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The Napa Watershed Historical Ecology Project

A collaborative effort to learn the history of the local landscape

What did the Valley look like in the year 1800? Where were the first vineyards? Which creeks had salmon? Where were the best fishing holes? How has the landscape changed, and what can it teach us?

Local groups are initiating a Historical Ecology Project on the Napa River Watershed. A Historical Ecology Project is an intensive, broadly-based effort to recover, organize, and interpret diverse information about the early local landscape and how it has changed. Through such a project, local knowledge about the land is recovered and preserved for future generations. 

Since conditions have changed so rapidly during the past two centuries, historical research is necessary to explain current conditions of local streams, forests, wetlands, and other habitats, and their ability to support people and wildlife. Despite the dramatic changes, it is generally possible to learn the original details of the native landscape, such as which creeks had salmon, how wide the river corridor was, which types of vegetation dominated where, and other important information about the natural functions of the landscape. The Project can help the community define and understand the existing environmental challenges and suggest how they might be successfully resolved in the future. 

The San Francisco Estuary Institute, an independent, non-profit science organization, developed the award-winning Historical Ecology Program to support regional and local environmental planning efforts. SFEI's regional program started in 1993 and has produced the historical maps of baylands, featured in the Bay Area EcoAtlas. 

Anticipated Products: The Project is currently planning a richly illustrated Napa Historical Ecology Atlas. This publication will make the findings of the multi-year Project widely accessible. The Atlas will celebrate the natural heritage of Napa Valley, inspiring both increased stewardship and more accurate conservation planning. Additional products include detailed, large-format maps of the Napa River Watershed, from Mt. St. Helena to the marshlands of San Pablo Bay, showing the landscape prior to European settlement (circa 1800) and an intermediate point circa 1900. Accompanying databases and archives will make all data collected available as public resources. Partner organizations are considering related oral history projects, exhibits, and artwork. 

We are presently recruiting sponsors and partners for this innovative effort. 

How you can help: If you know of old maps, photographs, written accounts, or have lived in the watershed a long time yourself, we would greatly appreciate your assistance. For more information, please contact Shari Gardner at the Napa Watershed Historical Ecology Project: (707) 254-8520 or gardner.shari@gmail.com 

2006-09-21

Projects

 

FONR Planning Documents

 

These are documents FONR submitted and received comprising reviews and comments on the St. Helena Flood Protection project, listed by date, most recent on top:




 

Napa River Watershed Historical Ecology Project
by Shari Gardner and Chris Malan (June 2000)

Historical Map of Napa CountyThe Friends of the Napa River, in collaboration with the San Francisco Estuary Institute, have launched the Napa River Watershed Historical Ecology Project. The goal of the project is to research the ecology of the Napa River watershed before European contact, circa 1800. In the first year, we have developed a physical infrastructure for the project, trained personnel, and raised local awareness. Shari Gardner, our historical researcher and coordinator has been working with the scientific community of the San Francisco Estuary Institute to gather information related to historical, ecological, cultural and geographical aspects of the watershed.

Historic maps, land surveys, accounts, photos and local stories relevant to watershed information have been gathered from local libraries and museums, the Napa County Historical Society, the Bancroft Library at Berkeley, the Northwest Information Center, Sonoma State University, National and State Archives, the California State Library History Room, Bureau of Land Managemnt, local agencies, and oral accounts from local long-time residents. This information will be incorporated into a searchable database. Over the next months, the landscape data gleaned from these pieces of information will be interpolated into a hand drawn map illustrating the Napa watershed landscape as it was around 1800.

Public presentations have been given to increase community awareness of this project. Shari Gardner presented the Napa River Watershed Historical Ecology Project to the public at a two day watershed conference put on by the Napa County Resource Conservation District. The presentation, local interviews, and a feature article in the local newspaper has generated increased public interest.

A 1907 USGS map of the San Pabl;o BayPending second phase funding, the project will be expanded and refined. The database will be augmented with additional sources. The draft base map will be refined into a camera-ready final version. The base map and database will be used to generate a GIS map of the Napa River Watershed landscape circa 1800. Chuck Striplen, a Ph.D. student in Oregon State University’s Pacific Traditional Ecological Knowledge Program, will join the team. He will use his expertise to research the resource management practices of tribes in the Napa River Watershed and how they shaped the landscape.

