California Regional Coordinators
2001 Highlights

With generous financial support from the California Water Resources Agency, For the Sake of the Salmon’s (FSOS) California Regional Coordinator program was a great success during its first year in 2001. Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) in the North Coast, Prunuske Chatham, Inc. (PCI) in the Central Coast and David Pritchett in the South-Central Coast served the organizational, capacity building, and technical assistance needs of approximately 200 locally based watershed groups.

The Regional Watershed Coordinator program provides direct technical assistance to local watershed groups in the three coastal regions of California. This assistance focuses on organizational development and referrals to salmon and watershed information resources and specialists. The top priority for each Regional Coordinator is to help watershed groups develop technically sound, well-written proposals to fund watershed assessment, planning and restoration projects. Regional Coordinators work to organize funding workshops, networking forums, and capacity building activities in coastal areas.

The following highlights reflect the accomplishments of each FSOS Regional Coordinator during 2001:

Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA)

Sungnome Madrone of RCAA focused his efforts on watershed groups located from the Oregon boarder down to the Sonoma County Line. Sixty-eight groups were identified with a primary focus of salmonid fisheries restoration. Many other groups were identified, but their focus was on broader environmental issues and they tended to be advocacy oriented. The groups are very diverse, usually focused on an individual watershed, and are at different stages of organizational development. Several groups have been active in fisheries restoration for over twenty years, while others are just starting up. All of the groups in the area were contacted to determine their technical needs and strengths and the services provided were then tailored to meet these needs. The following represents RCAA’s greatest accomplishments from December 2000 to December 2001.

• Development of an annotated watershed groups and agency contact list for the region;
• Organized, led and or assisted with the following workshops, field trips, symposiums and meetings:
  Humboldt Bay Sympsium February 9, 2002 in Eureka for over 200 participants with topics related to the Humboldt bay watershed;
  Conservation Easements workshop in Eureka for 150 participants with topics focused on private lands conservation tools;
  Five restoration activity field trips (RAFT) to different watersheds in Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties to view projects results and to discuss lessons learned;
  Twelve Watershed Improvement network (WIN) forums with a total of over 300 participants discussing topics ranging from permits to incentives and more;
  Watershed Coordinators meeting at the Salmonid restoration federations annual meeting in Ukiah with 28 coordinators attending and discussing problems, solutions, and opportunities to collaborate;
• Provide direct assistance to 24 groups developing restoration proposals from multiple funding sources. Over 208 direct contacts and assistance was provided over the first year.

2001 was very active for groups in the region and each one experienced growth, success, and difficulty. Every group is struggling with multiple issues of capacity.

This first year has shown us that there is great demand for technical assistance and the watershed groups are actively engaging in the community based partnership development for fisheries restoration. The 4SOS services provided by RCAA have been well received and have made a difference, as documented in a recent survey of watershed groups in the region.

Prunuske Chatham, Inc. Watershed Coordinators focused their efforts on watershed groups in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Marin, and Sonoma Counties. In the region, approximately 100 groups were identified. The primary focus of the majority of groups is working to protect, restore, and manage fish habitat and watersheds. A few of the groups identified have a broad environmental focus with some emphasis on watershed concerns. The groups were contacted initially to determine the extent of their organization and to provide direct assistance with their specific issues. The following represents PCI’s greatest accomplishments from December 2000 to December 2001.

• Developed an annotated list of watershed groups and agency contacts in the region;
• Sent out 75 informational e-mails to watershed groups and agencies on topics such as: funding sources and deadlines, workshops, pertinent legislation, technical resources, websites, and job opportunities;
• Created a comprehensive list of funding opportunities for watershed projects. The document includes a month-to-month calendar of funding deadlines, workshops, and other pertinent information and a complete description of each funding source (including project descriptions, deadlines, eligibility, and contact information);
• Organized and facilitated 2 Strategic Planning Workshops;
• Provided direct one-on-one assistance to watershed groups.

Based on a recent survey of watershed groups and agencies, the services we have been providing over the past year have been met with enthusiasm from both local agencies and watershed groups. One group stated, "your service is critical in keeping us advised of significant events, dates, and issues".

David Pritchett focused his efforts on watershed groups located in north coastal San Luis Obispo County to the Santa Monica Mountains in northern Los Angeles County. Thirty-three groups were found to be working in this region on steelhead trout conservation activities on a watershed-wide basis. They represented the diversity of the watershed in which they worked with support from public agencies, private landowners, community interests, and others. All of these groups were contacted to determine the extent to which their organizational, capacity building and technical needs could be met through the FSOS Coordinator program.

The following represent David Pritchett’s greatest accomplishments from December, 2000 to December, 2001.

• Development of an annotated watershed group and agency contact list for the region;
• Organized and led a symposium on March 21, 2001 in Santa Barbara to 133 participants. Topics included information on watershed planning and habitat assessment, featuring examples from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Santa Barbara County, Orange County, the City of Santa Barbara, and Los Padres National Forest
• Provided direct assistance to four entities on writing proposals to support watershed planning efforts and regional watershed coordinator support.

David’s outreach efforts to watershed groups in this region were instrumental in highlighting success stories of watershed planning efforts in Oregon and California. FSOS strives to assist watershed groups through "lessons learned" from those who have gone before them. The March 21 symposium in Santa Barbara was a great first step at highlighting the successes of watershed planning on both a state-wide and local level.

The FSOS California Coordinator Program in 2001 was a great success. Many locally led volunteer groups received the kind of assistance they needed to put their programs and projects to work in their respective watersheds. The California Coordinator Program has been funded for 2002 and we anticipate even greater success as relationships between the Coordinators and watershed groups develop.