Summer 2007 Conservation Quarterly - Yolo County Resource Conservation District

8/3/2019 Summer 2007 Conservation Quarterly - Yolo County Resource Conservation District

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Summer 2007

Yolo County ResourceConservation District

Published by the Yolo County Resource Conservation District

Continued on page 2

Inside this edition:Inside this edition:Inside this edition:Inside this edition:Inside this edition:

Jim and Andrea Mayer.

Volume 11Issue 2

Conservation

Quarterly

Conservation

Quarterly

Conservation Profile: Mayer Farm

Irrigation Evaluation Services Available

Ag Water Quality Support Program Services

YCRCD Welcomes Mark Lane

Cache Creek Discovery Day a Splash

Caltrans Vegetation Project Update

Will Baker Native Plant Garden Progress

ConserConserConserConserConservvvvvation Pration Pration Pration Pration Profile: Blendinofile: Blendinofile: Blendinofile: Blendinofile: Blendin g Oil and W g Oil and W g Oil and W g Oil and W g Oil and Water fater fater fater fater for Wor Wor Wor Wor Wildlifildlifildlifildlifildlife Habitate Habitate Habitate Habitate Habitatby Diane Crumleyby Diane Crumleyby Diane Crumleyby Diane Crumleyby Diane Crumley

Jim and Andrea Mayer live and farm on 20 acreslocated south of Woodland near Willow Slough wherethey produce organic olive oil, hand-crafted from a blendof mostly Tuscan olive tree varieties. Their olive oil calledFrate Sole, translates from Italian to Brother Sun, a phraseused in a canticle written by St. Francis of Assisi that de-scribes the attributes of nature in family terms. St. Francisdeep appreciation and respect for plants, animals and natu-ral resources is shared and demonstrated by the Mayers,and is a fundamental part of their business plan.

Jim and Andrea selected Yolo County as the place tolive, farm and raise a family largely because of its reputa-

tion for being a region with innovative farmers dedicatedto preserving and sustaining both agriculture and wild-life habitat. It was for similar reasons that Jim Mayerbecame involved with the Yolo County Resource Con-servation District, where he has served for several yearson the board of directors, and is currently Vice Chair.Jims background, training and work in environmen-tal journalism and public policy administration are

important as-sets to theYCRCD board.

All farmingoperations, re-gardless of sizeand crop typecan face chal-lenges imposedby topography,soil composi-tion, water

delivery, drain-age, flood risk,and competi-tion frominvasive speciesand potentialpests. In Jim Mayers case, his farmland had previouslybeen fallow and infested with noxious weeds such asyellow star thistle. Additionally, the northeast low-ly-ing portion of the property hosts silty, clay-alkaline soiformed over time by the annual pattern of flooding andponding after winter storms, leaving that ground un

suitable for crop production.To address these issues, the Mayers worked on their

own to grade the property and create elevated areas toprotect their home site, barn and orchards from seasonaflooding, and to direct runoff towards an informal pondin the flood-prone northeast three acres of the propertyThey also planted a grove of young valley oaks alongthe western boundary to provide screening from sun andwind, additional native habitat, and eventually replacethe existing row of non-native eucalyptus trees. They


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Conservation Quarterly

page 2 Summer 2007

Oil and Water, continued from page 1

RCD DirectorsRCD DirectorsRCD DirectorsRCD DirectorsRCD Directors

Blair Voelz, Chairman

James Mayer, Vice Chairman

Rudy Lucero, Director

David Gilmer, DirectorRachael Freeman-Long, Director

Wyatt Cline, Associate Director

Scott Stone, Associate Director

Garth Williams, Associate Director

RCDRCDRCDRCDRCD

Paul Robins, Executive Director

Jeanette Wrysinski, Senior Program Manager

William Spong, Water Quality Technician

Mark Lane, Water Lab Manager

Sean Kenady, Revegetation Specialist

John Reynolds, Revegetation Assistant

Daniel Constable, Water Management Program Asst.Tanya Meyer, Vegetation Management Specialist

Sue McCloud, Bookkeeper

Diane Crumley, Technical Writer

Sheila Pratt, Administrative Assistant

NRCSNRCSNRCSNRCSNRCS

Phil Hogan, District Conservationist

Wendy Rash, Soil Conservationist

Ha Truong, Agricultural Engineer

Nick Gallagher, Rangeland Management Specialist

included cover crops on the floor of the olive orchard,which is irrigated with a water-conserving drip system.

