Yuba Watershed Institute

Are you up to the Scotch Broom Challenge?

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Do you want to become an active steward of our Sierra foothills landscape? Want to get your hands dirty contributing to a healthy forest in your “backyard”? Then come join the Yuba Watershed Institute (YWI) for some upcoming opportunities to “tend the wild” in the ‘Inimim Forest, your local community forest stewardship project.

This season, the YWI is partnering with the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, and other local groups, to undertake the Scotch Broom Challenge, an annual effort to reduce the impacts of this invasive plant.

Dates: Saturday, March 4 and Saturday, April 8
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (snacks provided)

Meeting Location:
North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center (parking lot)
17894 Tyler Foote Road
Nevada City, CA 95959

We will be meeting in the Schoolhouse parking lot at 9 am for registration and a brief orientation to the work day. Then we will carpool to a nearby work site in the ‘Inimim Forest to pull Scotch broom.

To join this event, please RSVP to Chris Friedel at chris@yubawatershedinstitute.org, or call (530) 955-1822.

Why remove Scotch broom?

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) is a highly invasive non-native plant species. It was introduced to California as an ornamental plant in the 1850s and has since spread to cover more than 700,000 acres in the coastal and Sierra Nevada foothill regions of the state.

This plant is considered a pest for the following reasons:

  • Scotch broom is highly flammable and acts as a “ladder fuel,” spreading wildfire from the ground to the tree tops.
  • Displaces native and beneficial vegetation, forming dense stands which impede the movement of wildlife and degrade habitat quality.
  • Can impede the growth of trees in forested settings.
  • Spreads quickly – one shrub can produce up to 15,000 seeds after two years of growth.
  • Seeds can live in the seedbank for over 80 years!

 

 

“Synergies and Confluences” – An Exhibit of Yuba Watershed Art

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Two Rivers, by Holly Tornheim

“Synergies and Confluences” – An Exhibit of  Yuba Watershed Art

January 20- February 1, 2017

The North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center
17894 Tyler Foote Rd.
Nevada City, CA 95959
(530) 265-2826

The North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center and the Yuba Watershed Institute (YWI) are hosting an art show of Yuba watershed inspired works by local artists.

A reception for the show will be held on Sunday, January 29, 2017, 2-6 pm. At 5 pm, YWI’s President, Gary Parsons, will give a talk and slideshow entitled “The Small Scale Forester in the Large Scale Forest.”

Liese Greensfelder shows off a newly fallen black oak in the ‘Inimim Forest. The recent heavy rains and soaked soils have brought down a number of heritage oaks in our woods. Photo by Bob Erickson.

Is it safe to eat wild mushrooms?

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Is it safe to eat edible mushrooms gathered from former mine sites in the Sierra Nevada? Help us answer this question by contributing to the Yuba Watershed Institute’s new research project. Visit our CrowdRise fundraiser campaign page to donate.

We will test samples of up to 4 species of edible mushrooms collected from hydraulic “diggings” in Nevada County. Samples will be tested in a specialized laboratory for pollutant metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc. These samples from legacy mining sites will be compared to samples of the same species collected from sites with no history of mining.

For your contribution, we will send you the results of our study when it is completed.

Check out the schedule for this weekend’s Fungus Foray!

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Greetings from the Yuba Watershed Institute,

The early rains and mild temperatures have allowed many of the mushrooms of the forest to flourish. We are excited about the schedule of presenters who have dedicated their weekend to educate and inform the attendees of this coming weekend’s Fungus Foray and Wild Mushroom Exposition.

With some of the best mycologists of North America sharing their stories, you may just want to grab a hot cup of mushroom soup and sit down on the potentially rainy Sunday afternoon and listen to stories of exploring Mexican highlands for glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, investigating the almost lost art of fire-keeping with fungi conks, or hearing from an ecologist on how fungi are reacting to forest fires. A complete schedule for Saturday and Sunday is below.

The Wild Mushroom Exposition on Sunday provides an opportunity to pause and admire the effort and diversity of likely more than 150 species of wild fungi named and documented on our display. You may not want to miss this; eventually this weekend and the mushrooms will go back into the earth for a season. Don’t forget to bring some cash for goodies (mushroom field guides, custom t-shirts, and food).

2016 Yuba Foray Speaker Schedule

Saturday, December 10

9:15 – 9:30  •  Introduction to the Foray and Basic Forms of Fungi and Where to Find Them (Daniel Nicholson)

2:00 – 3:00  •  Mushroom Identification in the Mountains of California (Alan Rockefeller)

3:00 – 4:00  •  Old Friends, New Names: A California Mushroom Journey (Mike Wood)

4:30 – 5:00  •  Discussion at the ID tables

Sunday, December 11

11:30 – 12:30  •  The Mycenoid fungi of California (Dr. Brian Perry)

1:00 – 2:00  •  Fungus after the Fire (Dr. Tom Bruns)

2:00 – 3:00  •  Mushroom Hunting in Jalisco and Veracruz: Bioluminescent Mushrooms (Alan Rockefeller)

3:00-3:30  •  Fire Tending and Fire Making With Fungi [outside on patio] (Matt Berry)

Please visit our website www.yubawatershedinstitute.org for more information on the weekend’s events.

Register Today for the Fungus Foray

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Registration is now live for the 19th Annual Fungus Foray and Wild Mushroom Exposition, which will take place on December 10-11 at the Shady Creek Outdoor School and Event Center.

Pre-registration helps us streamline the event entry process and organize attendees into small groups for the Saturday foray.

Volunteers are needed to help pull off this amazing community event. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Daniel Nicholson at danmadrone@gmail.com.