February 2026 Newsletter

Alpine Watershed Group protects, conserves, and restores the watersheds of Alpine County by promoting sustainable community and science-based collaborative solutions.

Seeking Public Feedback on West Fork Carson River Prioritization Project Draft Findings and Planning Report

Thank you very much to everyone who attended the West Fork Carson River Prioritization Project Community Meeting on January 20. During this meeting AWG’s consultant Daniel Malmon with Waterways Consulting, Inc. gave a presentation on the assessment results of the West Fork Carson River watershed in California. Daniel discussed the sediment sources and provided a brief explanation of how in-stream projects were identified and then prioritized utilizing feedback received from stakeholders. We indicated that the draft findings report would be shared with the public once AWG received it from Waterways.

You can now read the West Fork Carson Prioritization Project Draft Findings and Planning Report here. The appendices referred to in this draft report are currently not appended to the document, so if you would like access to any of them, please reach out to Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz and specify the appendix item you would like access to.

AWG needs to provide Waterways with consolidated comments from anyone who reviews the document and provides us with comments. In order to do this, AWG is requesting that you please provide any comments or feedback you have by emailing isabella@alpinewatershedgroup.org. You are welcome to provide your comments within the body of your email, or you are welcome to insert comments on the PDF and send your markup as an attachment. Because of AWG’s grant deadlines, the deadline to submit feedback to AWG is Tuesday, February 24. We apologize for the short comment period, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with community members and partners to tackle some of the recommendations.

Stakeholder Assessment Workshop

The Forest Health Community Working Group asks that you please save the date for this upcoming workshop led by Sierra Institute.

Wednesday, March 18, 5:30 p.m.
Turtle Rock Park Community Center

The Forest Health Community Working Group works to create fire-safe communities and restore our forests and watersheds to a healthy and resilient state. We engage community members and local groups to provide educational opportunities and civil discourse so that we can make progress on living amidst a more resilient forest.

Heritage Park: Mind the Sticks

AWG staff have been conducting monthly field checks at Heritage Park and Nature Area to check on the Markleeville Creek Floodplain Restoration Project. The project site held up well amidst the high flows (~973 cfs) in late December, and we saw American dippers frolicking in the gravel bar area. While no container plants were put in during the 2025 phase of construction, Alpine County's contractor installed a total of 87 pole cuttings composed of willow and cottonwood on the east side of the creek near Highway 89 and farther downstream near the Millberry Creek confluence—please mind your step if you are walking in this area, and know that these sticks are purposefully placed there to hopefully grow into trees to provide riparian habitat and increase streambank stability. In AWG's November newsletter, we incorrectly reported that the Markleeville Public Utility District (MPUD) contractor had completed the new sleeve in the sewer line that runs under the creek—that task and some other MPUD sewer upgrade project work will be completed in 2026. See the project info sheet for more details on the project, including the funding sources.

AWG staff have new email addresses!

AWG is transitioning to domain email addresses. Please update your address book with the new AWG staff emails listed below.

Executive Director Kimra McAfee – kimra@alpinewatershedgroup.org
Forest Health Coordinator Neil Mortimer – neil@alpinewatershedgroup.org
Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz – isabella@alpinewatershedgroup.org
Watershed Projects Coordinator Kelci Brown – kelci@alpinewatershedgroup.org
AWG General Info – info@alpinewatershedgroup.org

Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund

Tax season is upon us. You can donate to the Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund on your California tax form to support grants to organizations like ours. Enter a donation of any amount next to the Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund tax check-off, listed in the Voluntary Contributions section on the second to the last page of your California tax return, box 424. The Whale Tail Grant that AWG secured in 2023 depends on this funding source; AWG has been able to lead classroom lessons and field trips because of this funding! Learn more here.

Bountiful Blooms and Views
By Headwaters Coordinator Bella Kurtz

It seems like the recent warm weather has caused some of our local flora to be confused—have you noticed any plant activity that seems early? I have observed greenleaf manzanita blooms as well as emerging foothill deathcamas. Hopefully the recent snowfall we have received will cause the flora to be less confused. Or perhaps it may be more confused…only time will tell!

Emerging foothill deathcamas (Toxicoscordion paniculatum) spotted near Spratt Creek on February 1, 2026

Blooming greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula) observed on January 31, 2026, along the West Fork Carson River

You may be wondering what is going on in this newsletter’s banner photo. Well, there have been several convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens) “blooms” spotted in Alpine County. A ladybug bloom—which also has the charming moniker of a loveliness of ladybugs—occurs when the convergent lady beetles begin awakening from their dormant winter aggregations. Check out this blog post to learn more.

All Things Watersheds

Biochar Applications for Forest Landowners – The University of California Cooperative Extension in collaboration with The Biochar Coalition is hosting a FREE Forest Stewardship webinar focusing on biochar applications for forest landowners. Presenters include UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisor Cindy Chen, Registered Professional Forester Nadia Hamey, and Biochar Coalition Executive Director Kenneth Scherer. See the flyer for more information and the registration link.

Upcoming AWG Events

Wednesday, February 25, 5:00 p.m. – AWG Board Meeting

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.

DONATE

AWG has earned a 2025 Gold Seal of Transparency with Candid! Check out our Nonprofit Profile here.

Ways to Connect or Help

We 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.

Kimra McAfee, Executive Director

Neil Mortimer, Forest Health Coordinator

Bella Kurtz, Headwaters Coordinator

Kelci Brown, Watershed Projects Coordinator

Contact Us!

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.

Until next time!

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

PO Box 296 │ 50 Diamond Valley Road
Markleeville, CA | 96120 United States

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.