In 2006, Jim partnered with conservationists fromYCRCD and NRCS, and a UC Davis landscape architec-ture student to produce a Whole-Farm Conservation Plan,as part of a biennial Farmscape Architecture course

taught and designed by YCRCD Executive Director, PaulRobins. The planning process enabled the Mayers to con-duct an integrated site analysis, clarify their goals andobjectives for the land, and develop a five-year imple-mentation and funding plan.

With the plan, the Mayers are now working towardfurther development of the farm pond that includes twosmall habitat islands, the installation of flap gates andflashboard risers to contain the water during the wetseason, and native plantings along the edges to providebank stability and habitat. Apart from flood control, thepond will allow for groundwater recharge, capture sedi-

ment, and improve the quality of water leaving theproperty that eventually drains to Willow Slough.

West ofthe pond,r u n n i n galong then o r t h e r nboundary of

the farm arelow hedgerowplantings toestablish awindbreak ,to encouragethe presenceof beneficial birds and insects, and serve as a naturalbarrier to minimize weed seed drift from the adjacentfallow property. Directly south of this area, Jim plansto build a barn this summer to house the sheep andgoats that are planned additions to their farm to assistwith natural weed management. Sheep grazing canfunction similarly to native herbivore grazing, and byplanting native vegetation in pasture areas, it canmimic the natural rangeland ecosystem.

Jim Mayers 8.5-acre organic olive orchard utilizescover crops for nitrogen fixation, weed control, reduc-tion of soil erosion from wind and water, andadditional forage when sheep are introduced to theoperation. The trees arespaced generously, com-pared to current industrystandards of planting at in-creasingly high densities tofacilitate mechanical har-vesting. At the Mayersfarm, all harvesting is doneby hand with family andfriends on busy weekends inNovember. The hand-pickedolives are then rushed to becold-pressed within 24hours to maximize the oilsflavor and freshness.

Jim and Andreas FrateSole Tuscan-blend won a

gold medal at Yolo CountyFairs first-ever olive oil com-petition in 2005, a silver medal in 2006, a Best of YoloCounty award in 2007, and they also medaled at themore widely attended Los Angeles County Fair. Theyare already looking forward to the late fall, when onceagain, they will have the opportunity to bring friendsand family together to enjoy the camaraderie of theharvest and the diversity of on-site plants and wildlifebenefiting from their farm stewardship.

S T A F F

Jim and Andrea examining young olives.

Sam Mayer during harvest.


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Summer 2007 page 3

Growers in Yolo and SolanoCounties can be reimbursed for thecosts of installing sediment traps,vegetated ditches, and cover cropsthanks to a grant from the State Wa-

ter Resources Control Board usingfunds from Proposition 50. YoloCounty RCD staff are partnering withSolano and Dixon RCD, and the YoloCounty Farm Bureau Education Cor-poration to provide technical support,on-farm water quality monitoring, andoutreach about the benefits of thesebest management practices.

A sediment trap is an excavatedditch with an outflow control struc-ture that temporarily impounds

irrigation tailwater or storm water run-off. The sediment can later be removedand deposited on an adjacent field oropen land at the end of the season.YCRCD has documented the ability ofthese traps to reduce the volume ofsediment in run-off water by 30 to50% over the course of an irrigationseason. One two-stage sediment trapand tailwater pond reduced sedimentconcentrations by 98% in a 2000YCRCD study.

