Treesearch

In 1982 a coalition of neighborhood and environmental organizations used a community organizing strategy of the early 1960's, referred to as "advocacy planning" to substantially redesign a traditional structural type of joint federal and local flood control project on Wildcat and San Pablo Creeks in North Richmond, California. Using a combination of foundation and other funding, the coalition designed their own water project that would preserve and restore the riparian values of these two highly urban creeks and would not only meet the important objective of reducing flood damages but...

The upper Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County, provides habitats for a relatively large population of least Bell's vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus), as well as diverse riparian flora and fauna. Of particular interest is the richness of the species within particular guilds. Four species of vireos: least Bell's, warbling (Vireo gilvus), solitary (Vireo solitarius) and Hutton's (Vireo huttoni), coexist together often on overlapping territories taking advantage of both vertical and horizontal diversity. Floristically these habitats are equally rich, hosting five species of willows (Salix...

Most adult aquatic insects that emerge from streams live briefly in the nearby riparian zone. Adult activities, such as mating, dispersal, and feeding, influence their distribution in the terrestrial habitat. A study at Big Sulphur Creek, California, has shown that both numbers and biomass of adult aquatic insects are greatest in the near-stream vegetation; however, adults can be relatively common 150 meters or more from the stream. Because adult aquatic insects are abundant, they represent a primary food resource for many riparian insectivores. The role of adult aquatic insects in the...

The nearly 100 papers in these proceedings are aimed at a diverse audience of resource managers, environmental con-sultants, researchers, landowners, environmental activists, and a variety of user groups. Some of the papers explain how streams interact with the plants and animals at their margins and with the land that they occupy to accomplish a range of important functions, including protecting the banks from erosion, reducing the impacts of flooding, providing wildlife habitat, protecting instream habitat for fishes, producing forage for livestock, and enhancing human lives. Biological...

Birds were censused concomitant with revegetation efforts on the Kern River Nature Conservancy Preserve during spring and summer 1987. Three types of sites were surveyed: naturally occurring cottonwood (Populus fremontii)-willow (Salix spp.) habitats, one 10-ha revegetation site implemented in 1986, and two 10-ha revegetation sites implemented in 1987. Six natural-history criteria were used to compare bird species found in naturally occurring habitat with species found in recently revegetated habitat. These data are extremely useful in discerning species responses to revegetation across...

Avian abundance and diversity were measured at 5 sites in the riparian zone of the Carmel River, selected to represent different conditions of riparian vegetation, in the spring of 1983. Vegetation varied from lawn (golf course) to mature, undisturbed riparian forest dominated by black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa). Birds were counted along 700-meter transects on 10 occasions. The abundance and diversity of birds varied directly with the abundance and diversity of the riparian vegetation. A narrow strip of riparian trees tripled the number of species observed at golf courses. Scattered...

Mountain meadows provide critical habitat for California's dwindling population of Willow Fly-catchers (Empidonax traillii) and for many other breeding birds. Most meadows in the western United States are managed for livestock production or other consumptive uses rather than for wildlife. The potential threats to Willow Flycatchers and their habitat are discussed, and suggestions to protect and enhance mountain meadow habitat for this and other riparian species are offered.

Abundance of resident cutthroat (Salmo clarki) and rainbow (Salmo gairdneri) trout was generally 1.5 to 3.5 times greater in unconstrained reaches than in con-strained reaches of Lookout Creek, a fourth-order tributary to the McKenzie River, Oregon. The presence of adult rainbow trout depressed juvenile abundance in pools with little habitat complexity but had no effect in pools with more heterogeneous structure. The greater abundance of trout in unconstrained reaches was related to habitat structure, the influence of the riparian canopy on stream productivity, and the effect of channel...

Can a natural flowing creek be increased in drainage capacity to protect an adjacent community from flooding while still maintaining a natural habitat? San Luis Obispo constructed one such project on over a mile of Creek as a part of a housing development. The City found that some of the mitigation measures included in the project worked while others did not. In the years since, the project has been evaluated and improvements recommended. We will probably do another such project but in a different way as described in this paper.

The California Wildlife-Habitat Relationship (WHR) system was tested for birds breeding in the Valley-Foothill Riparian habitat along California's Sacramento and South Fork Kern rivers. The model performed poorly with 33 pct and 21 pct correct predictions respectively at the two locations. Changes to the model for 60 species on the Sacramento River and 66 species on the Kern River are recommended. Special problems, such as differences in habitat suitability among study areas and how the model treats threatened and endangered species, are discussed and solutions are suggested.