CW3E Staff Member Attends Russian River Science Forum

May 03, 2018

CW3E’s Anna Wilson recently attended the Russian River Science Forum, held at the Sonoma County Water Agency on May 1. The Forum was sponsored by the California Land Stewardship Institute, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and Sonoma County Water Agency, and was meant to gather together scientists, conservationists, and stakeholders to discuss research needs and ongoing work being conducted in the watershed. The framework for the forum was research priorities identified by the Russian River Independent Science Review Panel (ISRP). Broadly, these priorities are: aquatic communities; groundwater; streamflow; climate change; water demand and use; geomorphology; and development of a numerical model of the watershed.

Presentations included ongoing relevant weather and climate research conducted by CW3E and partners (Anna Wilson, CW3E), local research applications (Jay Jasperse, Sonoma County Water Agency; Karen Gaffney, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District), monitoring the effects of the 2017 wildfires (Jonathan Perkins, US Geological Survey; Virginia Mahacek, Sonoma County Office of Recovery and Resilience), and restoration design (Neil Lassettre, Sonoma County Water Agency). There was time for discussion regarding progress on the recommendations from the ISRP, and on future collaborations between interested researchers and stakeholders. CW3E looks forward to further partnerships towards advancing science objectives in the Russian River watershed and assisting in the development of science-based, resilient, and effective watershed management strategies.