In vegetated drainage ditches, liv-

ing and decomposing plants/roots andthe associated microorganisms slow

The especially dry winter has resulted in an earlystart for irrigations this year. The Yolo County RCDinvites Yolo and Colusa County growers to requestfree irrigation system evaluations through the Mo-bile Water Lab Program. Services include:determining the systems distribution uniformity,measuring the total volume of water applied duringan irrigation event, developing a system map of pres-sure and flow measurements, providing irrigationscheduling assistance, and optional water qualitysampling of source irrigation water and/or runoff.By measuring nitrogen inputs from well-water be-fore irrigation, it enables growers to potentiallyreduce the amount of fertilizer applied to the field.Over the past two years, the Mobile Water Lab hasidentified ways in which growers have been able toimprove irrigation efficiency by 15% on average. Thisfree analysis can help growers save water, electricityand money, and improve the water quality of run-off.

water flow, trap sediment and takeup excess nutrients and pesticides. Ina well-designed and well-maintainedditch, vegetation can detain 40-95%of certain pesticides. From a recent

field trial performed by YCRCD staffand colleagues, Program ManagerJeanette Wrysinski reported thatpreliminary results indicate that thelength of vegetated ditch requiredto reduce permethrin (a pyrethroidpesticide) concentration by one halfwas 22 meters, compared to 347meters in a non-vegetated ditchamore than 90% increase in distanceefficiency required to reduce pesti-cide concentrations.

Cover crops are commonly usedin permanent crops and most organicagriculture for their nutrient benefits.They also help to protect and anchorthe soil and capture runoff, allowingrain and irrigation water to penetratethe soil, instead of eroding it. UCDavis and YCRCD studies have showncover crops to reduce storm run-offby as much as 90% and to decreasethe concentration of sediment in run-off by 30-45%.

Monitoring information from

this project will further refine our un-derstanding of how and to what

degree these practices improve farmrunoff water quality. For more information, please contact Mark Lane athe Yolo County RCD at (530) 6622037, extension 120 or Andrea

Mummert at the Solano RCD at (707)678-1655, extension 101. For facsheets about each of these practiceslink to the YCRCD website, Ag WateQuality page at www.yolorcd.org/programs/agwq.

Over the past month Lab Manager Mark Lane and WateManagement Assistant Daniel Constable have conductedseven irrigation evaluations covering a total of 400 acres ofalmond, walnut, prune and orange orchards. They evalu-ated a total of 230 acres that utilized drip irrigation and170 acres using micro sprinkler systems. Daniel, a 2006graduate from the UC Davis Environmental & Resource Sci-ences program, assisted last year with 32 irrigationassessments that included over 1100 acres of vineyards, al-mond and walnut orchards, and alfalfa fields.

The evaluations are planned to work around growersbusy summer schedules. The Mobile Lab is currently takingappointments, and can be reached by calling Mark or Danieat (530)662-2037, extension 120. For additional information and a printable brochure, visit the RCD website atwww.yolorcd.org . The free services of the Mobile Lab aremade possible through funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Dept. of Water Resources Office oWater Use Efficiency and Transfers, and NRCS.

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Cover crops can filter and reduce runoff from

permanent and annual crop lands whileproviding soil quality and nutrient benefits.


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page 4 Summer 2007

Mark Lane Joins RCDMark Lane Joins RCDMark Lane Joins RCDMark Lane Joins RCDMark Lane Joins RCD

as Mobile Was Mobile Was Mobile Was Mobile Was Mobile Water Labater Labater Labater Labater Lab

ManaManaManaManaManagggggerererererYCRCD welcomes Mark Lane to

Woodland and to his new position asMobile Water Lab Manager, replacing

Clara Mamone who has moved to theBay Area. Mark previously worked atContra Costa RCD managing their Ag

Water Quality Program that focusedmostly on installing and monitoring dripirrigation systems in tomato fields. Priorto that, he served as a Natural ResourceSpecialist with a Bay Area environmen-tal firm that specialized in resourcemanagement, restoration, and outreachactivities. Mark assisted growers in de-veloping farm conservation plans forerosion control, water quality and sus-

taining habitat for salmon and steelheadtrout, and also conducted on-farm visitsto evaluate best management practicesfor wine grape growers.

Marks training includes a B.S. in Natu-ral Resources and Environmental Sciencesfrom Purdue University in Indiana, and aB.S. in Geological Engineering from theUniversity of Idaho. Mark has also re-ceived formal certification in EcologicalRestoration from Merritt College in Oak-land, and GIS/GPS certification fromDiablo Valley College. His broad experi-ence in several areas of natural resourcemanagement, his familiarity with workingwith the NRCS, and other nearby Ag wa-ter quality projects, prepares him well formanaging YCRCDs Mobile Lab and theYolo-Solano Agricultural Water QualitySupport Programs.

