Water Quality and Watershed Protection
“We want to support clean water and good water supplies”
“We want to support and create wildlife habitats”
A watershed is defined as the area that catches precipitation and carries water downhill to a stream or river. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada provide 65% of California’s drinking and irrigation water. Clean water begins with snow or rainfall in upper elevations, and the land the water travels through may be yours. Take responsibility for the quality of the water that falls on, and/or travels through your land and community. Ways you can contribute to good water quality:
- Manage forest and wildland ecosystems for proper balance of vegetative cover and organic material that will filter water and reduce erosion while not presenting undesirable fire hazard.
- Use equipment and techniques on your land that least disturbs the soil.
- Employ sustainable land-management practices.
- Don’t dump contaminants on your land or in the water.
- Ask for advice from a professional.
Evaluate your property’s natural features for management such as wetland areas, springs, and streams; vegetative groupings such as chaparral, trees and other shrubs; and other features that provide watershed protection and/or wildlife habitat. If you are in doubt, ask assistance from the local USDA Natural Resource Conservation District, or call the Nevada County Land Trust for referrals.
Yuba/Bear Watershed Council meetings are the third Wednesdays of each month (see Calendar http://www.helpwithmyland.org/events.htm ).
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