OAEC (The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center), in its 30th year, continues to be dedicated to fostering self-determination in communities and participating in social justice and environmental movements that challenge … Read more
We’re pleased to announce that the Tule River Tribe welcomed seven beavers into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation on June 12 as part … Read more
San Joaquin Valley Water, an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley, produced a video titled “Beavers Reintroduced on the Tule River Reservation” … Read more
People Over Plastic, a fiscally sponsored project of OAEC, is now Counterstream Media! From the Counterstream team: “Our new name reflects our mission to center the stories and perspectives that … Read more
WATER Institute Co-Director and OAEC Co-Founder Brock Dolman has been busy! He recently participated in two podcasts which we recommend listening to! In the first, Permaculture Perspectives, Brock speaks with … Read more
Happy Birthday and congratulations to the Mother Garden turning 50 years old this summer! The Mother Garden, and its offspring, the Nursery were featured in the May/June 2024 issue of … Read more
Assembly Bill 2196 to codify the state’s new Beaver Restoration Program heads to Senate Amazing news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) is authoring a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, with … Read more
In April 2024, WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist and our close collaborator, Kevin Swift of Swift Water Design, headed to France. French artist Suzanne Husky and French author and professor … Read more
Our hyper local news outlet, the Sonoma County Gazette, penned a great article outlining beaver as nature’s engineers, important for fire prevention, flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, and critical habitat creation. … Read more
On March 26, 2024, The Los Angeles Times published a fantastic article titled, Yes, beavers can help stop wildfires. And more places in California are embracing them. In it, writer … Read more
Great news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) has introduced a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, that codifies the new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife … Read more
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute is humbled and excited to announce that we have been awarded a $2 million block grant to develop a program to build … Read more
The state’s new Beaver Restoration Program completed its first relocation in October, 2023. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) press release here. We were honored to be … Read more
Unveiling OAEC’s 2023 Update: Strategies for Change! We are proud of this new publication that reports on our accomplishments for this year through the lens of the four strategies that … Read more
Like Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food movement, we have our own “slow water movement” at OAEC. You might know it as the permaculture mantra, or perhaps you’ve seen it as part … Read more
We’re reporting back from two highly successful CalPBR Network workshops that took place in October, empowering folks to further advance their skills in process-based restoration and all of its benefits. … Read more
Two big beaver hits today! First up is an interview with Kate and Brock in The Los Angeles Times about beaver benefits to landscapes. The story is titled, “Restoring California … Read more
In honor of the day, we want to celebrate beaver being a keystone species, meaning the habitats they create benefit countless other plant and animal species in California ecosystems. Species … Read more
On July 24, the Associated Press published an article celebrating the new CDFW policy changes as they pertain to beaver restoration and management and quoted WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist: “There … Read more
At the June 14, 2023 CA Fish and Game Commission meeting, the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported to the commissioners that they have enacted a new beaver … Read more
Watch WATER institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist in this Secretary Speaker Series webinar, hosted by California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, on Wednesday, July 12th from 12 noon – 1 pm. … Read more
“Oftentimes I think of watersheds as living lifeboats. From ridge to river, from summit to sea, from stem to stern, we have to rethink and retrofit these living lifeboats at … Read more
After more than a decade of a concerted effort to Bring Back the Beaver, OAEC and The WATER Institute are thrilled to announce that there are major policy changes happening … Read more
On May 24, we partnered with the California Beaver Policy Working Group and wrangled 50 state leaders from Sacramento to Doty Ravine to see beaver restoration in action. Protected since … Read more
Brock Dolman, Ecologist and Director of the OAEC Wildlands program, gave an online presentation for FireSafe Sonoma on May 23rd, 2023 introducing the concept of “Fuels to Flows” – turning … Read more
Neil Harvey, host of Bioneers Radio, interviews Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman to learn all about beaver: their history in North America, how they slow and spread water, create critical … Read more
April 24, 2023 – YES Magazine published an excellent article by our friend and photojournalist Brooke Anderson that features OAEC’s collaboration with North Bay Jobs with Justice (NBJwJ) and workers from their Farmworker … Read more
From “drought to deluge,” we are facing the drastic swings of the climate crisis – and grappling with how to respond. At OAEC, we hold an active and hopeful vision … Read more
Last month, OAEC was proud to support our fiscally sponsored project, Fenceline Watch, by applying and successfully receiving accreditation under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)! Fenceline Watch is an environmental justice group fighting toxic pollution in … Read more
Did you know OAEC is home to over 127 species of fungi, 326 species of animalia and 290 species of plantae? Since 2003, Brock Dolman, Director of the OAEC Wildlands … Read more
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