Eads and Jack Lewis of the Redwood Sciences Laboratory station at Arcata, the RCD began development of the first of these sediment stations in 2002. Since December 2003, both stations have been consistently producing raw data that looks very promising.
The measurement and sampling activities at each site are controlled by a sophisticated datalogger, which is programmed to collect samples only during storms and only when the turbidity increases or decreases significantly.
RCD staff hopes to establish a relationship between turbidity and sediment at each station. The combination of a continuous record of turbidity and several discrete sediment samples per storm will allow for greatly improved estimates of the actual sediment load over a storm or a season; and when something changes in the watershed that affects sediment delivery, the data should reflect it clearly.
These sediment stations should provide invaluable data to assist the efforts of the Napa River watershed community to preserve what we have. Look forward to hearing about our initial results in public workshops this fall.
The RCD is grateful to the public-spirited farmers who have graciously permitted the establishment of these stations on their property, and to the EPA and the Regional Board for funding support.
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