This short history of Novato was taken from: http://www.novatolivewell.org/nlw-pdfs/1-NCGC%20Proposal%203.18.08.pdf
"The hills and valleys of Novato were once the hunting grounds of Miwok Indians.
Their village located north of Novato, named Olompali, is now a State Historic Park. In
1843, Olompali was granted to a Native American, Camilo Ynitia, who raised wheat
and became a successful cattle breeder.
In 1856, Francis DeLong and Joseph Sweetser formed a partnership and
bought Rancho de Novato. Upon finding the climate favorable, the pair set out to plant
one of the largest orchards in the world. Fruit grown in Novato was shipped throughout
the United States and to several other countries.
In 1879, Sweetser sold most of his share of the Novato Rancho to his partner, DeLong.
When Francis DeLong died in 1885, he left his estate to his son, Frank Coye DeLon
Most of the land that is the present day City of Novato was known as Rancho de Novato
and was originally granted to Fernando Feliz, who served in the Mexican Army.
The Home and Farm Company purchased the Black Point Ranch from Frank DeLong in
1888 and divided the 6,000 acres into lots and sold them as business and residential
sites. That was the "new town of Novato".
According to Jim McNern, a native of Novato and President of the Novato Historical
Guild, “Novato was an agricultural community with small dairies and chicken ranches
and orchards dotting the landscape”.
Today, most of those dairies, ranches and orchards are now subdivisions."
Berry Berry Project
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Hamilton Army Airfield Wetland Restoration
I found more information on the Hamilton Army Airfield Wetland Restoration project. These quotes are from the executive summary of the project.
"There are three project objectives: (1) create a diverse array of wetland and wildlife
habitats that benefit a number of threatened, endangered and other species, (2) reduce inwater disposal of dredged material and beneficially reuse dredged materials as feasible,
and (3) facilitate the base-closure and reuse process."
"Alternatives considered
1. No action
Under the No Action Plan, a Federal project would not be constructed to restore habitat in
the study area boundaries. Pumps would continue to remove runoff water from the
airfield. The environmental benefits of the proposed project would not be realized.
2. Natural Sedimentation to restore Wetlands at the Airfield and Navy Ballfields
This would result in 668 acres of habitat. Once outboard levees are breached, tidal
sedimentation would fill the tidal portions of the project.
3. Reuse of Dredged Material to restore Wetlands at the Airfield and Navy Ballfields
This would result in 668 acres of habitat. Dredged material would used to accelerate
marsh establishment and raise elevations for seasonal wetlands.
4. Natural Sedimentation to restore Wetlands at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields, and
SLC Property
This would result in 988 acres of habitat. Once outboard levees are breached, tidal
sedimentation would fill the tidal portions of the project.
5. Reuse of Dredged Material to restore Wetlands at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields
and SLC Property.
This would result in 988 acres of habitat. Dredged material would used to accelerate
marsh establishment and raise elevations for seasonal wetlands."
"Selected Plan
Alternative 5, Wetland Restoration at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields and SLC Property Via
Beneficial Reuse of Dredged Material, was selected because it creates a natural gradient
of habitats from upland through mudflat, without internal levees and water control
structures. The plan will restore 570 acres of salt marsh habitat, considered especially
valuable due to its scarcity, and benefit Federally listed threatened and endangered
species that depend on salt marsh habitat. This alternative offers the best option for
sustaining ecological functions over time and meets the habitat objective of 80 percent
tidal and 20 percent non-tidal habitats. 10.6 million cy of dredged material will be
beneficially reused to raise elevations to support the tidal and seasonal marsh restoration.
Both the Corps and the non-Federal sponsor, SCC, support Alternative 5 because it
maximizes environmental benefits and is most consistent with regional plans.
The plan includes infrastructure features, including perimeter levees, to support the
wetland habitat areas. To import dredged materials, a hydraulic off-loader mounted on a
barge would remove material from barges (scows) positioned in the off-loading area.
Dredged materials would then be transported through a pipeline in a water slurry onto the
site. The plan includes a moniring and adaptive management plan"
(http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/hamilton/summary.pdf)
"There are three project objectives: (1) create a diverse array of wetland and wildlife
habitats that benefit a number of threatened, endangered and other species, (2) reduce inwater disposal of dredged material and beneficially reuse dredged materials as feasible,
and (3) facilitate the base-closure and reuse process."
"Alternatives considered
1. No action
Under the No Action Plan, a Federal project would not be constructed to restore habitat in
the study area boundaries. Pumps would continue to remove runoff water from the
airfield. The environmental benefits of the proposed project would not be realized.
2. Natural Sedimentation to restore Wetlands at the Airfield and Navy Ballfields
This would result in 668 acres of habitat. Once outboard levees are breached, tidal
sedimentation would fill the tidal portions of the project.
