Watershed Management Course Attracts Regional Attention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 1999
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Watershed Management Course Attracts Regional Attention
Improving the management of watersheds, using the California Central Valley as a point of reference, is the subject of a week-long training course at California State University, Chico from Jan. 11-15.
More than 100 people involved in and concerned about water issues are signed up for the course, which will be held at Holt Hall, room 170, on the CSU, Chico campus. The first session begins Monday at 1 p.m. Classes and activities run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the week.
Course attendees include watershed property owners, farmers, consultants, city and county officials, and representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Council of State Governments, state Department of Fish and Game, and various water agencies and boards and watershed conservancies.
Participants will be coming from as far away as West Virginia and Vancouver, British Columbia, though most are from the Central Valley and Northeastern California.
The goal of the course, titled, “Working at a Watershed Level,” is to improve the often-poor coordination among affected agencies and individuals in managing watersheds, and strive for a common approach to the science and social issues involved.
Water quality and the status of salmon populations are two of the pressing concerns to be addressed during the course.
Course activities will include “Human-induced Agents of Change in the Watershed,” a discussion led by Robert Naiman, School of Fisheries, University of Washington; on-site assessment of urban issues affecting Big Chico Creek, led by CSU Chico Professor Paul Maslin; and an on-site watershed assessment of Butte Creek, led by UC Berkeley Professor Matt Kondolf, Maslin, and Shasta Community College Professor Morgan Hannaford.
The course is sponsored by the CSU Chico University Foundation, the CSU Chico Department of Geography of Planning and the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program, which is a cooperative effort of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation.
Course enrollment is full, but information related to the course is available by contacting Laura Lukes, CSU Chico, (530) 898-4083.
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