Wolf Creek Community Alliance: News and Events

Grant Awarded for Wolf Creek Monitoring
Wolf Creek Community Alliance has been awarded a $28,000 grant from the Sierra Nevada Alliance to expand our water quality monitoring program in Wolf Creek. The alliance currently monitors 12 sites for turbidity, acidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity and nutrients. The new funding will allow sampling to include arsenic, bacteria, macro-invertebrate identification, and stream walks (which broadly characterize specific creek reaches.)
The water quality monitoring was started in July 2004, with a $10,400 grant from the Sierra Nevada Alliance (SNA). SNA was pleased with the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the quality of the data, and gave an additional $5000 in November 2004. The original SNA grant ended in December of 2005.

Wolf Creek Parkway plan adopted by city
Wolf Creek Community Alliance is very happy to announce a 5-0 Grass Valley City Council vote in favor of adopting the Wolf Creek Parkway Alignment Study and Conceptual Master Plan as a conceptual guide for implementing a multi-use trail through downtown Grass Valley. We were delighted that so many attended the City Council meeting to show support. It confirms that our belief that the Parkway will make Grass Valley a more pleasurable and healthy place to have a home is a vision shared and supported by the community.
The Council's 5-0 vote will serve to unite the community in the spirit of the Parkway and its many goals.
WCCA can lend a hand to make the parkway a reality. We have a diverse and talented membership willing to drive shovels and write grants. WCCA hopes to help solve problems in a way that acknowledges the value of private property rights as well as the value of the lofty hopes and dreams of Grass Valley as a whole.

The Sierra Nevada Alliance gives WCCA high marks for our water quality monitoring program
The Sierra Nevada Alliance, from whom we have our water monitoring grant, published the following about our successful water quality monitoring program in the November 2004 edition of its electronic newsletter Sierra Nevada Currents:

Congratulations to Wolf Creek Community Alliance for Outstanding Performance in Establishing a New Water Monitoring Program!!!

The Sierra Nevada Alliance would like to extend a Special Job Well Done!!! to BJ Schmitt, Jonathan Keehn and the rest of the Wolf Creek Community Alliance Volunteer Water Quality Monitors! The Wolf Creek Community Alliance was established a little over a year ago and focuses on Wolf Creek which is part of the Bear River Watershed located in Nevada County. This new watershed group in the last six months has recruited and retained over 30 volunteer water quality monitors and is monitoring 16 sites on a monthly basis. Their volunteer monitoring program is so popular that more community members are asking to volunteer and they are figuring out how to accommodate more support to their program.

Wolf Creek Community Alliance deserves a great big pat on the back. Wolf Creek was one of the six selected watershed groups to start a water-quality monitoring program with support from the Sierra Nevada Alliance. The Sierra Nevada Alliance received a 319 (h) federal grant to Strengthen Local Sierra Nevada Efforts to Control NonPoint Source Pollution. The Alliance as part of this grant has provided equipment, partnered with SYRCL to provide training, and provided small grants to start new volunteer monitoring programs.

Funding for this project has been provided in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) pursuant to Assistance Agreement No. C997204-02-0 and any amendments there to which has been awarded to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for the implementation of California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the USEPA or the SWRCB, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement recommendation for use.

Combine road widening and trail work!
Citizen pressure to build a section of the trail along Wolf Creek in concert with the proposed frontage-road widening project might be productive. Here's the scoop from former councilman Steve Enos:

"A plan is being crafted for a potential road project, including widening towards (and even extending over) a portion of the creek. This needs a lot of focus and options discused. I really think this trail section needs to be included in the Idaho-Maryland/East Main to Safeway road widening study work, work plan, design AND construction. Since we are looking at widening this road section and also impacting the creek corridor (and adjoining uses/residents) we should plan for this now, WITH the planning/design for the road improvements. And I think the trail should be built as part of the project. The money to plan, design, and build it should be available from NCTC, Feds and State for this section of the trail. We are wanting to widen the road to make more room for cars, so let's do what the general plan and draft Streets Master Plan says to do: build trails and alternate ways to get around town. I have been told by Gene Haroldsen that Caltrans will not allow a trail in their right-of-way, so forget a trail down that section.....well I'm not buying into that; it's just an issue to address and the big WHY we should do this trail section as part of the road project planning, design, funding and construction."