3. Reuse of Dredged Material to restore Wetlands at the Airfield and Navy Ballfields
This would result in 668 acres of habitat. Dredged material would used to accelerate
marsh establishment and raise elevations for seasonal wetlands.
4. Natural Sedimentation to restore Wetlands at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields, and
SLC Property
This would result in 988 acres of habitat. Once outboard levees are breached, tidal
sedimentation would fill the tidal portions of the project.
5. Reuse of Dredged Material to restore Wetlands at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields
and SLC Property.
This would result in 988 acres of habitat. Dredged material would used to accelerate
marsh establishment and raise elevations for seasonal wetlands."
"Selected Plan
Alternative 5, Wetland Restoration at the Airfield, Navy Ballfields and SLC Property Via
Beneficial Reuse of Dredged Material, was selected because it creates a natural gradient
of habitats from upland through mudflat, without internal levees and water control
structures. The plan will restore 570 acres of salt marsh habitat, considered especially
valuable due to its scarcity, and benefit Federally listed threatened and endangered
species that depend on salt marsh habitat. This alternative offers the best option for
sustaining ecological functions over time and meets the habitat objective of 80 percent
tidal and 20 percent non-tidal habitats. 10.6 million cy of dredged material will be
beneficially reused to raise elevations to support the tidal and seasonal marsh restoration.
Both the Corps and the non-Federal sponsor, SCC, support Alternative 5 because it
maximizes environmental benefits and is most consistent with regional plans.
The plan includes infrastructure features, including perimeter levees, to support the
wetland habitat areas. To import dredged materials, a hydraulic off-loader mounted on a
barge would remove material from barges (scows) positioned in the off-loading area.
Dredged materials would then be transported through a pipeline in a water slurry onto the
site. The plan includes a moniring and adaptive management plan"
(http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/hamilton/summary.pdf)
About the Author
Hamilton Ecology Story: News Article
Hamilton Airfield runway restoration work ends
Posted: 03/18/2011 05:26:17 PM PDT
Work that put the equivalent of half a million dump trucks' worth of slushy soil on the old Hamilton Airfield has been finished, marking a milestone in the massive wetlands restoration project in Novato.
"It was completed earlier this month," said Tom Gandesbery, project manager for the state Coastal Conservancy. And the work is already paying environmental dividends.
"We are seeing more birds come to the area," Gandesbery said.
Ruddy ducks, hawks and egrets are visiting the area, but work on the $104 million project is not quite done. About 250 acres of the 700-acre site still needs to be contoured to create pools, and other areas will be planted with native vegetation. A 2.5-mile Bay Trail segment that runs along the perimeter of the airfield is also planned. Most critically, the levee holding back San Pablo Bay water will be breached. That will allow bay water to rush back into the area, helping return hundreds of acres of vital, ecologically rich wetlands that were choked to death more than a century ago as land was diked for farming.
That could occur as soon as October 2012.
"The big thing will be the breaching," said Dick Wayman, conservancy spokesman. "That will allow the tidal bay action to return."
On Thursday the conservancy board approved $4 million to pay for the final work that completed the sediment work on the runway. The state Wildlife Conservation Board will reimburse the conservancy.
The airfield has received about 6 million cubic yards of sediment since material began arriving at the site in 2008, covering it in 4 to 7 feet of mud. The majority of the dredged material came from the Port of Oakland — with a smaller amount from other bay ports — through a system of temporary barges and pipes that sent the slurry some seven miles to Hamilton. That system is now being dismantled.
The military decommissioned the base in 1974 and ballfields, a polo field and even a skate park were bandied about as potential uses for the airfield over the years. But a cadre of environmental groups and state agencies, led by the Coastal Conservancy, were determined to return the area to what it used to be.
Planners studied old maps from the 1800s, historic photos and dated drawings for a better understanding of what was at the airfield before the landscape was changed.
In the North Bay, up until the mid-19th century, there were some 55,000 acres of wetlands, providing ideal conditions for migrating waterfowl, a nursery for a variety of fish species and an incubator for plants. A potent mix of wetlands — tidal marshes, tidal flats, vernal pools, streams and creeks — provided optimal conditions for a myriad of plant and animal life.
As people settled nearby, they saw the areas of shallow water as locales where water could be diked and drained and the area reclaimed for agriculture and housing.
As the wetlands dried up, so did the number of species. Legions of fish, California clapper rail, brown pelicans, California black rail, salt marsh harvest mice, red-legged frogs, snowy egrets and great blue herons were lost, and today many are listed as endangered.
When the land was diked, it not only dried but constricted as well. The sediments from Oakland were needed to raise the ground surface of the site to a level near sea level.
"I heard it is done, it's spectacular news," said Barbara Salzman, president of Marin Audubon. "I can't wait to see the tidal action come in once the levee is breached."
