Why Join A Watershed Group?
The activities of people upstream from where you live impacts you and the lives of people, fisheries and wildlife downstream. We all depend on watershed health for drinking water, flood protection, sustainable resources and other elements in determining the quality of life.

The characteristics of each watershed are unique, which is why the trend across the nation is to bring residents, landowners and other interested agencies and parties together at the watershed level to help learn about the watershed and, together, make it healthier and sustainable in the long run. The goal is to create a sustainable physical environment, biological environment, and human environment, by looking at all of these components as an integral part of one entity, the watershed. Forming watershed groups is one way of organizing everyone in a watershed to work cooperatively to conserve and improve the health of the environment, especially water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and therefore, improve the local quality of life.

Fewer than 1 in 20 Americans has any real understanding of the functioning of the natural world. Do you know the boundaries of your watershed? Do you know the quality of the water in the main stream or creek in your watershed? Do you know the plants and animals native to your watershed? Where does the water go when it leaves your neighborhood? The answers to these questions and more can be answered when you participate in a watershed group.

A watershed approach to the ecosystem is valuable because it brings together people from different walks of life: loggers, miners, farmers, ranchers, recreational and environmental interests, water users, businesses, state and federal agencies, local government and special districts like the Resource Conservation Districts. Using a watershed perspective requires we look for common ground among people who see things very differently. It is an inclusive and cooperative process; not always the most fun, but extremely valuable and expands our appreciation for neighbors and the interrelationship of all things.

Over the past twenty years many government regulations and laws have been passed which impact the landowner’s ability to manage their land, such as the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Protection Act. Some agencies have goals involving the health of watersheds. For example, the Bureau of Reclamation and Fish & Wildlife Serve are working to double the population of Chinook salmon by the year 2002. Since the Sacramento River and its tributaries are rearing grounds for 70% of the Chinook salmon caught off the California coast, the health of Shasta County watersheds is important to them. Why not call today and join or help start a watershed group where you live!

Water's Journey Through A Watershed
A mix of snow and rain fell on the gray mountain tops, where it seeped into the spongy earth. From an underground mountain spring, the water emerged and began its descent. Barely a trickle, this pristine water took on a majestic look as other crystal clear tributaries emptied their water into the ever-growing stream. It traversed, twisted and turned through a national park, as tourists drove by on paved roads, not more than 100 yards away. It continued, meandering past large firs, oaks and smaller indigenous foliage, past a group of young students studying the plant and animal life of the area. Fox and ground squirrels could be seen quenching their thirst in the stream’s cool, crisp liquid.

As the stream reached the outer limits of the park, a mountain biker and hiker crossed it from two different trails, enjoying the sound of the water and the rugged beauty of the landscape. The flow of the stream was getting larger as small tributaries continued to pour their water into the greater stream. Now entering the working forest, it passed logging roads, skid trails, and nurtured the newly planted trees, then spilled over an old dam used for flood control. Below the dam, juvenile salmon and steelhead grew healthy and strong in the cool water before beginning their journey to the ocean. As the mountainous terrain began to flatten, the stream lost much of its momentum and moved peacefully around pastures and fields where cattle grazed along its edges, and was pumped through irrigation pipes to grow crops, food for the world. It meandered through city parks where children waded in the water as their families enjoyed a picnic on the stream bank. Continuing on its way, pumps periodically sucked out water for drinking and home use, for gardens and sprinklers to keep yards green.

Continuing to gather water from many small streams and creeks, the stream was now a river, cold and deep. Over half way to its goal, past levies and berms, it passed through a large city, where pumps again diverted large quantities of water for industrial use. In the last stage of its journey, the river made its final descent underneath a major highway crossing before spilling into the bay. Then, just before reaching its destiny, reunion with the ocean, monstrously large pumps sucked water out to be piped to big cities far away.

The magic of this story is, no matter how many times water from the mighty river is diverted and used, eventually it will find its way to the ocean, where it can pause before beginning the journey all over again.

Western Shasta Resource Conservation District 6270 Parallel Road • Anderson, CA 96007 Phone - 530 365-7332 • FAX - 530 365-7271 Office Location Map Email the District: 2005 - All Rights Reserved