California Society for Ecological Restoration November 2024 |
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In this newsletter, you will find: Member Spotlight Lookout Slough Project Renew Yourself: Join SERCAL Thank you, Sponsoring Members! Santa Ana River Science Symposium 2025 CDFW Awards $41M to Restoration Projects Undergrad Mentorship Program — Marine Sciences Here's Some Good News! Santa Ana River Native Fish Survey Our Partner Organizations are the Best! Check Out All the Resources on our Website! |
We interviewed Isaiah Thalmayer, a member of the SERCAL budget and finance committee. We asked Isaiah:
What do you hope to see in terms of ecological restoration in the next year or so?
"There are so many exciting projects underway right now in California! In the future I hope to see more projects that support local communities, provide access to wild spaces and hands on learning opportunities. I also hope to see more projects including youth and early career folks. Restoration can do more than restore landscapes; it can restore people's connection to nature and empower communities to be stewards of their natural and cultural resources. "
Read the rest of the interview here!
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The Lookout Slough project, California's largest tidal wetland restoration initiative, has successfully restored 3,400 acres of vital habitat for sensitive fish species and other wildlife, while also providing significant flood protection for Central Valley communities. This restoration marks the first time in a century that tidal waters are flowing through this area.
State officials celebrated the project's completion with a levee breaching in Solano County, enhancing flood storage capacity by over 40,000 acre-feet within the Yolo Bypass. This improvement is crucial for protecting communities and infrastructure against future flooding.
Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted the project's importance, stating, “California is building on our global climate leadership with innovative solutions that work with nature to safeguard our communities, ecosystems and local economies... This project... demonstrates how we can meet the needs of Californians while protecting our rich natural heritage for generations to come.”
The Lookout Slough project, which broke ground in June 2022, involved constructing over three miles of a 25-foot-tall setback levee and excavating 26 miles of tidal channels. It aims to support recreational opportunities and enhance biodiversity, aligning with California's ambitious goals for nature-based climate solutions.
This project is part of a broader initiative by the Department of Water Resources, which is currently managing over a hundred projects statewide to balance water needs with environmental conservation.
Read more here!
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Thank you, 2024 Sponsoring Members!
With your support of SERCAL, you are facilitating the growth and sustainability of a collaborative, knowledge-based, forward-thinking industry that is leading the effort to create and sustain a robust California native landscape for wildlife, plants, and people. We greatly appreciate the support and camaraderie of the following organizations and invite your organization to join in this important effort!
Valley Oak Sponsors
Arroyo Willow Sponsors
Sustaining Business Members Sustaining Individual Members Scott Dreher | Lisa Paterson | Emily Zefferman Our Cadre of Torchbearers for the Next Generation And the continued and generous support of Victor Schaff and the Schaff Family Foundation |
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Registration will open soon! For more information, email kaip@sbvmwd.com |
CDFW Awards $41M to Restoration Projects |
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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced the award of $41 million in grants for 20 restoration and protection projects across California. These projects focus on benefiting wetlands, meadows, and Southern California steelhead, while also addressing impacts from cannabis cultivation. The funding stems from the Nature Based Solutions Initiative, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and Proposition 68.
Key Highlights
- Director’s Statement: CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham emphasized the importance of these grants for maintaining California’s ecosystems, stating, “Supporting restoration and protection of California’s diverse ecosystems is critical... These projects are key to a sustainable future for California’s environment and communities.”
- Cannabis Restoration Funding: Approximately $19 million is allocated to eight projects targeting ecosystem health amidst cannabis-related impacts. Notable projects include:
- Streamflow Conservation Strategies: $3.3 million to Trout Unlimited for water-saving improvements to protect salmon streams.
- Fish Passage Construction on Trabuco Creek: $9.3 million total, crucial for removing barriers to endangered steelhead migration.
- Southern California Steelhead Habitat: $14 million is dedicated to restoring steelhead habitats, including:
- Harvey Diversion Fish Passage Remediation Project: $6.9 million for improving fish migration in the Santa Clara River.
- Wetlands and Mountain Meadows Restoration: $8 million will support nine projects under the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, such as:
- Xabenapo Stream Habitat Enhancement: $1.3 million to enhance habitat for Clear Lake Hitch.
Background and Future Goals
The funding initiative is part of a broader commitment to restore California's natural resources, aiming to conserve 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters by 2030. In late 2022, CDFW announced $200 million in new funding for restoration projects addressing climate impacts. To streamline applications, CDFW has created a unified application process for various funding programs.
CDFW has already awarded close to $275 million through these initiatives in 2023, reflecting its commitment to accelerating restoration efforts statewide.
Read more here!
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Undergrad Mentorship Program - Marine Sciences |
The Pathways to Research Training Program has provided funding to faculty so that they may provide mentorship to underrepresented students in ocean and coastal science.
