New Grants to Expand Watershed Coordination Efforts

YCRCD has recently been awarded grant funding from the CA Department of Conservation’s Watershed Coordinator Program.  The three-year funding will support two additional watershed coordinator positions for both northern and southern Yolo County, and will increase our capacity for regional collaboration ongoing in Colusa, Lake and Solano counties.

One of the new watershed coordinators will serve landowners in the Hungry Hollow, Dunnigan Hills and Dunnigan/Zamora region to guide the development of local stewardship plans to address flood management and stream restoration, and to assist family farmers and other landowners in researching innovative methods for farmland protection and easement options. The new watershed coordinator will also deal with critical resource issues including water quality, soil erosion, air-quality and farmland protection.

South of Cache Creek in the Willow Slough watershed, a second coordinator will focus efforts on assisting smaller, “tributary” sub-watershed groups along Lamb Valley Slough, Lower Willow Slough , Chickahominy Slough and other waterways as such groups arise.  Watershed-based activities in adjoining areas such as Solano County, Putah Creek and Cache Creek will be important partnerships in terms of shared learning, program development, and larger watershed coordination.

Throughout these regional projects, watershed coordinators will assist with the implementation of a new Welcome to the Watershed Program and assist stakeholder groups in establishing long-term funding strategies for their prioritized conservation efforts.