 | | Coho swimming through Inkwells to spawn in San Geronimo Creek (Photo by Virginia Fifield) |
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Welcome from the Council!
Tomales Bay Watershed Council (TBWC) News is published monthly and includes announcements of Council meetings and other happenings in the watershed.
We welcome your comments on our newsletter or on any of the Council's Activities. We also welcome contributed articles, links to relevant websites, and photographs. Contact us at info@tomalesbaywatershed.org.
If you have not joined our mailing list already, please sign up using the link on the side panel. Please feel free to forward this email on to any friends and associates you think may be interested.
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Tomales Bay Watershed Council
Meeting Schedule
Quarterly (Jan, March, June, October)
Third Tuesday, 3:30-5:30pm
Red Barn Classroom, PRNS
(unless otherwise notified)
Meetings are open to the public, and participation of all stakeholders (including residents) are deeply welcome!
See you at our meeting in March. |
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Tomales Bay Watershed Council
Water Quality Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Monday, February 13th, 2012
3:00-4:00pm, Red Barn Classroom, PRNS
We will hold a short water quality TAC meeting in February to offer a program update, discuss Trends and Source Area Monitoring Program activities during this water year, and explore the future opportunities for the program.
The meeting will immediately proceed the RWQCB Mercury TMDL public workshop at the same location (see details below.) |
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RWQCB Mercury TMDL
Public Workshop
Monday, February 13, 2012
4-5:30 pm
Red Barn Classroom, PRNS
A public workshop by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board on the proposed mercury TMDL for Tomales Bay will be held at the Red Barn Classroom at Point Reyes National Seashore.
Tomales Bay has been designated as impaired by mercury since 1996, due to concerns about the Gambonini Mercury Mine.
The Gambonini Mercury Mine has been cleaned up, and additional cleanup actions already are planned for the Walker Creek watershed downstream of the Mine. The RWQCB believes these actions are likely to address the mercury problem in Tomales Bay. Therefore, the RWQCB does not foresee a need for further actions to address mercury in the Bay.
The workshop will provide an opportunity to get more information and ask questions about the proposed TMDL.
Download a copy of the meeting announcement here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
More information about this workshop and the proposed TMDL, go to: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/water_issues/programs/TMDLs/ (scroll down to "TMDL Projects in Development", and "Tomales Bay Mercury TMDL")
Or contact Carrie Austin at (510) 622-1015 or via email to
CAustin@waterboards.ca.gov.
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TBWC Species of Local Interest (SoLI) Report Released
Native and Non-native Species of Conservation or Management Concern for the Tomales Bay Watershed
The Species of Local Interest list for the Tomales Bay watershed provides a means for prioritizing and promoting efforts to protect and restore native species and habitat area, through restoraiton, management, ecological monitoring and guided research. The list is divided into two parts: Species of Local Concern and Local Ecological Pest Speices.
This report is the result of many hours of hard work by the authors: Tom Gardali (PRBO Conservation Science), John Kelly (Audobon Canyon Ranch) and Jules Evens (Avocet Research Assoc.); and numerous collaborators and local experts.
Please download a copy today! This report provides an important foundation for future work by the Council and its members!
Download a pdf of the report here.
Listen to George Clyde interview the authors on KWMR here. |
Rainfall for Water-Year 2012
After one of the driest early winters on record, the rains returned in late January, bringing much-needed water to our creeks, and to the spawning salmon! See graphs below for cumulative precipitation, and a profile of the recent storms.
Rains between Thursday, January 19th and Monday, January 23rd brought nearly 7-inches to the Olema Valley raingauge, and caused a dramatic response in Lagunitas Creek. The salmon responded by moving up our watersheds to spawn (see featured photo above of a plump Coho running through inkwells into the San Geronimo Creek watershed)
The preceding dry conditions mititaged the negative impacts, and the water levels in the creeks have been quickly dropping since.
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