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| Alpine Watershed Group protects, conserves, and restores the watersheds of Alpine County by promoting sustainable community and science-based collaborative solutions.
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| That's a Wrap!
We had an incredibly productive Creek Day volunteer workday on Saturday, September 19! Volunteers assisted across five project sites, removing 12 bags of trash from approximately 13 highway miles, performing adaptive management on one beaver dam analog (BDA), building one “rhino structure” (a mid-channel post-assisted log structure) and reparing another, and planting 60 willow stakes. A big thank you to all the site leaders that led volunteers in these efforts. We are grateful to all our event partners and sponsors that helped make Creek Day 2026 another success! Check out the Creek Day webpage to see additional photos (including an image of a “rhino structure”) and to explore more detailed event outcomes.
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Students Take a “Snapshot” of Water Quality in Hope ValleyLast Friday, 36 Diamond Valley Elementary School students traveled on a bus through Hope Valley's beautiful autumnal colors to take part in this year’s Snapshot Day. Snapshot Day is facilitated by River Wranglers and occurs at 11 spots along the Carson River. Students of all ages learn about and test the water quality of the river at a specific time, essentially taking a “snapshot” of the river’s health in that moment.
For the Hope Valley site, Alpine Watershed Group (AWG) Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz led the water quality station, where students learned how to assess ambient parameters such as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and turbidity using various meters and methods. AWG Forest Health Coordinator Neil Mortimer took the lead on running the nature journaling station, where students made observations about the surrounding environment and got creative with drawing and using other items like animal track stamps and rubbing plates to document what they observed.
Washoe Environmental Protection Department (WEPD) Environmental Specialist Kelsey Denning took the lead on the stream walk assessment station, where students evaluated stream conditions such as dominant streamside vegetation, land uses within a quarter-mile of the stream reach, erosion, unstable stream banks, and bed conditions. AWG was very grateful to have Kelsey’s leadership on the field trip because it also provided an opportunity for students to learn about some of the work that Kelsey does with WEPD.
Thank you to AWG volunteer Stefania Stratidakis who led the watershed model station. Stefania talked to the students about nonpoint source pollutants that can contaminate our watershed and best practices to reduce the pollutants entering our waterways. Two other AWG volunteers teamed up to complete Snapshot Day sampling on the East Fork Carson River at Hangman’s Bridge—a big thank you to Sharon Osgood and Suzanne Miladin.
In addition to helping fund Creek Day, AWG's grant from Trout Unlimited Sagebrush Chapter supported AWG staff time to include Alpine County kids in this awesome watershed-wide environmental education opportunity. Finally, a huge shout out to John Brissenden for cleaning up the Hope Valley Wildlife Area bathroom prior to the students arriving.
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Register Now for "Get on the Bus" Tour Carson Water Subconservancy District (CWSD) has an action-packed schedule about all things water for both the upper and lower Carson River watershed, and with an autumnal tour they expect cool and comfortable temperatures for the trip. Both days of the tour will start in Carson City; expect to be traveling from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continuing education units will be available for several disciplines. Visit the CWSD website to check out the planned stops, get all the details, and register prior to Friday, October 23.
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WANTED: Volunteer Seedling Planters
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| It's a Floodplain!
Wow. Just WOW. Have you checked out the progress made on the Markleeville Creek Restoration Project? The floodwall has been completely removed, and the ADA-accessible trail and creek overlook are paved. Irrigation was planned to be installed this week, and revegetation is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. Unfortunately, the parking lot will not be accessible until 2027 due to delays with a second Encroachment Permit required by Caltrans due to issues with the sight distance when exiting the parking lot, but Heritage Park will remain open to foot traffic. The new sleeve in the sewer line that runs under the creek is in place, and Markleeville Public Utility District's sewer upgrade project is substantially complete.
We ask that anyone recreating in this area please keep in mind that revegetation efforts are underway, and the new plantings are being monitored, so please tread lightly to prevent negative impacts.
See the project info sheet for more details on the project, including the funding sources.
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| Bountiful Blooms and Views
By Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz
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On September 25, Forest Health Coordinator Neil Mortimer and I completed fall monitoring of the Musser and Jarvis restoration work that was implemented in fall 2021. This fall monitoring is always such a stark contrast from the spring monitoring as there are few wildflowers that remain, and all of the bright green grasses have transformed into a beautiful golden yellow color.
The monitoring that we conduct in this watershed consists of photo point monitoring as well as vegetation monitoring at 24 different points. Watching this watershed transform post-fire since my arrival to Alpine County in mid August 2023 has been truly incredible. Every time that I have gone out to monitor this site, the trees that were planted in March 2022 by California Conservation Corps crew members have noticeably grown in size; this contrasts to some of the other areas where seedlings planted in the Tamarack Fire burn scar appear to be stunted and/or have a much slower growth rate. Check out the picture of me standing next to an incense cedar at one of our monitoring points, and note that I am standing on a log that gives me an additional height advantage—if I weren’t standing on the log, the tree would probably be my height!
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The few blooms that I did see during this fall monitoring were panicled willowherb (Epilobium brachycarpum), Lupinus (possibly Lupinus lepidus—I find lupines to be a bit tricky to identify), common yarrow (Achillea millefolium), cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale), and spreading fleabane (Erigeron divergens). Unfortunately, there were also a handful of invasive nonnative bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) plants in bloom as well. An especial highlight were blue elder (Sambucus cerulea) plants that were fruiting!
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blue elder (Sambucus cerulea)
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panicled willowherb (Epilobium brachycarpum)
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All Things Watersheds Adopt-A-Highway – We’ve noticed that Highway 89 by AWG’s office in Woodfords needs adoption, and there are many other unadopted stretches out there. Help keep trash from flowing into our waterways by adopting a stretch of highway! Learn more about the program and find a link to apply here.
Fire Risk Reduction Community List – As of July 1, 2026, Alpine County is included on the Fire Risk Reduction Community List (FRRCL) that is published by the California Board of Forestry every two years (first published July 1, 2022). The FRRCL is a “list of local agencies located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone…that meet best practices for local fire planning.” Check out the full Alpine County News Flash for more details.
Biomass Pile – The biomass collection at Turtle Rock Park is open for residents to drop off woody debris and vegetation on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Depending on weather conditions, residents will be able to drop off materials until October 25. See the flyer for more information.
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| Upcoming AWG Events
Wednesday, October 28, 5:00 p.m. at Markleeville Library – AWG Board Meeting
Saturday, November 7, 10:00 a.m. at Indian Creek Campground – Tree Planting hosted by Forest Health Community Working Group
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| We are grateful for the financial support of all who love Alpine County. We are able to lead volunteer workdays and support community science data collection because of your generosity.
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AWG has earned a 2025 Gold Seal of Transparency with Candid! Check out our Nonprofit Profile here.
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Ways to Connect or HelpWe always love to hear from our watershed community! Below are email links to reach AWG's staff, or reach us at AWG's office at (530) 694-2327. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Contact Us!
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| A quick note for Gmail users:
To get our monthly bulletin email sent to your "Inbox" instead of "Promotions,"
click and drag the email over to your "Primary" tab.
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