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top TBWC News                                 May, 2010
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In This Issue
TBWC Meeting-May 18 Agenda
Chicken Ranch Beach Update at May 18 meeting
New Park Superintendent
Water Quality Committee and Report
Monitoring for Ammonia
Acidifying Oceans Endanger Oyster
Oil Spill Links
Rainfall in Tomales Bay Watershed
 CALENDAR
 
May 18
TBWC meeting  
   
 
June 15
TBWC Meeting 
 
September 21
TBWC Meeting 
 
October 16
TBWC Annual Meeting
 
October 22-23
State of the Bay
 
Quick Links
  
children playing at Chicken Ranch Beach 
Featured Photo: 
 Chicken Ranch Beach in 1957
welcomeWelcome!
 
Tomales Bay Watershed Council (TBWC) News is published monthly. and includes announcements of Council meetings and other happenings in the watershed.
 
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agendaTBWC Meeting Agenda 
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 
Red Barn Classroom, Point Reyes National Seashore
I. Introduction and Council business                                       3:30 - 3:40pm
     Announcements
     Review agenda and meeting summaries 
 
II.  Committee Reports                                                          3:40 - 4:00 pm.
     A. Chicken Ranch Beach Committee: Mairi Pileggi
     B. Water Quality Committee:  Rob Carson
     C. Habitat Committee/ SOLI:  Tom Gardali
     D. Outreach Committee: Carlos Porrata
     E. Science Committee: David Lewis
     F. Executive Committee:  Jerry Abbott   
 
III. Water Quality Results and Program Update                       4:00 - 4:30 p.m.
 
IV. Public Meeting on Chicken Ranch Beach                          4:30 - 5:30 p.m
     Alternative Restoration Approaches
 
Agriculture and EnvironmentPresentation to TBWC on  March 16, 2010 by Nancy Scolari, Marin RCD and David Lewis, U.S.Cooperative Extension Service - Marin
         In case you missed this presentation, or if you want to see it again,                   click here for the power point presentation.
 
CRBChicken Ranch Beach/3rd Valley Creek
Project Update at May 18 TBWC Meeting

       The May 18, 2010 TBWC meeting will include an opportunity for the public to hear about The Chicken Ranch Beach/3rd Valley Creek Project, ask questions, and offer input.   
 
   Greg Kamman of Kamman Hydrology and Engineering, Inc. will join us with other local experts to talk about the project area and field data and measurements that have been collected for Chicken Ranch Beach and adjacent lands.  We will review the history of lower Third Valley Creek watershed including the Beach, and recently collected data for flora, fauna, elevations, groundwater, etc.  We will review the draft report that is in progress which discusses constraints and opportunities for restoration within the potential project area, including a series for draft design alternatives for changes that could be made to improve water quality, wetland function, the beach and adjacent marsh habitats.  We will review the timeline for the completion of the feasibility study this summer, and conclude with sufficient time for discussion to answer any questions the audience may have.
MuldoonWelcome the New Park Superintendent
The following introduction is from a letter from Mark Bartolini, Executive Director of the Point Reyes National Seashore Association
 
He writes:
   
    The Point Reyes National Seashore Association would like to extend a warm welcome to the park's new superintendent, Cicely Muldoon.

    Cicely has served as a deputy regional director of the National Park Service's Pacific West Region since 2005. The region encompasses more than 50 national parks in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and the PacificIslands.

    Cicely began her career with the National Park Service in 1985. She has worked at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Presidio of San Francisco, and PinnaclesNational Monument in California; San JuanIslandNationalHistoricalPark in WashingtonState; SitkaNationalHistoricalPark in Alaska; BuffaloNationalRiver in Arkansas; and the National Park Service headquarters office in Washington, DC. Muldoon served as superintendent of PinnaclesNational Monument and San JuanIslandNationalHistoricalPark prior to her posting in the Pacific West Regional Office. Muldoon is a native of Sausalito and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis.

