Our Watershed Tour in the News

Over a week ago, Committee for Green Foothills brought folks together for our annual watershed tour. Always one of our most popular events, this year was no exception and the spaces filled up in record time. The tour began at Jasper Ridge where we were able to see the Searsville Dam (photographed here) and ended near the Bay in East Palo Alto. During the tour we learned about the history, challenges, and unique collaborations taking place along our San Francisquito Watershed.

It was a great day filled with many interesting speakers and engaged and passionate participants from a variety of backgrounds. Kate Chesley, associate director of Stanford University Communications, wrote a great summary of the event for the Stanford Report where she noted that, “Flood worries, sediment buildup, industrial runoff, protection of endangered species, proliferation of invasive species, drought and the impacts of climate change are among the challenges facing the many communities and organizations – including Stanford – working to create a sustainable future for the creek and its watershed.”

For the full article online: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/creek-watershed-tour-041714.html

A special thanks to everyone who joined us on our San Francisquito Watershed Tour and all of the knowledgeable speakers who made this event a huge success. We hope to see you all again for next year’s tour!

Comment (1)

Matt Stoecker

April 23, 2014

Thanks again CGF for putting on this great tour!

A few comments on this Stanford article:

The article states “Students and scholars use the wetlands created by the dam and lands near the reservoir to pursue field research into such areas as biodiversity, climate change, species extinction and ecosystems – all with the intent to bring greater understanding to natural systems.” Unfortunately, this is not entirely accurate. The Preserve’s own mission states that they are not currently managing the preserve for the benefit of native species and habitats, but rather studying all interactions. Searsville Dam and Reservoir have produced a non-native, artificial habitat that supports and spreads several problematic and non-native fish, frog, invertebrate, and plant species throughout the watershed. We hope that Stanford changes this current mission, as Field Stations around the world are doing, to focus on restoring and protecting native habitats and species and eradicating non-native species.

The article states that “the ongoing drought has interrupted Searsville water diversions since about a year ago.” This is misleading. Stanford can and has diverted water during drought conditions and at very low reservoir levels due to the presence of low-level intake diversion pipes. The lack of diversion at Searsville, for the first time ever we are told, seems to be more a result of the current 3 lawsuits and federal investigation against Stanford’s operation of the dam and lack of by-pass flows downstream to protect ESA listed fish and wildlife.

The article also unfairly paints a picture that a) Stanford initiated the Searsville Dam study process, b) identified the need for community collaboration, c) and has a sustainable water supply. The reality is that San Francisquito Watershed Council members, including myself, have requested such a dam alternatives study for over a decade with no cooperation from Stanford. This changed when their recent efforts to dredge the reservoir and keep it as is, in their proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), were challenged and stopped by federal resource agencies. Community groups and the National Marine Fisheries Service repeatedly asked Stanford to participate in a collaborative stakeholder process on Searsville Dam for over a decade and they denied those requests until recent lawsuits, investigation, and stopping the HCP dredging plan. Finally, while Stanford has made some commendable progress in water conservation and efficiency (especially potable water use from Hetch Hetchy), their non-potable creek diversion sources and extensive campus lawns and irrigated turf are far from “sustainable”, with Searsville Dam not even having all state and federal permits or measures in place to protect wildlife and maintain creek flows downstream.

Thanks again for opening up this discussion and enabling all voices to be heard.

-Matt Stoecker

Director, Beyond Searsville Dam

Our Watershed Tour in the News

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