The California Coastal Conservancy and Mendocino College will be hosting the Russian River Community Environmental Forum on Saturday, April 20, from 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM, in the college Little Theater. There will be no charge for the forum.
The forum is for the public to come and learn about the history of the natural resources and status of the Russian River. The river is the primary source of drinking water for the Ukiah and Hopland valleys as well as the location for a thriving agricultural economy. Once a world-class fishery, in recent decades the number of coho salmon and steelhead trout have dropped to the point where these species are threatened with extinction. The forum will explore how the river has changed over the past 100 years and what these changes mean, and what alternatives for enhancing the river's wildlife habitat there are while aiding the farmers along the channel. Community efforts to improve the river will also be presented.
The Coastal Conservancy and the Mendocino County Water Agency have been working with landowners and a local Technical Advisory Committee to establish enhancement priorities for the river. The Coastal Conservancy is a state agency that will implement the resulting enhancement plan through the cooperation of willing landowners.
Several members of the Mendocino County Technical Advisory Committee will give presentations along with Conservancy and Circuit Rider Productions of Windsor which assisted with the enhancement plan. Food will be available at the forum, or forum attenders may bring their lunch. For more information concerning the Russian River Community Environmental Forum, please call Richard Retecki at (510) 286-4170, or Dennis Slota at (707) 463-4589.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
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