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Science and Technology
Ongoing Projects: Recent Collaboration Featured at EU River Conference Following an international forum held at the Macaulay Institute during August 2007, a small science-policy steering committee agreed it would be beneficial to host a larger international workshop with the specific aims of identifying approaches to define river hydromorphological condition, and developing an understanding of how to effectively link this to ecology. To visit the conference website click here To view the coauthored presentation click here Fish Friendly Farming® Program The Fish Friendly Farming® Program seeks to improve habitat conditions for salmonids and other native aquatic species by educating land managers in environmentally beneficial practices and carrying out restoration and erosion control projects. >> read more Best Management Practices for Vineyards Habitat Conservation Division (HCD) staff and the local Resource Conservation District, developed a draft set of best management practices for vineyards as support for the Sonoma County Salmon Coalition process. This group of landowners (largely vineyard properties in the Alexander and Dry Creek valleys of the Russian River watershed) is interested in establishing an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 4(d) approved program that will grant them take authorization for their operations. Best Management Practices (BMPs) include management provisions pertaining to erosion and chemical control, road complexes, riparian corridor size and condition and water diversion structures, volumes and timing of diversions. The BMPs couple with specific subwatershed restoration project lists to provide a plan for short term and long term changes that are needed for recovery of ESA listed and other managed species in the target area. Joe Dillon of HCD and Bill Hearn, of Protected Resources Division are meeting with local agricultural interests to gather initial comments on the BMP document that will identify unclear sections as well as illuminate where resistance is likely to be encountered. These initial meetings will be followed by a broader call for input before potential development of a 4(d) rule and associated documentation. Contact Joe Dillon at (707) 575-6093. Sonoma County Salmon Coalition The Sonoma County Salmon Coalition was formed to protect and enhance existing habitat, and to restore historic habitat; to promote recover and maintenance of salmonid fish populations and to create sustainable partnerships that identify and promote regional water enhancement programs while balancing the need to provide for regional economic viability and regulatory certainty. >> read more GIS Technical Support, Salmonid Recovery Planning Team The Geographic Information Systems lab has been actively working on a database for the Salmonid Recovery Planning Team. This database, when finished, will contain all of the recovery strategies suggested by the recovery team. The database is accessed through a variety of graphical-user interfaces through which the Recovery Team can view, edit, or add any recommendations for specific populations. The database will also allow National Marine Fisheries Service employees working on Endangered Species Act Section 7 issues, or anyone else interested, to view the recommendations for a specific population. The database will also allow the Recovery Team to perform some operations related to the technical editing of the recovery plan. The database will also create some of the sections required for the final report such as the strategies list or implementation schedules for the populations. This will ensure that all reports have the same format. Contact LtJg Winner (707) 575-6099 GIS Technical Support, Species Recovery Planning Documents The Geographic Information System (GIS) program of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Region provides technical support to all programs within the region. As such, the GIS program rarely functions independently but acts in conjunction with or in response to other office-wide projects. Currently, the most prominent project involving the GIS is the creation of Recovery Planning documents for steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon within California. GIS has become integral in conducting the essential analyses to aid in determining the current condition of the species’, the threats to the species, and potential recovery actions. The resulting documents will serve as guide posts to preserve and enhance the trust resources.
Back to Northern California Projects 06/03/09 |
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