I was very interested by this story because for a while in the immediate past, I would see a lot of trucks driving towards the marshes but I could never see what they were actually doing, until one day I walked up Ammo Hill, looked down and saw new marsh I had never seen before. I'm also very interested in Hamilton's history as an Air Force Base during WWII, and to me, that's all the history of Hamilton was. I never thought about what it looked like here before the Air Force base, but I'm glad to see that we made efforts/ are still making efforts to restore what it used to be. These wetlands will be very beneficial to this areas biodiversity, and will bring back marine species that live in wetlands, as well as many other animals.
Strawberry Challenge!
I wish that I had more to say about my strawberry plant than I do. I admit that it may not have been watered as much as it should have been, but I believe that it did so well because of significant rains we've had in the past month or so. My plant was outside in almost full sunlight the entire time it was with me. It was watered once every two days, and occasionally watered daily.
It took my plant a long time to actually produce any strawberries. For the first week or two it just grew at a slow pace, until a couple flowers showed up. All of a sudden there were 8 flowers, but then it slowed down again as it grew the strawberries. It took from the time the plant bloomed (about a week in) until a couple days ago for a full strawberry to grow. I ate that strawberry and it tasted delicious. There are still 7 strawberries on my plant that are growing, although one is almost done and became a little deformed in the process.
A challenge of this project was knowing how to take care of a plant. This was a new experience for me, and going into it I knew that different plants need different treatment, but I had no idea what kind of treatment a strawberry plant needed. I just chose to put my plant in direct sunlight and water it as much as I could - which was ideally once a day. This of course did not happen as I did not water it daily, but it still survived and flourished. At the end of this project, I researched what conditions are ideal for a strawberry, and a gardening website told me to put it in direct sunlight with minimal wind. My plant was in direct sunlight next to a fence that blocked almost all of the wind, so this may have been a reason that it was so successful. (http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_february_2_strawberry.asp)
It took my plant a long time to actually produce any strawberries. For the first week or two it just grew at a slow pace, until a couple flowers showed up. All of a sudden there were 8 flowers, but then it slowed down again as it grew the strawberries. It took from the time the plant bloomed (about a week in) until a couple days ago for a full strawberry to grow. I ate that strawberry and it tasted delicious. There are still 7 strawberries on my plant that are growing, although one is almost done and became a little deformed in the process.
A challenge of this project was knowing how to take care of a plant. This was a new experience for me, and going into it I knew that different plants need different treatment, but I had no idea what kind of treatment a strawberry plant needed. I just chose to put my plant in direct sunlight and water it as much as I could - which was ideally once a day. This of course did not happen as I did not water it daily, but it still survived and flourished. At the end of this project, I researched what conditions are ideal for a strawberry, and a gardening website told me to put it in direct sunlight with minimal wind. My plant was in direct sunlight next to a fence that blocked almost all of the wind, so this may have been a reason that it was so successful. (http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_february_2_strawberry.asp)
Community Information
Come to Novato!
Are you a goat looking for a great place to settle down? Not enough hay and moss where you live? Do you need more food to snack on, and room to stretch your legs? Come to Novato! Not only do we have seemingly endless amounts of uninhabited space, but we have goat food galore! Our surplus of Oak trees grow plenty of moss on them, which I know you goats favor. There is also enough shrubs and weeds for you to munch on for years without pause. Look at this happy goat chewing on some fresh grass. Or at this smiling Novato resident posing in front of her barn. This cute baby goat moved to Novato, and is getting along quite well with her neighbors.
Whether you are looking for a place to settle down, or a temporary place to rest from your travels, Novato is the place to be if you are a goat! Come see for yourself what the excitement is all about!
Are you a goat looking for a great place to settle down? Not enough hay and moss where you live? Do you need more food to snack on, and room to stretch your legs? Come to Novato! Not only do we have seemingly endless amounts of uninhabited space, but we have goat food galore! Our surplus of Oak trees grow plenty of moss on them, which I know you goats favor. There is also enough shrubs and weeds for you to munch on for years without pause. Look at this happy goat chewing on some fresh grass. Or at this smiling Novato resident posing in front of her barn. This cute baby goat moved to Novato, and is getting along quite well with her neighbors.
Whether you are looking for a place to settle down, or a temporary place to rest from your travels, Novato is the place to be if you are a goat! Come see for yourself what the excitement is all about!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulfur Cycle
Carbon Cycle |
Sulfur Cycle |
Nitrogen Cycle |
Phosphorus Cycle |
Images:
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/images/carboncycle_sm.jpg
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs109-03/images/fig6.jpg
http://www.kidsgeo.com/images/nitrogen-cycle.gif
http://whoooaaa.wikispaces.com/file/view/phosphorus-cycle.jpg/185445119/phosphorus-cycle.jpg
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