The second phase of the project will include:

  • a public education program with a brochure and slide show – featuring local historian’s maps, pictures, and diary notes,
  • a publicly accessible database to enable teachers, researchers, and agencies to understand the Napa Valley landscape,
  • a final historical ecology base-map, providing a camera ready, hand drawn map for the community, and
  • a Napa Valley Museum exhibit, bringing the Ecology Project to visitors and residents of the Napa Valley.

At the end of the second phase, a database, richly illustrated maps, extensive public outreach and (with budget augmentation) a scientifically rigorous GIS will be completed. These will be ready for use and available for subsequent adaptation for educational programs, a web-site and other interpretative uses.

For more information about the project, contact Shari Gardner at 254-8520 or at napahist@sbcglobal.net

 

 

 

Napa River Oral History Project (11/99)

Friends of the Napa River and the Napa Valley Museum will be working together to gather an oral history of the Napa River. This history, gathered from "old-timers" in the Napa Valley, will record their memories of the Napa River and its tributaries. This record will be helpful both for the Friends Historical Ecology Map project and the Museum’s upcoming river focus. If you are an old-timer or know of someone we should interview please let us know by calling our office at 254-8520.

 

 

 

 

The Benthic Macro Invertebrate Projectby Chris Malan (11/99)

 

 

More than 20 volunteer are hiking watersheds throughout our county gaining valuable information about creek habitats, water in the creeks and health of our waterways. The macro invertebrate study with the scientific supervision of Dr. Charley Dewberry has begun collecting the first biological specimen ever collected in the Napa River Watershed

The purpose is to benefit scientific studies and education in the classrooms of Napa County and baseline information regarding water quality. Scientist, biologist and interested citizens have all joined together to work on the collection of the tiny insects that inhabit the aquatic world of our natural waterways and provide the food that fish eat. The collection of these insects has begun with a fall sampling. The insects are being shipped to the lab for careful taxonomy information for later analysis. Volunteers are getting trained in the collection of the bugs and educational curriculum is being prepared. The Oxbow School invited our staff of volunteers to come and teach the first students at the school about macro invertebrates. A field trip to Napa Creek was organized and students collected bugs and talked about steelhead and salmon. Friends of the Napa River are very proud to bring the first scientific study of aquatic animals to a community thirsty for information about our River and its watershed health. On our many adventures we have found beautiful creeks that have no name and have fish. We are actively seeking names for these un-named creeks and literally put these creeks on the map! Jim Harrington from the Department of Fish and Game and a macro invertebrate regional expert has openly praised our project and invited us to present our project in his next teaching seminar. Friends of the Napa River thank all the volunteers and property owners who are helping achieve the project goals. If you have not been contacted and you live on a named creek or unnamed creek that has fish please call our office if you wish to offer access to a creek or other valuable information – 254-8520..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macro Invertebrate
Team Leader

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello! My name is Cynthia Rossi and I am the AmeriCorps volunteer working with the Friends of the Napa River. Let me just tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up in Springfield, VA (right outside Washington, D.C.) and have lived in Virginia for a large part of my life. I attended The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, with a focus in Geology. I come from a pretty large Italian family, with four brothers and a dog. For the past couple of years I have lived in Zambia (Southern Africa) and worked as a Water and Sanitation Hygiene Educator for the U.S. Peace Corps. You guessed it- I lived deep in the village, learned the local Bantu language and customs and focused on health and hygiene education of the local community. I worked extensively in schools and with local farmers (people of all ages). My projects included constructing a health post, protecting wells and springs, initiating small income generating projects and most importantly, educating the larger community about how to take better care of themselves and their families.

In AmeriCorps, I work as a Service Learning Coordinator for the Watershed project of Northern California. My goal is to reach as many children as possible and get them involved with the environment at a young age. I am also working extensively with the Friends of the Napa River, primarily focusing on the benthic macro-invertebrae study and integrating the schools and education of the community. I hope to serve as a liaison between the schools and our organization. My background is primarily in groundwater flow and hydrogeology, but I have taken a variety of courses in invertebrate biology. I am excited to be working with the Friends organization and look forward to meeting everyone involved. I have a lot to offer and am looking forward to learning a lot as well. I will be working out of the Friends of the Napa River office, so feel free to reach me if you have any questions or suggestions. Hope all is well with everyone, and continue your good work with the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*1999-12-24*






 

 

 

 

 

 

Napa River Benthic Macro Invertebrate Project
by Chris Malan, Cynthia Rossi, and Jennifer O’Leary (June 2000)

The first year of the Napa River Benthic Macro Invertebrate Project involved more than 30 volunteers, hiking the major (49 hikes to named creeks) tributary watersheds in the Napa River basin. Creek side property owners were contacted to explain the process of collecting aquatic insects and to ask for permission to take samples. People were enthused and supported the research and the first biological indication of the water quality in the Napa River watershed.

All samples collected by the scientists and volunteers have been sent to the lab for analysis and the results will be reviewed by the Scientific Oversight Panel through a peer review process.

We are hoping to expand the project for at least five years to provide the critical biological data and results needed to bring rigorous science to the TMDL (total maximum daily load) process (see pg.1). The TMDL process for the Napa River Watershed is anticipated to begin in the fall to identify, evaluate and potentially manage non-point source pollution. The resource agencies are applauding this project because of the importance of establishing baseline knowledge of aquatic biology. Both the Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control Board are involved and awaiting our results and data. The data collected by Friends of the Napa River will be linked electronically to the State’s benthic macro invertebrate information.

One of the truly exciting outcomes of our project is that the potential for salmon recover in our watershed is real. There are steelhead fry in many of the creeks where they were not known to exist. We have documented, informed resource agencies and other interested citizens of our findings. The information illustrates the importance of this critical habitat and highlights the need to protect this critical resource in the Napa River watershed.

Jim Harrington, Department of Fish and Game regional expert on the collection of benthic macro invertebrates, has requested that our project be presented at the Northern California Benthic Training Conference. Jim has espoused our project to many counties and invited others to duplicate our efforts.

Our school outreach has been highlighted in the local newspapers and we have taken children and teenagers into our creeks for a biological and riparian experience. Many of the students were excited about their first creek exploration. We have developed a benthic macro invertebrate hand out and a video for the schools.

Friends of the Napa River, working with AmeriCorps, are taking the Macro-Invertebrate study into the classrooms by setting up a curriculum for students from elementary age to high school.

Since August 1999, Cynthia Rossi has been participating in the investigation and set up of the Macro-invertebrate study. She has worked extensively with Shearer Elementary School exposing the kids (from kindergarten to sixth grade) to a variety of exercises so that they will better understand their local watershed. Mr. Madigan's fourth grade class raised steelhead in the classroom and released them into the creek. The students watch the developmental process of the fish life cycle. Various lessons stressed the impacts the community has on the local fish species habitat, aquatic invertebrates, and the river ecology as well as the importance of a healthy ecosystem to the community as a whole.

The activities were very interactive to illustrate how integral the students are to the watershed’s environmental quality. An educational packet on macro-invertebrates has been created and a video of the aquatic bugs is being developed. The video displays macro-invertebrates under a microscope. It will be shown in classrooms to illustrate the importance of invertebrates to a healthy watershed. The education project will continue to create a database of information and various tools to bring into the classroom. It is our hope that teachers will utilize this excellent resource to explain what is happening in our own backyards.

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

Benthic Macro Invertebrate Project - Astounding Results!

Thursday, March 29, 2001: Friends of the Napa River and Dr. Charley Dewberry of the Scientific Oversight Panel presented the extraordinary results of the first year Benthic Macro Invertebrate Project. The purpose of this project is to compare aquatic life to land use and to provide the results to the public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under scientific guidance, a team of volunteers sampled the Napa River and many of its tributaries for benthic macro invertebrates establishing the first baseline information of these aquatic insects. The findings are astounding! The Scientific Oversight Panel has recommended that the study be continued for 5 years. Please click here for the detailed press release.



 

 

 

 

 

 
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