what we do calendar
© Friends of Deer Creek
Friends of Deer Creek staff and volunteers conducting annual fish surveys using electro-shocking equipment and seine nets to sample fish populations in Deer Creek near FoDC monitoring Site 2, off Willow Valley Rd at Boulder St.
Our current
work &
past successes
include:
- Gathering ten years of monthly water quality and twice yearly benthic macroinvertebrate data, along with annual physical habitat assessments.
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- Developing the Tribute Trail, a nine mile recreational trail along Deer Creek.
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- Working with Nevada County Department of Environmental Health to identify and remediate bacteria sources, and to protect the public.
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- Restoring native vegetation to a floodplain restoration area with the help of a high school ecology class.
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- Writing The Bug Book, a benthic macroinvertebrate identification manual intended for use in our monitoring program that will be published for use in college classes and by monitoring groups throughout the state.
- Assessing heavy metal contamination at abandoned mine sites in Nevada City for the EPA Brownfields program, and planning for remediation.
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- Surveying recreational users of the watershed to determine exposure to heavy metal contamination.
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- Collecting and analyzing stormwater samples to determine whether mercury is transported downstream over dams trapped in the algae-sediment mixture.
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- Developing a Deer Creek Restoration Plan in collaboration with the Tsi-Akim Maidu Tribe to prioritize future restoration efforts.
- Training and processing laboratory samples for watershed groups in neighboring watersheds.
- Developing a business plan for the regional expansion of FODC into the Sierra Nevada.
- Teaching a hands-on restoration ecology class to middle and high school student in local schools.
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- Developing a gravel augmentation plan for lower Deer Creek to improve salmon spawning habitat.
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- Working with Deer Creek property owners and city, county, state, and federal agencies to find science-based solutions to Deer Creek’s problems.
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- Restoring native vegetation and fish habitat to Little Deer Creek in Pioneer Park.
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- Helping local government develop "creek friendly" construction practices throughout the County.
- Training local volunteers to use science to monitor the health of Deer Creek.
- Establishing a water quality laboratory at our office for volunteers and other groups to analyze stream health.
- Providing our scientific data to the State to bring needed attention to the lower Deer Creek watershed to improve water quality and ecosystem health.
- Restoring the Deer Creek watershed for the enjoyment and health of future generations.
