Lake County Resource Conservation District

Many California natives are beautiful, drought and deer-resistent and easy to grow -- stock for this sale all propagated and grown right here in Lake County too. Please stop by on Oct 19 to see what we have to offer. Visit www.lakercd.org for more info including a detailed plant list.

With support from the Meisenbach scholarship fund, Ami is completing a summer internship mapping plants in serpentine springs and seeps.

Approximately 80 fourth grade students from Coyote Valley and Minnie Cannon elementary schools participated the 2019 Field Days event, which was held on Thursday May 23, 2019, at Diamond D Ranch outside Middletown. The emphasis of this interactive educational event on the banks of Putah Creek was on seeing, touching, and learning about the natural world and natural resource management in an outdoor setting. Presenters included a CalFire crew and their truck, Katherine Vanderw...all from the Ag Department talking about native and invasive plants, RCD Director Dr. Harry Lyons giving a presentation on native trees, Mark Miller of the Department of Water Resources on invasive mussels and other aquatic pests, Dean Enderlin with some hands-on geology, and Erica Lundgren from Mendocino NRCS delving into the mysteries of soil. After the presentations, lunch and a visit from Smokey Bear!

For a list of the plants we expect to have available this year, visit https://www.lakercd.org/2019-native-plant-list.html

From July 27 to September 18 2018 the Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in California history, burned more than 450,000 acres in four counties, with the largest portion in northern Lake County. Although no lives were lost and property damage was comparatively minor, habitat loss was immense and the threat of increased sedimentation into Clear Lake is significant. To mitigate these impacts and provide an example of Best Management Practices (BMPs) the Central Valley Regional... Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) awarded a $605,000 grant to the Lake County RCD to install and maintain erosion and sediment control (BMPs) in areas identified by the Water Board as being of particularly high priority. On their January 23 tour of the project site RCD directors saw a lot of trapped sediments and secure control devices, and were also delighted to learn that some of identified priority sites on Middle Creek are recovering well enough on their own to be removed from the original list.

At 10AM next Tuesday, November 20 at the Board Chambers in Lakeport the Supervisors will issue a proclamation identifying Lake County as a Dark Sky Destination.... Please drop by to join the applause! There will also be some telescopes on display, and possibly photographs of planets, the moon, and deep-sky objects taken from dark observing sites in Lake County.

This like a great opportunity!

In June the Sierra Club Lake Group led a hike to Eightmile Valley on Cow Mountain where ecologist Larry Ray demonstrated the RCD's riparian restoration and invasive Goats Rue eradication projects in the area.

RCD president Dr. Harry Lyons with some of the year-old douglas fir seedlings that we donated for distribution at the April 19 Earth Day festivities at Woodland Community College in Clearlake. Participants were delighted to get them! Seedlings will also be distributed through the Sierra Club at the Habematolel ED event on Saturday, and at Twin Pines on Sunday.

Lake County RCD was very happy to sponsor Laurie Hutchison, Fire Safe Council Coordinator at today’s Ag and Farm event at the Lake County Fair Grounds. Laurie had very long lines as kids spun the wheel and answered questions about fire safety. They, in turn, were rewarded with a small gift. Everyone had a great time! T

Some great workshops and events coming up from the Sandhedrin Chapter of the CA Native Plant Society, starting in January...