Your monthly update from SPAWN
September Newsletter
A free-flowing creek will soon replace Central California's highest priority fish passage barrier – known as Roy's Pools – thanks to SPAWN's community restoration project! Now several weeks into the project, the large earth moving has begun as preparation for the dam removal begins. A 20-year project in the making, removing this 100-year-old dam and fish ladder will restore complete passage for all life stages of salmon species through the San Geronimo Creek Watershed — one of the most important watersheds left for endangered coho salmon.
Landowners and Large Woody Debris Support Salmon!
SPAWN is undergoing a salmon habitat enhancement project along a 500-feet section of San Geronimo Creek Watershed to restore critical habitat and protect streambanks against erosion that is threatening homes. Within this stretch of creek, wood structures will be set in place to improve salmonid habitat; build up sediment and fine cobble within an area that’s been flushed down to bedrock; and help stabilize eroding banks by placing numerous fallen trees, logs, and root balls in the creek across four private properties. The project is funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Restoration Grant Program who awarded $377,500 to SPAWN — the only organization in Marin County to receive a grant from the program.
Monarchs and Milkweed: A Perfect Pair
In September we received exciting news: there are five monarch caterpillars on milkweed in the pollinator garden we created with students at Glenwood Elementary in San Rafael! The milkweed and nectar plants were planted by fourth graders on the last day they were at school in March before the classes changed to remote learning. Right now monarchs are on their way to the coast, and the caterpillars will become butterflies just in time to join the overwintering populations. Thanks to Alice for sharing the news!
Volunteer Spotlight: Guy Thomas
A dedicated SPAWN volunteer, Guy Thomas has lived most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is passionate about conservation and ecological restoration. Guy is also an extremely skillful carpenter and as soon as he learned that SPAWN needed new benches for one of our shade houses in the nursery, he got right to work. Within one week he built six new benches! These new benches help us meet the current guidelines for best management practices to help prevent pathogens in our nursery. We appreciate Guy’s dedication to the nursery and his broad commitment to conservation and habitat restoration. Please click here to learn more about Guy Thomas!
California Fails to Pass Single-Use Plastics Law
The California State Legislature failed to pass a pair of bills in August that would have reduced the pollution generated by single-use packaging and products, leaving a tremendous loss to individuals, communities, wildlife, and ecosystems throughout the state — especially the tens of thousands of individual marine animals that have been observed suffering from entanglement or ingestion of plastics. Single-use plastic waste threatens every park, street, waterway, coast and beach in California, and are consistently among the top ten items found at beach clean-ups throughout the state annually. Single-use plastics also threaten public health, with hundreds of harmful chemicals migrating from plastic packaging into our foods and beverages. Currently, the United States has a robust federal bill before Congress to address our monumental plastic pollution crisis. You can help it gain the momentum it needs to move through Congress and become law by asking your representatives to co-sponsor the legislation today.
Short Doc on SPAWN Featured in Film Fest
SPAWN is excited to share a short documentary film highlighting SPAWN’s restoration work to bring back coho salmon from the edge of extinction is being shown at the Bernal Heights Film Festival in San Francisco on October 16! The film, Bringing Back The Salmon, documents one of our most ambitious restoration projects along Lagunitas Creek — the most important habitat for the recovery of the species on California's central coast. The video was created by Lori Eanes, and we want to thank Lori for all of her hard work making this wonderful video!
