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OAEC NEWS

We’re Hiring: WATER Institute Communications & Project Manager

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) seeks a talented and passionate individual to join our WATER Institute staff to… Read More >

Beaver Mania Hits the News!

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

Since our announcement in July about the State’s monumental decision to fund the creation of a new Beaver Restoration Program to… Read More >

Now accepting internship applications!

Saturday, August 27th, 2022

Live at OAEC in 2023! Each year, OAEC hires a cohort of enthusiastic interns to live and learn at OAEC… Read More >

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OAEC and our partners are hosting a Zoom webinar o

OAEC and our partners are hosting a Zoom webinar on ~July 27th from 6-8pm PST~ to wrap up our "Beyond Defensible Space" workshop series, an exploration of wildfire mitigation strategies that promote wildlife habitat and restore healthy ecosystems! ⁠
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The webinar will feature ⚡️lightning consultations⚡️ where we'll choose a number of land owners and managers to share the unique conditions of their land, ask question, and receive management recommendations from a panel of experts from: ⁠
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~ Sonoma Ecology Center⁠
~ Occidental Arts & Ecology Center⁠
~ Santa Rosa Junior College⁠
~ UC Cooperative Extension⁠
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Join us to learn practical tools to steward your land in an ecologically beneficial way! Link in bio to sign up for a FREE consultation or to simply watch & listen. ⁠
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Sponsored by: FireSafe Sonoma⁠
Hosted by: Safer West County⁠
📸 by: Brock Dolman & Jim Coleman⁠
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#vegetation #goodfire #wildfire #habitat #adaptation #wildlife

The film "Where There Once Was Water" is now avail

The film "Where There Once Was Water" is now available on Vimeo! It features a short piece by OAEC WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist talking about the role of beaver. If you haven't seen this thought provoking documentary about water scarcity in CA, now is your chance! ⁠
⁠visit director @brittanyapp for the link

Breaking News: CA State Leaders Enact Historic Bea

Breaking News: CA State Leaders Enact Historic Beaver Restoration Program! (read the full press release on our homepage - link in bio)⁠
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“We couldn’t be more thrilled that this day is finally here,” said the OAEC WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist, who hailed the legislature’s passage of AB/SB 154 earlier this month. “After decades of missing out on opportunities that beavers provide to create healthier ecosystems, we agree that ‘the Department must take a proactive leap towards bringing beavers back onto the landscape.'" ⁠
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As illustrated in this poster, the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) used to have an active beaver relocation program that ran from 1923-1950. Today, 72 years later, the WATER Institute is excited to work with CDFW as they develop their new Beaver Restoration Program! Check out the WATER Institute's publication "Beaver in California: Cultivating a Culture of Stewardship" which is now featured on CDFW's website.⁠
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A huge thank you to all the co-signers on our advocacy letter and representatives who helped to pass this legislation!

The Martinez Beaver Festival is back! This Saturda

The Martinez Beaver Festival is back! This Saturday, June 25th from 11am to 4pm in Susanna Park in Martinez, CA there will be beaver experts, activities for kids, mural art by the talented Amy Gallaher Hall (art featured here) and more. Stop by the OAEC table and tune in to WATER Institute Director Kate Lundquist's presentation at 2pm where she'll give an update on some amazing developments in beaver policy at the state level. See you there!

North Bay Area, have you ever seen a real live bea

North Bay Area, have you ever seen a real live beaver? ⁠
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The best urban beaver viewing in the state is in downtown Napa on Napa Creek around Heritage Park & the Pearl Street bridge! Since the completion of the Napa Flood Protection plan, the American Beaver - once plentiful throughout California but hunted and trapped to near-extinction - have begun to return to Napa River tributaries. ⁠
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The Napa Creek colony is unique in that it is thriving right in the middle of downtown. New interpretive signs designed by the P4 Practicum Group of this year’s Leadership Napa Valley class will help locals and visitors alike to understand and appreciate this special animal and its habitat in the restored Napa Creek corridor. At the Urban Beaver Colony Celebration in Napa last month, the mayor of Napa even read this Proclamation in the beavers' honor! ⁠
#beaverbeliever #bringbackthebeaver #beaver #napa

The 2022 Spotted Owlets have been spotted! For 5 s

The 2022 Spotted Owlets have been spotted! For 5 seasons in a row, we've been amazed to watch this 'near threatened' species breed here in the OAEC backcountry, getting strong and fat on a nice supply of wood rats! We're honored that they've chosen our lovingly tended forest to call home.⁠
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📷 by: Brock Dolman ⁠
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#spottedowl #birdsofinstagram #birdwatching #owllove

**Part 1 RESCHEDULED from June 18th to July 16th**

**Part 1 RESCHEDULED from June 18th to July 16th**

West County residents: join Natural Resources professor and Wildfire Resilience Program Coordinator Briana Boaz for PART 1 of a *FREE* wildland fuel mitigation workshop at SRJC's Shone Farm on Saturday July 16th from 9am-1pm. ⁠
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Then come to OAEC for PART 2 with Program Director and wildlife biologist Brock Dolman on Saturday July 9th from 9am-1pm to explore our 70-acre Wildlands Preserve! ⁠
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We'll take a long stroll through the backcountry and learn about:⁠
🌲 California plant communities like coastal prairie and mixed hardwood and conifer forest⁠
🌲 OAEC's approach to fire mitigation and stewardship strategies⁠
🌲 25+ year-old models of restoration application ⁠
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Participants are welcome to bring a bagged lunch and enjoy at our beautiful pond after the workshop! ⁠
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✨ Link in bio for more info + register for "Beyond Defensible Space Workshops" ⁠
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This workshop series is part of an ongoing collaboration with @sonomaecologycenter, @srjcshonefarm, and UC Cooperative Extension. ⁠Funded by ⁠@firesafesonoma + hosted by Safer West County. ⁠
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📸 by: Jim Coleman and Hannah Wilton⁠
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#restoration #goodfire #stewardship #wildfire #habitat⁠

In 2009, when the Russian River Coho Partnership b

In 2009, when the Russian River Coho Partnership began, only about 20 adult coho salmon had returned to the Russian River to spawn. ⁠
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Today, the Russian River is a success story in West Coast salmon conservation, with hundreds of adult coho returning annually. There is a consensus among experts that comprehensive and multi-faceted action helped restore a viable population to the Russian River, particularly by addressing lack of stream flow in strategic spawning and rearing streams. ⁠
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) funded this highly coordinated, multi-pronged collaboration between the Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts, Sea Grant California, Trout Unlimited, Sonoma Water, and the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute. This May, the Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership held their final meeting at the OAEC pond to commemorate their accomplishments after 10+ years in restoring Coho Salmon to the Russian River watershed. ⁠
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Read the amazing final reports from this decade long project in our new blog post. Link in bio.⁠
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@sonoma_water @nfwf @troutunlimitedca @russianriversalmon @godridgercd @sonomarcd ⁠
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Baby coho photo by: Brock Dolman⁠
Coho partnership meeting at OAEC pond photo by: Sara Nossaman

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© 2019 by the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center. All Rights Reserved.
Site photography by Jim Coleman, Tali Aiona, Doug Gosling, Brock Dolman and Sashwa Burrous.