    In spring of 2009, Cicely was sent on temporary assignment to Point Reyes for three months as acting superintendent. I had the pleasure to work closely with Cicely during that time and found her to be an excellent administrator with a passion for resource protection, environmental education, reaching out to underserved communities and for engaging the community in the recreational, cultural and volunteer opportunities in the park. She is a superb communicator and listener. The Point Reyes National Seashore Association is very excited to work with Cicely and we congratulate National Park Service officials for making this outstanding appointment.
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WQ-TACApril 20 TBWC Water Quality Committee
Meeting Notes 
Subwatersheds of Tomales Bay Watershed
Tomales Bay Watershed map
  
The Committee heard presentations from TBWC monitoring program manager, Rob Carson on: 
  • TBWC water quality monitoring during the 2008-2009 water-years (The data is detailed in the second annual report which is now available on the TBWC website at: http://tomalesbaywatershed.org/wqdocs/)
  • Results from the current storm season Source Area Monitoring, and
  • The TBWC water quality database along with a call for legacy datasets from outside agencies and groups.
 
 
for more information, contact Rob Carson:  robcarson@tomalesbaywatershed.org
  
ammoniaWater Quality Monitoring
The Importance of Ammonia
    
     aerial view
     Ammonia (NH3), along with nitrate (NO3) and nitrite (NO2),are important natural forms of nitrogen in aquatic systems.  Most ammonia in aquatic systems occurs in its' ionized (or charged) form of NH4+, but temperature and pH conditions control the conversion to the more toxic un-ionized form of NH3.  For example, at 15°C and pH 7.0 only 0.3% of total ammonia is un-ionized, while at pH 9.0, the un-ionized ammonia is 21% of the total.
  
    High levels of un-ionized ammonia is directly toxic to aquatic organisms, and, as it is converted to nitrate, it consumes dissolved oxygen in the water, adversely affecting aquatic life.  Because this conversion process occurs relatively quickly in surface waters, the detection of ammonia in stream water is a good indicator of a nearby pollution source.

    The RWQCB's Basin Plan (RWQCB 2007)  sets a criteria for un-ionized ammonia in surface waters as an annual median <0.025 mg/L as N, and <0.16 mg/L as N in estuarine waters.  
   
   Next month we will feature other important forms of Nitrogen in our surface waters. 
acidAcidifying Oceans Dramatically Stunt Growth of Threatend Olympia Oyster, Research Finds
Olympic oysters
olympic oysters
  
 This article forwared to the Council by Tom Gardali of PRBO
 
   ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2010) - New research shows that global warming and its effects -- in particular, ocean acidification -- have descended upon shellfish reefs, particularly those formed by the Olympia oyster.
   
     More than one-third of the world's human-caused carbon dioxide emissions have entered the oceans, according to Brian Gaylord, a biological oceanographer at the Bodega Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis.
"Similar to what happens in carbonated soda," says Gaylord, "increasing carbon dioxide in seawater makes it more acidic." Even with small changes in acidity, seawater becomes corrosive to the shells of aquatic organisms.
   That's not good news for most marine life, especially for oysters.
 
More....
B-WetNew Horizon Oil Spill Links 
  Interested in following what is happening with the gulf oil spill?  Here are some links to follow for information on impacts and response:  
ESA Satellite Photo, May 3, 2010
Deepwater Horizon Oil spill from ESA satellite
 
RAINRainfall in Tomales Bay Watershed

    Rainfall in the current water year is substantially higher than last year and has now surpassed the average annual rainfall over the past 30 years.  The graph below shows how the current water year (October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010) compares to last year and the long term average.

Graph showing rainfall in current year to date
Past Issues
Would you like to see past issues of our newsletter?  Click here  to go to our website where past issues of our newsletter (starting with December, 2009) and other information and reports are available 
We appreciate your ongoing interest and support and look forward to hearing from you.  Please let us know if this is a meaningful and effective way to provide you with updates on our activities each month.
 
Sincerely,
 
Neysa, Rob, Margaret, and Melinda
Tomales Bay Watershed Council Staff 
Tomales Bay Watershed Council
P.O. Box 447, Pt Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 868-9081.
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Tomales Bay Watershed Council | PO Box 447 | Point Reyes Station | CA | 94956