Blog
Welcome to the FlowWest Blog! Here you’ll find our latest projects, expert insights, and innovative solutions in ecosystem restoration and environmental technology. Stay informed and engaged with everything happening at FlowWest.
Tuolumne River Trust's River Day
Rivers are the lifelines of our planet, nurturing both human and natural ecosystems. One such remarkable river, the Tuolumne River, has captured the hearts of many with its mesmerizing beauty and vital role in sustaining life in Northern California. The Tuolumne River Trust, in collaboration with several sponsors including FlowWest, organized a grand event known as River Day to celebrate the river's splendor and raise awareness about its conservation. This year's River Day, held on June 4th 2023 at San Francisco's Little Marina Green, marked the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day and highlighted the importance of supporting local watersheds.
June 3, 2023 • 2 minutes
Mark Tompkins at Oregon State's Monday Morning Meetings
Recently, at the Monday Morning Meetings seminar series hosted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife at Oregon State University, Mark Tompkins gave a talk on the evolution of quantifying habitat over time and proposed a modernized approach to quantifying habitat using remote sensing data.
May 23, 2023 • 1 minute
FlowWest at NM Water Data Workshop
Last Thursday, the New Mexico Water Data Workshop brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss the importance of water data in managing and protecting the state’s water resources, hosted by the NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.
May 8, 2023 • 2 minutes
Ten Family-Friendly Earth Day Activities
As Earth Day approaches, it's important to remember the importance of protecting our planet's precious resources, particularly in areas facing unique challenges. California, for example, is home to a vast array of aquatic ecosystems, but it also faces challenges such as drought and water pollution. With this in mind, here's a list of 10 Earth Day activities that families can do to help protect California's water resources. From reducing water usage to supporting local conservation efforts, these activities are a great way to celebrate Earth Day while also making a positive impact on the environment.
April 23, 2023 • 3 minutes
ARTICLE: Parched California Misses a Chance to Store More Rain Underground
A project by Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians was mentioned in a recent SFGATE article, linked below. Our team has helped Creek Rancheria obtain $3.5 million in additional funding for the project mentioned in the article. With multi-team collaboration, we can all do our part to help make groundwater recharge a reality for every California storm to prevent future drought conditions.
February 24, 2023 • 2 minutes
Go With The Flow: Hunter Herrera
Welcome to Go With The Flow, a FlowWest company blog series. Our bimonthly posts will feature sneak peeks of projects currently under way and a bit more about our hardworking employees.
February 23, 2023 • 3 minutes
Quantifying Every Grain of Rice to Save Salmon
Have you ever looked at a field of rice and thought “this can feed endangered fish”? Jacob Montgomery, Central Valley Project Manager at CalTrout, has for some time now. Jacob and his team at CalTrout have compiled an impressive dataset of the benefits of rice field and floodplain food production to baby salmon. FlowWest has been working on a variety of projects that are beginning to utilize this new data to support better decision-making for salmon restoration. Several members of the FlowWest team recently joined Jacob to see a variety of sites where food production for baby salmon is already happening or could happen in the future.
February 23, 2023 • 2 minutes
Kelsey Creek Fish Passage Project Featured in Lake County News
Ironically, the Kelsey Creek Fish Passage Structure acts as a barrier to native fish, including the Clear Lake Hitch. The Clear Lake hitch, or Chi, as named by the Xa-Ben-Na-Po Band of Pomo Indians and other local indigenous tribes, are a culturally and biologically important species found only in Clear Lake and its tributaries. In addition to the physical barrier, the water velocity in Kelsey Creek is unnaturally high due historic gravel mining and the channelization of the creek. Barriers to spawning habitat contribute to the perilous conditions for the Chi, who are at the brink of extinction.
January 9, 2023 • 1 minute
FlowWest Project is One of First in State to Receive Innovative CEQA Exemption for Habitat Restoration
The Basso/La Grange Reach Floodplain and Spawning Habitat Restoration Project is one of the first in California, and the first in Stanislaus County, to qualify as statutorily exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP). The SERP is just one of the many innovative tools developed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as part of its “Cutting the Green Tape” Initiative.
December 28, 2022 • 3 minutes