9414

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9414
• Author: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
• Title: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Annual Report.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

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CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION COUNCIL
Critical to the initiative is the creation
of a statewide conservation council
made up of prominent individuals
from California business, environment,
education, and political communities.
The conservation council will help
NFWF anticipate future trends and
opportunities, forge new partnerships
for funding and conservation action,
and stimulate new invesments in con-
servation from California's foundations
and corporations.

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NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD INITIATIVE: PARTNERS IN FLIGHT
Fiscal year 1997 grants from NFWF's Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation
Initiative in California went to a variety of projects geared toward supporting efforts to
assess and improve the management of Sierra forest habitats, particularly mountain
meadows.

WETLANDS AND PRIVATE LANDS INITIATIVE
In California, wetland losses have been dramatic, as evidenced by the loss of over 90
percent of the historic wetlands of the San Francisco Bay area. Because of California's
Mediterranean climate, seasonal wetlands, such as vernal pools in the Sierran foothills
and riparian-associated wetlands like those in Sentenac Canyon, take on an even
greater importance. Programs like USDA's wetlands Reserve Program and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's
Partners for Wildlife program
have been valuable allies in
acquiring easements on prop-
erties such as the Valensin
Ranch, now part of the
Consumnes River Preserve.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL. . .
In addition to these activities, the
Foundation's five major grant initiatives
have also made investments in California
conservation projects. These include:

CONSERVATION
EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Fiscal year 1997 grants were
given to innovative projects
seeking local, lasting solutions
to conservation problems.
The focus is hands-on educa-
tion and outreach to those
who are closest to the
resource. Under this focus,
we have given grants to
Vietnamese elders in Los
Angeles who are influential in
reducing the trade in endan-
gered species derivatives and
to rural communities to sup-
port sustainable agriculture.

~ROvECT HIGHLIGHT

PINE GULCH CREEK WATERSHED
ENHANCEMENT

Farmers need water and fish need water, but when farmers
and fish need the same water and resources are limited, the
stage is set for conflict, right? Not necessarily, or so thought
some innovative hydrologists at the Point Reyes National
Seashore (PRNS). The key, they posited, is to identify and
attack the ecological bottleneck-providing adequate flows
for steelhead trout and coho salmon during the dry summer
months. Working with local farmers, the PRNS salmonid
restoration team proposed the development of four off-
stream water storage ponds to capture water from Pine
Gulch Creek during the rainy season for use during the sum-
mer months, thus providing for both fish and farmers. A
win-win solution like this one proposed for Pine Gulch
Creek is another example of creative problem-solving fos-
tered by grass roots efforts like NFWF's California
Grassroots Salmon Initiative.

WILDLIFE AND HABITAT
MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE
Fiscal year 1997 grants sup-
ported ecosystem manage-
ment efforts. They included
the Pulling Together initiative
seeking to control the impact
of invasive, nonnative plants.
Grants also supported indi-
vidual conservation efforts to
reintroduce the California
condor to the central coast
and to develop and distribute
long-term budgeting and
planning tools to resource
managers.

FISHERIES CONSERVATION
AND MANAGEMENT
INITIATIVE
See the Grassroots California
Salmon Initiative.

10 1997 Annual Report