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Novato Creek Watershed Upper Watershed Restoration Opportunities

Novato Creek Watershed Upper Watershed Restoration Opportunities. Anatomy of a Watershed. Headwaters. Valley Floor. Estuary. Riparian Forest. Bay. Largest watershed in eastern Marin. Major Novato Creek tributaries. Novato Creek- Bowman Canyon Vineyard-Warner Wilson Arroyo Avichi

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Novato Creek Watershed Upper Watershed Restoration Opportunities

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  1. Novato Creek WatershedUpper Watershed Restoration Opportunities

  2. Anatomy of a Watershed Headwaters Valley Floor Estuary Riparian Forest Bay

  3. Largest watershed in eastern Marin

  4. Major Novato Creek tributaries • Novato Creek- • Bowman Canyon • Vineyard-Warner • Wilson • Arroyo Avichi • Cheda Creek • Arroyo San Jose • Pacheco Creek

  5. Upper watershed land use is primarily agriculture and open space Bowman Canyon

  6. Valley floor land use is primarily residential with scattered park lands

  7. Beneficial Uses Water Quality Water Supply Wetlands Wildlife Protection Recreation Agriculture

  8. Restoration underway along the Bay!

  9. Hamilton and BMK 5 Restoration Total Project Conceptual Design • Scan pdf 2600 Acres

  10. Flood History • Significant flooding in 1955,1982, 1983 1986, 1995, 1998, 2005-06

  11. Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 1

  12. Deer Island WetlandsAn integrated watershed management project

  13. Novato Creek-late 1880’s • Novato Creek has been navigable since the mid 1870’s when 23 ton schooners made weekly trips to San Francisco “California • Tidal influence extended through and upstream of Nave Shopping Center • In 1880 the creek was dredged to keep the wharf open “Solferno”

  14. Novato Creek-1895

  15. Today Dredging Conducted for Flood Control

  16. Tidal marshlands and sloughs were diked and drained for agriculture around the 1860's

  17. The Creek bed is down cutting

  18. Unstable Bank Slopes

  19. Geomorphic Channel RestorationDesign Considerations • Maintain Active Channel Width • Consider Both Banks • Consider Upstream & Downstream Effects • Retain Native Vegetation • Moderate to Gradual Bank Slope • Incorporate Native Vegetation into Design • Invasive Species Have Poor Rooting Strength-Replace with Native Plants

  20. Anatomy of a Floodplain

  21. Biotechnical Bank StabilizationIncorporating Native Plants into the design process

  22. Wildlife Protection

  23. Creek Wildlife • Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse • River Otter • Muskrat • Blue Heron • Clapper Rail • Jack Rabbit • Songbirds

  24. Novato Creek Vineyard Creek Bowman Canyon Steelhead trout

  25. Steelhead Distribution CEMAR concludes “The Novato Watershed has not been sampled adequately… it appears to offer spawning and rearing habitat despite being the driest of the MC drainages”. CEMAR

  26. Novato Creek Vineyard Creek Bowman Canyon Creek Best Potential for Steelhead Habitat Restoration Steelhead young of the year-Vineyard Creek

  27. Chinook salmon • Novato Creek (tidewater areas) • likely hatchery strays

  28. Novato Creek as a Water Supply • NMWD / Stafford Lake Reservoir

  29. Friends Of Novato Creek Introduction Background, Challenges and Opportunities

  30. Friends of Novato Creek Watershed • Founded as a 501c3 Non Profit Corporation in 2001 – Received ruling 2006 • Members of the local communities, FNC members are teachers, engineers, contractors, students, lawyers, biologists, business owners . • Monthly meetings, semi annual trainings and events, including storm drain painting , creek cleanups, invasive species removals, water monitoring and creek walks.

  31. FNC Mission • Organized for the protection, restoration, and improvement of the Novato Creek Watershed. • To build community awareness through programs in partnership with the local community

  32. Public Outreach & Education Signage Creek Cleanups Citizen Water Monitoring Educational Programs Research Projects Riparian Restoration FNC Programs:

  33. Signage

  34. FNC Creek Cleanups

  35. Historic Monitoring & Data Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Concerns- pesticides, sediment, pathogens Water Quality

  36. Novato Creek Invasive weeds • Himalayan Blackberry • Giant Reed • Ivy (German, English, Cape) • Pepper weed

  37. Citizen Monitoring – Benthic Macroinvertebrates • FNC has trained 15 volunteers / Conducted 2 trainings • 2006 - conducted monitoring of 5 sites including water quality, BMI collection, and physical habitat • Data pending

  38. Benthic Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Data Collection

  39. FNC and MCSTOPPP Sampling Stations

  40. FNC and MCSTOPPP Sampling Stations

  41. FNC-Next Steps • Increase efforts to build awareness of the watershed (literature / sign projects • Presentations in local schools and work with local youth organizations • Work with Marin County & City of Novato • Continue to develop water monitoring program

  42. Novato Creek Challenges • Flooding • Water Quality • Channel management • Habitat, sensitive species, and fisheries • Bank erosion and stream stability • Illegal camp sites • Groundwater • Invasive weeds • Invasive species-partnered w/ Romberg Tiburon Ctr to monitor Harris Mud Crab

  43. Novato Watershed Planning Documents • City of Novato General Plan • Draft Marin Countywide Plan & Watershed Management Plan • NBWA Watershed Stewardship Plan and IRWMP • Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District-Technical Studies • San Francisco Bay Watershed Plan • State of CA Basin Plan-TMDLs & 303d listings • Phase II NPDES Storm Water Permit and MCSTOPPP stormwater management plan

  44. For more information about Marin County Creeks and the Novato Watershed go to www.mcstoppp.org and www.krisweb.com

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