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Carneros Creek Watershed Assessment and Management Plan
In 2001, the Carneros Creek Watershed Stewardship, an apolitical, non-advocacy group of landowners and managers in the Carneros Creek watershed, formed to promote an open dialogue among interested individuals regarding local natural resource concerns and issues. The goals of the group include: assessing the physical features of the watershed on an on-going basis; providing education about the watershed; protecting and restoring natural resources, including native fish and wildlife species; protecting and enhancing the economic and human resources; and creating a sustainable, enduring watershed stewardship.
Through group dialogue and community meetings, the Carneros Stewardship decided in late 2001 that they were interested in conducting a watershed assessment and developing a watershed management plan to guide future restoration and land management activities. Through a grant received by the Napa County Resource Conservation District (RCD) from the California Bay-Delta Authority Watershed Program in 2002, a team of technical specialists from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), Pacific Watershed Associates (PWA), and Napa County RCD set out to understand and document the physical, biological and human aspects of the Carneros Creek watershed.
Several technical reports were developed for the Stewardship as a result of the watershed assessment. These reports include information relative to: historical ecology, channel form and function, sediment sources, fish habitat, water quality, and water quantity.
With improved information about current and historic natural resource conditions in the watershed, the Carneros Stewardship formed a subcommittee to guide the development of a watershed management plan that would reflect the interests of the larger group. The subcommittee worked in close collaboration with technical specialists from SFEI, PWA and Napa County RCD to develop the management plan. The plan integrates the results of the technical reports and is broken down into the following sections: Cover pages, Introduction, Historic Watershed Conditions, Existing Watershed Conditions, Recommended Watershed Conditions, Future Research and Recommended Monitoring, and Sources of Public Funding and Assistance. The management plan is meant to be used as a tool for the local community and is meant to be voluntary in nature. It also builds upon a history of on-going community efforts to protect and restore the natural function of the watershed.
NEXT STEPS include design and implementation of restoration projects.