CacCacCacCacCache Crhe Crhe Crhe Crhe Creek Week Week Week Week Waterateraterateratershed Evshed Evshed Evshed Evshed Event a Successent a Successent a Successent a Successent a SuccessOver 175 residents from Yolo, Lake and Colusa counties converged on

the first-ever Cache Creek Discovery Day at Cowboy Camp on Saturday,

May 19. Participants went on hikes in the nearby hills, visited with goats asthey devoured riparian weeds in Bear Creek, and visited numerous interac-tive displays and presentations on different aspects of the Cache Creekwatersheds history and ecosystem. Member organizations of the Cache CreekWatershed Forum co-organized the event and hosted the activities based ontheir areas of expertise: including wildlife and plant (native and weed) iden-tification, Native American basket weaving, fire ecology, cultural history,and stream dynamics. The mid-May weather could not have been morecooperative, and the Lake County 4-Hers cooked up a tri-tip lunch on site.Local musicians Bill Barrows, Connie Miller, and Singing Professor HarryLyons serenaded the crowd during lunch with a solar-powered PA system.

The goat herd was placed on site by Cow Mountain Kiko Goats a

few days prior to the event as a test of grazing tamarisk, tall wheatgrassand perennial pepperweed. They seemed to prefer the green growthon the tall wheatgrass as well as the smaller grasses and forbs in-be-tween the clumps of wheatgrass. They also munched on the perennialpepperweed and ate some tamarisk,stripping small branches and bark-ing larger stems. They completelyignored the saltgrass on site, whichis a native grass that the elk preferwhen they come through the area.

The Cache Creek Watershed Fo-rum is a tri-county organization ofnatural resource, agricultural, andeducational partners. The DiscoveryDay was conducted as part of Water-shed Awareness Month, designatedby a proclamation by GovernorSchwarzenegger, to promote the im-portance of watershed education andstewardship activities at the localcommunity level. The event wasmade possible by partial fundingfrom the Rumsey Community Fund.

Children meet the goat herd as they dine on a Tamarisk thicket at Cache Creek Discovery Day.

Cache Creek Conservancys Lynnel Pollock

shares wildlife identification tips and tracks

with children from three counties.

Mark Lane collecting water sample with

Mobile Lab.


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Summer 2007 page 5

After two years of planning and collaborative de-sign development the Cache Creek WatershedStakeholders Group (CCWSG) is ready to move aheadwith initial installation of the Will Baker Native PlantGarden. The half-acre garden will be located within theVernon A. Nichols Park in Guinda, a 21-acre site along

Cache Creek in Capay Valley in memory of Will Baker, alongtime local author, farmer, cowboy and UC Davisprofessor. The group anticipates breaking ground this fall,now that the CCWSG Garden Committee has submittedthe revised garden design and plant list to the CountyParks and Natural Resources Department.

The Native Garden will serve as a demonstrationproject to showcase native plants and their beneficialuses in rural and home landscapes for drought tolerantwildlife habitat, fire and weed suppression and erosioncontrol. Garden planting zones are designed to corre-spond with natural plant communities, such asstreamside, ponds, lowlands and dry hills. The Stake-holders Group plans on developing informationaldisplays within the plant groupings to inform visitorsabout the plants roles in the watershed, and how land-owners can incorporate them into their home, farm orranch landscapes.

Just in the planning process, the Will Baker Gardenhas drawn in many partners and community members,especially those of the Western Yolo Grange in Guinda.Garden Committee members spent many hours prepar-ing and presenting the design for community review,and YCRCD Vegetation Management Specialist and Wa-

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On May 31st, RCD Revegetation Specialist Sean Kenady and Project Assistant John Reynolds planted the last ofover 1,600 native trees and shrubs placed along four local highway interchanges near the Yolo Bypass Causewayand West Sacramento for the Caltrans-funded Native Tree Project. The hardy plant species selected for landscapingthe interchanges include: interior live oak, valley oak, red and blackwillows, Fremont cottonwoods, western redbud, black walnut,coyotebrush and deergrass. In the first year, the trees were less than twofeet tall, and were easily supported by half-inch bamboo stakes. But assome of the now six foot tall trees leafed out this spring, some havecompletely out-grown their light-weight stakes and require greater sup-port. The faster growing black walnuts and cottonwoods are mostlyself-supporting this season, with the slower-growing oaks, willow and red-bud requiring re-staking.

