Russian River
Coho Water Resources
Partnership

Partners | Press

The Partners
	The Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration (CEMAR) is a nonprofit environmental research company with a mission of using scientific information for the sustainable management of ecosystems for future generations. CEMAR has extensive experience working with stakeholders in coastal California, as well as partners such as the University of California Cooperative Extension and Trout Unlimited, to provide technical guidance regarding water management to minimize impacts to spring and summer flows.
	The Sotoyome Resource Conservation District and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (RCDs) are local public agencies operating since the 1940s to assist landowners with soil and water conservation. The RCDs are regional leaders in developing watershed management plans and engaging stakeholders and landowners in land management practices to promote resource conservation. Together, their districts comprise the entire lower two-thirds of the Russian River watershed. The RCDs will provide the primary outreach mechanisms for this grant.
	The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center's (OAEC) Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education, & Research (WATER) Institute was created to catalyze local and regional water policy and sustainable water management practices based on the principles of conservation hydrology. Landowner participation in the WATER Institute's Basins of Relations Training program has played a direct role in facilitating efforts of the existing community-based watershed groups in Dutch Bill, Green Valley and Mark West watersheds.
	Trout Unlimited (TU) has worked on water rights reform and streamflow matters in California for 20 years. TU engaged stakeholders and regulatory agencies to develop a streamflow policy for water rights on the North Coast, and TU's Water and Wine program -- which promotes water management practices beneficial to farmers and fish -- has generated widespread interest among area grape growers. TU and CEMAR, with help from a State Coastal Conservancy grant, are developing pilot projects to optimize water diversions and streamflow in 4-5 watersheds along the California coast.
	University of California Cooperative Extension in partnership with California Sea Grant (UCCE-CSG) in Sonoma County works to maintain a vital agricultural community and sustainable natural environment by providing university research-based information and outreach in agriculture and natural resources. UCCE-CSG, in collaboration with California Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Services, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Sonoma County Water Agency, developed and coordinates a coho monitoring program for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program. The GIS lab at University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center has worked for the past 10 years to develop spatially explicit models to examine water need and impacts of water management practices in the Russian River watershed.
Project Funding   The Coho Partnership is generously funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with support provided by the Sonoma County Water Agency   In March 2009, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation issued its Keystone Initiatives Business Plan for the Russian River watershed. The underlying hypothesis of the initiative is that water for both human and coho salmon can be secured through careful planning and water supply management. Other Funding Partners include: California Coastal Conservancy California Department of Fish and Game County of Sonoma NOAA Restoration Center United States Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers   Technical Advisory Committee The purpose of the TAC is to develop a common understanding among the partners and regulatory agencies as to the study designs and approach used for to develop stream management plans. A. Merenlender, Ph.D, Cooperative Extension Specialist, UC Berkeley California Department of Fish and Game Natural Resources Conservation Service NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Restoration Center North Coast Reqional Water Quality Control Board Sonoma County Water Agency 4179 Piedmont Ave., Suite 325, Oakland, CA 94611 | Email: info@cohopartnership.org | (510) 420-4565, ext. 107 Images are made available for personal use only and may not be copied, reproduced, or used in any way. © 2009-2011 Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership