That was a key theme at the Napa County Watershed Symposium on Thursday. Dozens of elected leaders, wine industry officials and environmentalists crowded into Blue Note Napa – in the historic opera house—to talk about an ecosystem of the future that might more closely mimic the ecosystem of the past.

Napa County’s watersheds have been a hot topic as more vineyard and winery development takes place there. But two groups often at odds—Napa Valley Vintners and Napa Vision 2050—were among the watershed symposium sponsors.

“I’m not here to preach to you,” Lester McKee of the San Francisco Estuary Institute said during the day-long forum. “I think you are doing a lot (of good things) already.”

But he and other speakers had plenty of ideas to improve the health of the Napa River and its watershed involving everybody from big rural land owners to city residents.

Giant oaks and not vineyards dominated Napa Valley two centuries ago. Water ran freely into the Napa River instead of a portion being captured behind dams in reservoirs. The river had gentle flood plains instead of being forced into narrow channels.

Napa County has responded in recent years with such efforts as restoring stretches of the Napa River, planting oaks and promoting fish-friendly farming methods. So what’s next?

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