Featured Speaker, June 27, 2016, Heidi Perryman, “Beaver Restoration of Urban Creeks”

June 27, 2016 SAVE AUBURN RAVINE SALMON AND STEELHEAD (SARSAS, Inc.) 501C3. Public Benefit Corporation with Employer Identification Number 80-0291680 General Meeting PLACER COUNTY TIGHTENED SECURITY: WHEN ENTERING CEO-1, PLEASE US THE PHONE TO BE BUZZED INTO ROOM AS REQUESTED BY PLACER COUNTY. (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) 175 Fulweiler Avenue, (the Domes), Auburn, CA 95603 - 10 a. m. Contact: SARSAS President Jack Sanchez at 530-888-0281 or VP Gary Mapa (530 320-9097), who will conduct meetings when Jack’s away. jlsanchez39@gmail.com. Meetings are Fourth Monday of each month at 10-11 a.m. Meetings are held to one hour in length ending at 11 a.m. Please be prompt. I. Self- introductions and sign-ins. II. SARSAS Philosophy – We believe by working together with many individuals and agencies at the same table, we can achieve the mission of SARSAS, which is to return salmon and steelhead to the entire 33 mile length of the Auburn Ravine Speakers are asked to bring their own laptops if possible loaded with their Presentation. III. Featured Speaker, June 27, 2016, Heidi Perryman, “Beaver Restoration of Urban Creeks” Dr. Perryman formed Worth A Dam to defend the beavers in her home town of Martinez CA. Along the way she became interested in helping other cities learn how and why to co-exist with beavers. Since 2008 she has organized an annual beaver festival that has inspired similar efforts in 5 states and Canada. As California faces more drought years, she believes it is more important than ever to coexist with these important 'water savers'. In addition to the beaver festival, Worth A Dam does several community outreach and education programs a year, including field trips and class room visits. In 2010 they awarded their first scholarship in beaver management to advocates in Tahoe. In 2011 Dr. Perryman presented at the state of the beaver conference in Oregon, and the State parks conference in Yosemite. She collaborated with beaver management expert Michael Callahan of Massachusetts to help release an instructional DVD teaching how to live with beavers (featuring footage of the Martinez Beavers). Most recently she worked with a historian, archaeologist and biologist to publish groundbreaking research on the western fur trade and the original prevalence of beavers in California - a subject that has been surprisingly misunderstood for a nearly a century Beavers and their dams create wetlands, store and filter water, augment fish populations, raise the number of migratory and songbirds, and have a dramatic positive impact on wildlife. Dr. Perryman feels that working to help people understand and coexist with this single species will continue to have a dramatic trickle-down impact on the environment in general. IV. July 25, 2016, Burke White, “Touching Nature … in Order to Protect” Bio: I am a firm believer that exposing people to a valuable outdoor experience is the first step in a long-term plan to save our natural environment. The big challenge is how to inspire the next generation to head outside. Constantly plugged-in to a mobile device and hyper-stimulated with endless data, the average task-oriented millennial is not naturally drawn to beautiful places with limited cell coverage and baristas. The tutors, team-sports and technology of today’s generation are far different from the mentors, mountain camps and matériel of our youth. The times have changed and so must we, if we want to inspire the next generation to explore nature within their comfort zone. We must stop selling “base camp” on Everest and start selling car camp on “Everycrest” by making outside simple, digestible and inviting to all. Only then might we take a small percentage to the next level. It comes down to a task. Ask a child to go hike to the top of a hill and they might ask, “Why?” “Fresh air, exercise and beautiful scenery” might be the adult responses, but none is a task. Ask a child to go fly a kite and you’ve got a kid hiking to the top of a hill in no time. Of course, there are many worthy tasks, but one inspiring task often overlooked is fly fishing. For over twenty-five years, I’ve had the privilege of working in the fly fishing industry. I hope by now I’d be considered an expert in the field. I’ve fished a good part of the world and I’m very intimate with every brand, series and model of product available. However, I’ve come to one important conclusion from my vast fly tour. Most of my experience and knowledge is meaningless to the beginner, and the beginner is the most important customer to a specialty sport and its environment. Ironically, the specialty fly shops, sport-specific magazines and websites are the barriers to entering the sport of fly fishing. It’s near impossible for a fly shop or website to service the avid angler with a vast selection of complex products and information and still flop down a comforting welcome mat for the beginner. Add to this confusion far too many choices and very few (if any) responsible solutions when it comes to gear and most will