The future is being decided now
The health of our watershed is of critical importance
This is a call to action
California rivers once meandered freely
Native people who lived along them knew them well and cared for them
Then we constrained and straightened the rivers to suit other needs, and now we are learning what that has cost. The river’s natural system has degraded; both animal and plant communities have declined. Invasive species have done lasting damage, and floods reach places that never used to flood. The way of life of Native peoples was devastated. The question before us is how to heal our relationship with the river, in partnership with the people who have long known it.
The call to action is:
Stop trying to fix the river
Help the river rediscover
Reconnect with nature, restore, and recalibrate
Two Responsibilities
The Long View
1: A Three Generation Vision
A collaborative, three-generation vision to free the river, show what restoration can achieve, and in time make the Russian River watershed a place where people live in harmony with nature.
Rivers keep a different calendar than we do. So we are developing a three-generation, sixty-year plan for the Russian River watershed, divided into five-year sections. Each section gives us clear aims to work toward and an opportunity to pause, learn, and adjust. Who are we? We are local tribes, organizations working in the watershed, vineyards, hospitality, and businesses - all invested in the river’s health.
The Short View
2: Gatherings in the watershed
Small gatherings in Sonoma County’s Russian River watershed, where we exchange life’s daily competitions for shared awe and togetherness.
Gatherings are how we begin. They are time together on land and water for people who don’t yet think of themselves as part of this watershed. Technology people and AI developers are especially welcome, because their work will shape the next sixty years as much as any agency or vineyard. Come to the watershed, meet others with common ground, and find your own way in.
