McKay Tract Update
As the winter rains begin to soak in, we busy ourselves with community organizing, staying dry, building new living quarters in the tree-village, and replenishing our water stores. We're now entering year four of the occupation in the McKay Tract/ Ryan Creek watershed to stop this precious habitat from being clear-cut by Green Diamond Resource Company, aka Simpson. (read more)


Fish Passage Toolbox: Approaches to Solving Fish Passage Problems
The Fish Passage Toolbox workshop and the field tour to Peacock and Cedar Creek restoration projects will be an exciting feature of the 14th Annual Coho Confab. The workshop will introduce solutions to fish passage problems and explain some of the challenges, design elements, and long-range benefits to the fish passage projects that participants will tour after the classroom presentation. (read more)


14th Annual Coho Confab on the Pristine Smith River: August 19-21, 2011
The Coho Confab is a symposium to explore watershed restoration, learn restoration techniques to recover coho salmon populations, and to network with other fish-centric people. The 14th Annual Coho Confab will be held at Rock Creek Ranch on the South Fork of the Smith River in Del Norte County. Salmonid Restoration Federation and Trees Foundation are the permanent co-hosts of this educational event and this year the Confab is also supported by the Smith River Alliance and the California Department of Fish & Game. (read more)


Coho Confab 2010
Each year, Trees Foundation hosts the Coho Confab, an annual symposium to explore watershed restoration. This year our summer intern, Matt Dicks, a college senior at Humboldt State University in the Department of Environmental and Resource Sciences, attended the Confab. We asked him to write about his experience. The following section includes Matt's article, and updates from two of the Confab's field tours. (read more)


The Redwood Curtain Bicycle Run, Part III
The bicycle tour did not end at the Redwood Curtain... (read more)


Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, Trees Foundation, and Roots of Change Media Education Project

Roots of Change Media Education Project, a project of the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, is collaborating with Trees Foundation to craft grassroots media workshops and assistance for North Coast grassroots environmental groups. We surveyed the organizations that partner with Trees Foundation, and we are putting together workshops and visits based on results of that survey, but there is still time to get in under the wire! If you are a non-profit grassroots group in Northern California, we'd like to hear from you! (read more)


13th Annual Coho Confab: August 13-15, 2010 Westminster Woods in the Russian River Watershed
The Coho Confab is a symposium to explore watershed restoration, learn restoration techniques to recover coho salmon populations, and to network with other fish-centric people. To confabulate literally means to informally chat or to fabricate to compensate for gaps in ones memory. Not to imply that restorationists are prone to hyperbole when recounting the size of a rescued fish, the magnitude of the waterfall coming out of the culvert, or the heroics of a particular restoration job. The Confab is an informal gathering of fishheads that allows for participants and instructors to learn from each other's experience. Participants learn skills and practices that can be applied to restore habitat in their home watershed. Each year the Confab is held in a different location on the North Coast. (read more)


Wildfire Effects: Wanted Dead or Alive: Fire Scars and Cavities in Old-Growth Trees

Recent studies by Humboldt State University professor Steve Sillett and others have highlighted the incredible complexity of giant old-growth redwoods: canopies rich with iterated tops, huckleberry gardens, aerial salamanders, and even plankton. Yet only 3-5% of these ancient trees remain along California's coast. While many speak of restoration including creation of old-growth characteristics in young-growth forests, such efforts are new, experimental, and as yet unproven. (read more)


Freshwater Mussels of the Klamath River
Ask someone to name a threatened species that makes its home in the Klamath River, and odds are the answer you'll hear will be "salmon," followed by "suckerfish" or "sturgeon." While it's true that Klamath populations of these fish species are facing severe threats stemming from human activity, fish aren't the only aquatic creatures in danger of extinction. In fact, the majority of the organisms threatened by human impact on freshwater ecosystems like the Klamath are invertebrates. One of the least-known but most important Klamath invertebrate groups may be the freshwater mussels. And, until 2007, the Klamath's mussels were almost entirely unknown to Western science! Mussels, which are North America's most endangered group of organisms, are an important bio-indicator of aquatic ecosystem health and a cultural resource for indigenous peoples worldwide. (read more)


Editor's Note
Watershed recovery along the North Coast continues to advance. This issue explores the ways that community projects are leading efforts to restore ailing watersheds. Projects include instream restoration, controlled burns, community organizing, and native plant nurseries. (read more)


Watershed Recovery: Accelerated Recruitment: A Cost-Effective Approach To Instream Enhancement
Large woody material is critical for enhancing fish habitat, increasing instream biological diversity, and maintaining natural stream processes. Until recently, the South Fork of the Ten Mile River, a salmon-bearing stream in Mendocino County, was generally devoid of large woody material. (read more)


Watershed Recovery: Garcia River Recovery Update
Comprehensive efforts to restore the Garcia River's once-famous runs of salmon and steelhead continue. Garcia River restoration has benefited greatly by lessons learned on watersheds throughout northern California and by techniques taught at Salmonid Restoration Federation Field Schools and Conferences. The Garcia River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan has assured steady progress on sediment control throughout the watershed. (read more)


Watershed Recovery: 12th Annual Coho Confab August 28-30th

The Coho Confab is a symposium to explore watershed restoration, learn restoration techniques to recover coho salmon populations, and network with other fish-centric people. The 12th Annual Coho Confab will be held on the beautiful Mendocino Coast. Trees Foundation and the Salmonid Restoration Federation are permanent co-hosts of this educational event and this year the Confab is also sponsored by the California Department of Fish & Game (DFG), Mendocino Land Trust, and Trout Unlimited. (read more)


12th Annual Coho Confab Hands-on Fish Workshops on the Mendocino Coast

	Photo: Hawk Rosalas

The Coho Confab is a symposium to explore watershed restoration, learn restoration techniques to recover coho salmon populations, and to network with other fish-centric people. To confabulate literally means to informally chat or to fabricate to compensate for gaps in ones memory. Not to imply that restorationists are prone to hyperbole when recounting the size of a rescued fish, the magnitude of the waterfall coming out of the culvert, or the heroics of a particular restoration job. The Confab is an informal gathering of fishheads that allows for participants and instructors to learn from each other's experience. Participants learn skills and practices that can be applied to restore habitat in their home watershed. Each year the Confab is held in another location on the North Coast. (read more)


Restoring Your Watershed: Coho Confab September 26-28, 2008 on the Smith River
The Coho Confab is an annual symposium to explore watershed restoration, learn techniques to recover coho salmon populations, and network with other fish-centric people. In an informal setting that encourages networking and connection, participants learn skills and practices that can be applied to restore habitats in their home watersheds. Always in a beautiful outdoor setting within the range of the coho, each year the Confab is held in a different location on the North Coast. This year, the 11th annual Confab will be held on the South Fork of the Smith River in the far northwestern corner of California on the weekend of September 26-28. (read more)