shy away. There is a solution…make fly fishing invitingly simple to the beginner. V. August 22, 2016, Placer County Supervisor Robert Weygandt, Invited to speak on “Update of Placer County Conservation Plan”. VI. September 26, 2016, Jeff Parks, Water Resources Control Engineer, Invited to speak. VII. October 24, 2016 – Pamela Creedon, Executive Officer of the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board, Pamela Creedon is the Executive Officer of the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board. She is a licensed Civil Engineer and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer with nearly 35 years of professional experience, including over 23 years of experience in both the public and private sector developing and implementing water quality regulatory programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Civil Engineering from California State University, Sacramento. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Tau Beta Pi. She serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers National Energy, Environment and Water Policy Committee and the CSU Sacramento Environmental and Water Resources Advisory Committee. She is a Vice-Chair of the Sacramento Chapter of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (SCEWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers and is a member of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Estuary Institute Aquatic Science Center. VIII. November 28, 2016, JoAnna Lessard, Garcia Associates, “Efficient Rainwater Collecting” Bio: Dr. Joanna Lessard is a stream ecologist with over 15 years of combined experience carrying out research and consulting on many topics related to aquatic ecology and aquatic resource management. She obtained BS and MS degrees from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University, during which she conducted research on the temperature effects of small dams on cold-water fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. She received a PhD from the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University, studying the resource subsidy impacts of marine-derived nutrients from spawning salmon on aquatic insect communities in Southeast Alaska. Following her graduate studies she spent two years with the Center for Ecological Studies in Maryland consulting for the US Environmental Protection Agency on its national biological monitoring initiatives. Following that work she moved to San Francisco to join Garcia and Associates (GANDA), focusing on studies on the biological impacts of hydropower and flow changes associated with relicensing on state and federally listed species of fish and amphibians. In 2007, under a GANDA contract, she was appointed to the Trinity River Science Advisory Board. In 2009 she accepted a research position with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand and joined their Water Allocation and Environmental Flow Programs. Her work in New Zealand focused on catchment-scale management of surface and groundwater quantity and quality in conjunction with land use management. She was a technical advisor to Environment Canterbury for several high profile stakeholder groups formed to develop management objectives for highly allocated catchments. She rejoined GANDA in 2014 and is working out of the Auburn Office to provide technical assistance and project management on aquatic and water resource issues in California. She is currently working with Nevada City on their Drought Implementation Plan and Water Conservation Programs. IX. Tuesday, December 20, 2016 – Peter Moyle invited to speak X. January 23, 2017 – Rich Marovich, “Update on the Putah Creek Restoration” Biography: Rich has been Stream keeper since 2000, leading complex and cooperative projects to protect the resources of Lower Putah Creek. He has won over $12 million in competitive grants for physical and biological studies, community planning and habitat enhancement projects including: abating and deterring trespass and illegal dumping; controlling invasive weeds; stabilizing eroding banks; restoring natural channel form and function; and establishing native vegetation. He also manages a native plant nursery staffed with community volunteers. His prior experience includes 28 years with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (part time since 2000) leading a statewide program to protect listed species from pesticide exposure. He obtained a B.S. in Plant Science (Horticulture) from U.C. Davis in 1978. XI. February 27, 2017 – John Hannon, USBR, invited to speak XII. March 27, 2017 – March 27, 2017 – Ken Davis, confirmed -Topic TBA XIII. April 24, 2017 - Darryl Hayes, ISI. “Final Installation of Dual Cone Fish Screen on Pleasant Grove Canal”, Bio: Darryl Hayes has been working as the Engineering Manager at Intake Screens, Inc. in Sacramento, CA, for the past 8 years. He has over 20 years’ experience working on fish protection and passage systems over his career. Prior to working at ISI, he was a senior consultant at CH2M HILL and also the former Fish Facilities Chief at the California Department of Water Resources.