The Watershed Management Council (WMC) Board once again includes a Colorado member. Board member Polly Hays has accepted a new job as the Water Program Manager with Region 2 of the US Forest Service headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Something similar happened in 1990 when then board member Lee MacDonald joined the Land Use Hydrology and Watershed Science faculty of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. Polly is excited about the new experiences, challenges and opportunities she faces, and will miss the friends she has made and the colleagues she has worked with during her tenure in California. Polly plans to continue as a WMC board member, making use of conference calling to attend some board meetings, while saving on travel. Polly writes, 'I'll be moving right after Thanksgiving. Any contacts, advice, tips about living in the Denver area, etc. would be much appreciated.' Polly's current email is phays/r5@fs.fed.us Watch this space for her new email when available.
Speaking of Colorado, past WMC president and National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) fellow Wendell Gilgert emailed mid-summer from Colorado State University in Fort Collins to say, ' I have made it up to the Divide only twice so far but hope to get up to Wyoming to fish the Laramie in September. Have fished the north fork of the Poudre up near Cameron Pass and back into Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Caught and released rainbows, brooks and a couple of cutthroats. Haven't gone nearly enough though!' Ain't it the truth for most of us. Note to self: don't forget to HAVE SOME FUN along the way. Wendell's email is wgilgert@cnr.colostate.edu
Ahh, the Great Northwest, that reminds me Katheryn 'KJ' Silverman has accepted a position as Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Mt. Hood National Forest in Region 6. A Soil Scientist by training, KJ was District Ranger on the Los Padres NF, Santa Lucia Ranger District and was recently acting Forest Supervisor on the Lassen NF. KJ was also a leading light in the California Forest Soils Council. And, if I'm not mistaken, KJ also earned an MBA, along the way.
Another soil scientist by training, Ron Wright, is the new watershed representative for the Cleveland National Forest. Ron comes to San Diego County, CA by way of USFS Region 1 (Montana, northern Idaho, parts of the Dakotas).
And just to show it goes both ways, Les Goyner, formerly a Hydrologist with the Mendocino NF in northwestern California has accepted a position in USFS Region 2 (Colorado and portions of bordering States.)
Bob Nuzum, a founding member and a current board member of WMC, has left the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) and is now watershed manager for the Contra Costa Water District. CCWD serves water to 400,00 people in portions of eastern San Francisco Bay Area and manages watershed lands, including the watershed for the relatively-new, 'off-channel', Los Vaqueros Reservoir. You can see a picture of Los Vaqueros Reservoir and its watershed on the web <www.ccwater.com/html/losvaqueros.html This reservoir is filled for the most part with water pumped from the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta during high and moderate flow periods.
Just up the Sacramento River arm Delta from CCWD, Graham Fogg, Vice Chair for Hydrology, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources (LAWR) at UC Davis, writes to announce that they have hired Greg Pasternack as an Assistant Professor of Watershed Hydrology. Greg is just completed his first year on the job. Greg Pasternack received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins and has special expertise in sediment transport and sediment accumulation at watershed outlets as a means of reconstructing watershed response to environmental change. Now there is a timely topic, particularly for those interested in the recovery of the salmon.
Speaking of salmon recovery, Marty Berbach, wildlife biologist formerly with the California Department of Forestry and fire Protection, has taken a new job with the Native Anadromous Fish and Watershed Branch, California Department of Fish and Game. Watch for Marty at California Board of Forestry meetings, with a new hat on, as the BOF and others struggle with proposes new Forest Practice Rules to protect Coho. Marty's new email is mberbach@dfg.ca.gov.
From schools of salmon, to a new school whose mascot is the otter. California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), Institute for Earth Systems Science and Policy is in the process of hiring a Geology/Watershed Systems Assistant Professor. Responsibilities include teaching and research in watershed systems science, hydrology, or fluvial geomorphology. For complete position description and application procedures visit: www.csumb.edu/general/fac-recruit. Hurry.
Otters aside, need to seal a deal? Scott Brennan-Smith, program lead for the California Department of Conservation's (DOC) Resource Conservation District (RCD) support program, announces the arrival of a new grant administrator to the RCD program, Julia McDonald. Julia manages all grants to RCDs for DOC.
Speaking of grants to watershed groups, California State University's Watershed Projects Group is hosting a free a series of Watershed Educational Workshops and Field Tours on Butte Creek, funded by a grant from CALFED. This series, already underway, provides an opportunity for perhaps the most critical component in watershed management (the public) to interact with regional and local watershed experts in an informal setting. While the highly diverse and complex Butte Creek watershed is used as a case study, CSU Chico hopes that the issues examined in these workshops and field tours will be broadly applicable to western watersheds. This is a great opportunity for WMC members to learn about a key Sacramento River tributary watershed that provides critical habitat for spring-run Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, as well as explore a beautiful watershed located on the dividing line between the Sierras and the Cascades. For more information contact Eric Ginney, Watershed Projects, CSU, Chico at (530) 898-6089 or e-mail: eginney@csuchico.edu
Granting him the opportunity to do other things, Steve Young, Forest Hydrologist for Lassen National Forest recently retired following a distinguished career in wildland hydrology. Never known to mince words, Steve left with these parting words of wisdom, thanks, concern and praise-roses and raspberries- 'Well folks, its after quitting time on the last day of my career. I want to thank the folks I have worked with over the years. You have been the best part of my Forest Service career, rivaled only by the pleasure of hiking new stream reaches in undisturbed areas. The raspberry is for the increasingly onerous rain of bureaucratic drivel that we have to fend off every day. I especially salute those of you who are still trying to get good things done on the ground, and I hope you will continue to help the line officers make multiple use management work in an era of increasing friction from within and without the agency. The roses are for you: May you all achieve some personal fulfillment with your work and home lives and success in your careers.'
This note from Jim Frazier: Earl Ruby, the sage of watershed management and the guy who never quite retired, is doing BAER (Burned Area Emergency Rehab) work in Nevada, rehab for the National Park Service in New Mexico and who knows what other adventures elsewhere. Earl still resides in Sonora, California, though he had to move because CalTrans did the eminent domain thing on his former house for the new Highway 108 bypass. Takes more than a D-99 to keep Earl down.
Speaking of the sage of watershed, somehow we need to transfer the stories and knowledge from these guys who are retiring to a generation of watershed folks not yet hired. I think what we need is a watershed oral history project to preserve some of these insights and useful anecdotes and pass them along. Anyone interested in taking this project on?
And remember, if you've reached a watershed in your career or have an interesting tidbit of watershed news, let your colleagues know about it. Drop a line to Tributaries, c/o Clay Brandow, 1528 Brown Drive, Davis, CA 95616, or call me at (916) 653-0719. Internet email is best. Email me at: clay_brandow@fire.ca.gov or tributaries@yahoo.com.-
