Since the discussion of creek health comes up often at the dam sites, I thought I would give us all a primer for their care. This nicely prepared reference comes from several local agencies, including friends of Alhambra Creek and beaver benefactor, Igor Skaredoff.
This guide was published as a cooperative effort of the Friends of Alhambra Creek, the City of Martinez, and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service, Western Region. Edited by Susan Harris, Erika Campos (National Park Service) and Janet Cox. Illustrations by Halsted Hannah and Erika Campos. Layout and design by Baseline Designs, San Francisco.
Intended for business and resident property owners along waterways, it begins with a reminder that taking care of the creek benefits everyone, and damaging creeks through pollution or careless construction harms everyone.
In urban areas, a creek is an irreplaceable natural resource. Whether it flows year-round or seasonally, your creek provides water supply and groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, a conduit for flood waters, and a host of aesthetic values. A creek is a part of the lives of all the people and animals who live within its watershed. (emphasis mine!) The watershed is the land area which drains into the creek, including storm drain systems that carry rainwater and runoff from streets and property to the creek.
Read that bold sentence again, and think about how Alhambra Creek belongs to the beavers and also to the hundreds of people who visit the beavers each week. What have its immediate neighbors have done to “steward” the land? plant trees, clean the banks, discourage industrial pollution, protect wildlife, remove invasive species. (Um…wait, I’ll think of something.) Wrap a single tree in chain mesh to prevent feeding! And what have Volunteers from Worth A Dam done to care for the creek? Plant and wrap 30 willow, clean the creek and banks, report injured wildlife, protect threatened species, keep visitors out of sensitive areas, explain the habitat…
Okay, so you get my point. Sometimes the court awards decision-making powers to the parent who has demonstrated reliable care of the child, not the one whose name is on the paperwork. This is also known as Horton v. Maisy, trial notes here:
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=9G5g1H08EhY]
More on creek health tomorrow.
