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credit \u2013 Friends of Sausal Creek<\/p>\n credit \u2013 Friends of Sausal Creek<\/p>\n
An important watershed in Oakland is now a thriving Eden of native species thanks to the work of two generations of volunteers.<\/p>\n
30 years ago last week, Mr. Michael Thilgen and his neighbors formed the Friends of Sausal Creek nonprofit<\/a> dedicating to restoring the waterway from its source in the Oakland Hills down to its terminus in the San Francisco Bay.<\/p>\n At 3 miles long, it\u2019s hardly the most dramatic California water source, but one that\u2019s nevertheless important for the local environment. Today it\u2019s one of the only urban creeks in the state to host a wild population of rainbow trout, and also maintains a delicate population of pallid manzanita, a federally endangered species of shrub.<\/p>\n For 30 years, Friends of Sausal Creek has led all-volunteer efforts to keep the water course in the best possible shape, by de-weeding trails, clearing invasive vegetation, planting native plants, and even monitoring local wildlife health.<\/p>\n \u201cIs the water clear? Does it look like something\u2019s been dumped?\u201d said volunteer and board member Kristy Brady to CBS News.<\/a> \u201cWe monitor fish quality and so forth, making sure it stays healthy so everyone can enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization runs a native plant nursery and organizes seed collecting hikes to ensure they can continue to support reforestation long-term. They\u2019ve introduced tens of thousands of native plants back into both the wild and less wild parts of the creek.<\/p>\n The group has also been part of a special long-term restoration project at Fern Ravine, where a second-growth coastal redwood forest meets Oakland\u2019s own backyard. Here since 2010, Friends of Sausal Creek have been working to undo decades of disturbances.<\/p>\n Since 1920 when the city designated Fern Ravine a park, where a tributary of the Sausal Creek babbles away far from the sounds of car horns, high volumes of recreation traffic on trails and off them has resulted in substantial undergrowth loss.<\/p>\n MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Camera Traps Reveal Beavers Have Finally Returned to the Bronx River After \u2018a Very Long Time\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The lack of ground cover plants saw the soil dry out, followed by greater erosion and sedimentation, and the arrival of several invasive species which cemented control in Fern Ravine and began to outcompete the native vegetation.<\/p>\n Through the nonprofit\u2019s tireless weeding and planting, \u201cextraordinary progress\u201d has been achieved there.<\/p>\n MORE FROM THE BAY AREA: California City Sees Explosion in Spawning Salmon Population in San Jose After 10 Years of Habitat Cleanup<\/a><\/p>\n