This year, irrigation began on May 1st, roughly two weeks earlierthan last year due to the drier winter. Because this will be the secondsummer for most of the project sites, Sean and John plan on irrigatinglonger during each visit, but less frequently to encourage deep rootingof the trees and shrubs. Over-winter survival of the tress and shrubs thisyear was 95%, and survival for deergrass was 93%. These survival ratesare encouraging due to the rather extreme weather that has occurred over the projects planting and establishment

phase. These young plants experienced record-breaking rainfall in December of 2005, a severe heat wave in July of2006, and record-shattering cold and drought in January 2007. As can be seen in the photo of the thriving six-footBlack Walnuts and four-foot Deergrass under the I-80 I-50 interchange, these California natives are indeed well-suited to tolerate wide temperature fluctuations, drought and periodic flooding

tershed Coordinator, Tanya Meyer provided go-betweenassistance with county parks staff and the group. NRCSengineer, Jack Alderson has provided critical supportthrough site surveys, preliminary designs and plantingrecommendations. Initial funding for the project comesfrom the Yolo County Planning and Public Works De-

partment, which received the enabling grant for theimprovement of the larger 21-acre Nichols Park withProposition 50 funding from the California River Park-way Program. The County will perform the grading andthe construction of the paths and irrigation system, andthe Stakeholders Group will propagate and purchase theplants, build the beds and start planting (next fall), in-stall the drip lines and perform all weed control.

The Stakeholders Group will maintain and supportthe Will Baker Native Plant Garden entirely with theirown efforts and fundraising. So far they have raised sev-eral thousand dollars by organizing and hosting their

annual Mothers Day Garden Tour, a self-guided tour ofprivate gardens in Capay Valley that saw over 200 par-ticipants in 2007 and 2006. For more information, visitthe garden project website at www.capayvalley.com/WillBakerGarden.htm and the stakeholders groups pageon the YCRCD website at www.yolorcd.org/programs/cache-creek-watershed-stakeholders-group. CCWSG isa locally-led organization of Capay Valley residentswhose mission is to enhance and protect their re-sources through working collaboratively to promotewatershed stewardship through community outreachand cooperative planning.

Stakeholders Group Submits Plans for Demonstration Garden to CountyStakeholders Group Submits Plans for Demonstration Garden to CountyStakeholders Group Submits Plans for Demonstration Garden to CountyStakeholders Group Submits Plans for Demonstration Garden to CountyStakeholders Group Submits Plans for Demonstration Garden to County

Native plantings at I-80-I-50 interchange.


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YYYYYoloCountyRCD/NRCSF oloCountyRCD/NRCSF oloCountyRCD/NRCSF oloCountyRCD/NRCSF oloCountyRCD/NRCSFieldOffice ieldOffice ieldOffice ieldOffice ieldOffice

221W.CourtStreet,Suite1

Woodland,CA95695

Findprojectprogressreports,events,links,andupdatedconservationarticlesontheRCDwebsiteatwww.yolorcd.org

The Yolo County RCD offers various resource materials for sale. To place an order, send your requestto Yolo County RCD - Orders, 221 W. Court Street, Suite 1, Woodland, CA 95695; call 530-662-2037, ext. 117; or send an e-mail to [email protected].

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Know Your Natives; A Pictorial Guide to CANative Grasses (includes supplement) ..............$30

Know Your Natives - supplement ONLY ............ $15

Bring Farm Edges Back to Life! ........................... $15

California Native Grass (poster) ........................ $17

Monitoring on Your Farm ...................................... $15

Working Habitat for Working Farms (video) . $10

Yolo County Soil Survey (CD-ROM) ............. $13.92

Capay Valley Conservation & RestorationManual (free to Capay Valley residents) ...................$15

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Summer 2007 Conservation Quarterly - Yolo County Resource Conservation District