May CreekSpeak: Managing California’s Cold Water with Conservation and Regulation
Thursday, May 19, 2022 7 PM via ZOOM
Putah Creek, known for its cold waters coming from the Monticello Dam, is an excellent habitat for a healthy population of Coastal Rainbow Trout. The success of this healthy population is often attributed to the cold water releases from the bottom of Monticello Dam. However, new research from the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences has revealed that California reservoirs do not contain cold-water storage sufficient to support native freshwater ecosystems. Join Putah Creek Council and Dr. Ann Willis on May 19th at 7 PM to learn more about new insights to stream management to improve environmental temperatures for the health of native freshwater ecosystems! Conservation planning for California’s cold water species is imperative in order to prevent extinction of the state’s native salmonids.
Dr. Ann Willis is a senior researcher at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Her work focuses on water management and stream conservation. Part of her research explores stream conservation for cold-water ecosystems and how to integrate people into those landscapes. Her research shows how we can prioritize some stream reaches for cold-water conservation, and recognizes the difference between managed cold-water reaches and naturally occurring cold-water processes.
CreekSpeak is Putah Creek Council’s six month speaker series on the nature, history, and culture of the Putah Cache Watershed, and more broadly, the state of California. CreekSpeaks take place on Zoom on the third Thursday of each month from May to November. Register for this event to learn more about California’s dams and their damning impacts to cold water species.
Register for the event HERE