"Many of the funded programs focused on one key strategy: mentorship, often accomplished by pairing undergraduate students with graduate mentors. One program, at San Diego State University, found success by creating research teams consisting of a community college student, a fourth-year undergraduate and a graduate student mentor. After participating weekly in collaborative research and online trainings for three months, the younger students reported a higher sense of belonging in the sciences."
Read more here!
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The Northern California Salmon Strongholds initiative has been recognized as one of ten national projects by the Biden Administration during Climate Week. This acknowledgment comes amid significant challenges for California’s salmon fishing communities, particularly due to the closures of the 2023 and 2024 ocean salmon seasons. The initiative aims to restore salmon and steelhead habitats, enhance climate resilience, and improve water security in crucial watersheds along California's North Coast.
Key Components of the Initiative
- Collaboration: Proposed by the California Salmon and Steelhead Coalition, the initiative receives support from various state agencies, including the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This collaborative effort seeks to increase habitat restoration efforts in vital watersheds for salmon and steelhead trout.
- Goals and Priorities: The initiative aligns with Governor Newsom’s California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter Drier Future. It focuses on restoring the health of watersheds that local communities depend on by removing barriers to fish migration, reconnecting wetlands and floodplains, and implementing improved water management practices.
- Director’s Insight: Charlton H. Bonham, Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, stated, “California’s North Coast presents an opportunity to restore some of the best salmon habitat in the country,” highlighting the initiative's role in accelerating habitat restoration efforts.
- Climate Resilience: As climate change leads to more frequent droughts, the initiative aims to reconnect and restore productive salmon and steelhead streams by removing obstacles such as culverts and dams. This restoration is expected to enhance fish migration and improve habitats for young fish.
Read more here !
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Santa Ana River Native Fish Survey |
It's that time of year again! The Santa Ana Native River Fish survey is up.
"The Santa Ana River in the Los Angeles region of California demonstrates common habitat degradation symptoms that are characteristic of the urban stream syndrome. These impacts have altered the Santa Ana River community structure, with few species as impacted as the native Santa Ana sucker (sucker; Pantosteus santaanae). 2. Consequently, a recovery plan developed for sucker identified the need for a population viability analysis (PVA) to assess sucker extirpation risk."
To read more from this publication on the Santa Ana River Survey, click here
To view the dataset, click here
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Our Partner Organizations are the Best California Native Grasslands Association (CNGA) leads the popular Grasslands session at our conferences. Our organizations also offer a joint membership discount as well as discounted registrations to each other's events.
California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) is another important partner in restoring our native California landscapes. We offer discounts to each other's annual gatherings.
California Ecological Restoration Business Association (CalERBA) is a 501c6 organization that represents a growing sector of state businesses that specialize in delivery of high impact environmental outcomes.
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving as a strong advocate, technical resource, and partner to the state's 96 RCDs so that they can be Relevant, Excellent, and Visible “go-to” hubs for conservation in their communities.
Ecological Workforce Initiative is working to meet the workforce needs of the growing ecological restoration industry by training workers for living-wage careers that support both the economic vitality of our communities and the health of our environment.
The UC Davis Graduate Program on Environmental Policy and Management provides advanced training in applying environmental science to real-world environmental policy and management issues focusing on building quantitative skills for practice-oriented careers in environmental policy and management.
Members of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) are able to earn CERP credits towards certification through SERCAL's annual conference.
The University of Wisconsin Press offers SERCAL members discounted subscriptions to Ecological Restoration and Native Plants Journal.
Are we missing a potential partner? Let us know who to contact! |
Post a Job | Find a Job
It's easy and it's free! Find a great job or an amazing new member of your team. Here are some of the most recent jobs posted to our website: - Senior Natural Resource Specialist - Sacramento, CA. Sanitation District Agency. Application Filing Deadline: 11/08/2024.
- Vegetation Management Technicians (4) - Martinez, CA. Contra Costa County Public Works Department (CCCPWD). Application Filing Deadline: 11/12/2024
- Engineer - Sonoma County. Sonoma Resource Conservation District. Application Filing Deadline: Review of applications begins 11/15/ 2024, and will continue until the position is filled.
- Restoration Ecologist - Imperial Valley. River Partners. Application Filing Deadline: 11/15/2024.
- Restoration Scientist - Truckee, CA. Trout Unlimited (TU). Application Filing Deadline: 11/22/2024 or until filled.
- Lead Level Landscape Architect - Half Moon Bay/California. SWCA Environmental Consultants. Application Filing Deadline: 11/27/2024.
Go to our RESOURCES menu to find or post a JOB, VOLUNTEER events, and even MORE OPPORTUNITIES! |
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Our email address is: info@sercal.org 515 N Desert Stra
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