Why be involved in a Watershed Group?
Everybody lives in a watershed. Watershed is the term describing the landscape of a particular river system component- be it creek, stream or rushing river- viewed from ridgetop to ridgetop - in other words, the area that ultimately drains into a lake or river. A watershed encompasses the landforms, vegetation, habitat, biological systems and communities that lie within its boundary. Watersheds are our lifeblood; they are the circulation system of the earth and provide the connection between different elements of the ecosystem.

Watershed groups [or councils] are typically made up of people with an interest in the sustainable management of the resources and conditions in the watershed in which they live, work and play. It is a locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory group established to assess the condition of the watershed and eventually develop a plan to enhance the health of the watershed and its occupants.

About the Stillwater-Churn Watersheds Assessment
The Western Shasta RCD was awarded a grant through the State Water Resources Control Board to work with landowners and other stakeholders in the Stillwater, Churn, and Clover Creek Watersheds to develop a Watershed Assessment. A watershed assessment can be considered a process for analyzing a watershed’s current condition and the likely causes of these conditions. This project generated a comprehensive report which documented the findings of the watershed assessment process. Subjects for this assessment included the following: water use information and water rights information, surface water quantity and groundwater quantity data, soil and vegetation surveys, water quality data and related studies, fisheries and aquatic habitat, wildlife and wildlife habitat, Threatened & Endangered species, hydrologic and flood control studies, land use information, plans and policies, aerial photos, hard copy maps, GIS maps and data layers, climate and rainfall data, existing CEQA/NEPA permitting documents for major construction activities within the watershed (i.e. Stillwater Business Park) and historical cultural information and data. A hard copy or disk of the Watershed Assessment is available at the Western Shasta RCD office. 
(Stillwater-Churn Creek Watershed Assessment.pdf)
Hard Copy: 343 pages, 2007 ($7.20 shipping and handling)
CD: $5.00 shipping and handling

About the Stillwater-Churn Watershed Action Plan
The Western Shasta RCD was awarded another grant through the State Water Resources Control Board to use the information in the Watershed Assessment plus any additional information gathered from the public, landowners and other stake holders to prepare a Stillwater-Churn Watershed Action Plan.  A watershed action plan can be considered as the umbrella guidance for managing the watersheds to resolve the issues identified in the watershed assessment and watershed action plan development.  The watershed action plan will include the Issues (i.e. water quality), the Existing Conditions, the Management Objective(s) (what we want to see in the future), and the Management Actions (i.e. what we plan to do to reach the objectives). 


What is a Technical Advisory Committee?
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will play a vital role in the development of the Watershed Management Plan. The purpose of a TAC is to bring together specialists from cooperating agencies with members of a particular watershed group and other parties interested in a specific project for the purpose of:

	Giving advice on the parameters and particulars of the management plan.
	Reviewing reports completed by the organization or consultant
	Contributing information from their organization about resources in the watershed
	Assisting in scientific analysis of reports that are made available
	Reviewing and commenting on the draft watershed management plan
	Reviewing the final watershed management plan