NOAA administrator Dr. Lubchenco touring restoration to improve coho spawning habitat along Dry Creek near Quivira Winery in Sonoma County. Click image for more detail

Contact:  Rob Cifelli

HMT Representatives Participate in Interagency Discussion of Water Management and Fisheries Issues in Russian River

Sponsored by the Sonoma County Water Agency and held at the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery and Visitors Center near Santa Rosa, CA, the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss cross-NOAA line office and interagency collaboration to address water management and fisheries issues in the Russian River watershed. The gathering also provided an opportunity to tour restoration of habitat for native coho, chinook, and steelhead in one of the Russian River tributaries. In addition, HMT's role in providing improved precipitation and frost information for water management decisions was discussed. HMT began precipitation monitoring in the Russian River area over a decade ago as part of the CALJET and PACJET projects, which evolved into HMT-West. Recently, the California Department of Water Resources (CA-DWR) has invested in a network of HMT instrumentation across California for improved monitoring and forecasting of dangerous winter storms. The precipitation information provided by HMT is being used by weather forecasters, water managers, and emergency managers for improved situational awareness of storm intensity and duration. The value of these measurements for flood forecasting and water management decision-making was recently recognized at a press conference during the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.