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The Bay Area Historical Ecology Project
Permanente Creek Historical Ecology
The San Francisco Estuary Institute
supports sound management in local watersheds and strives to supply
a sound framework for assessing the ecological condition of watersheds
throughout the region. Sound management of a watershed requires
a vision of its good health. Without an historical perspective,
policies and prescriptions for the recovery of ecological resources
can only be based on disturbed and artificial conditions, and will
therefore tend to fail expensively. A map of native landscape form
and function can be used as a template for successful ecological
planning. Additionally, a clear picture of the changes the watershed
has undergone can help local residents understand how their watershed
has been altered. With this understanding, residents may better
appreciate how they can improve their watershed.
SFEI, with the assistance of the Coyote Creek Riparian Center * ,
is creating a series of maps that will depict the historical ecology
of the Permanente Creek watershed. Historical ecology means the
"documented" ecology of a region. This includes how the watershed
appeared in the past, what life it supported, and how it has changed
over time because of natural processes and human influence. SFEI
is creating maps of the native landscape (ca. 1770-1820), the
landscape during the height of the agricultural period (ca. late
18th or early 19th century), the fire history, and the flood history
of the Permanente Creek watershed. Making a map is the single
best way to integrate the facts into a coherent picture. A map
shows how the facts relate to each other and to local geography.
To create these maps, we use many separate pieces of evidence
of the location and shape of landscape features, the distribution
and abundance of plant and animal life, the manner in which humans
used the watershed, and other attributes associated with the watershed.
This evidence is derived from modern and historical government
documents, maps, photos, oral histories, and drawings, which serve
as windows to the past. The information used to create these maps
can be obtained only through extensive document searches and from
the knowledge and memories of local residents and historians.
We welcome any information describing the area during the 19th
or early 20th century. Both documents and personal memories are
extremely helpful in reconstructing the ecology of the watershed.
For example, memories of playing or fishing in the creek, old
photographs showing oak trees, or descriptions of flood or fire
events would be useful.
With the assistance of local residents and organizations, SFEI
will facilitate a greater understanding of the Permanente Creek
watershed and therefore an improved capacity to manage for a healthy
watershed. If you have any questions or information to share please
contact Robin Grossinger at robin@sfei.org
or 510-231-5791.
* The Coyote Creek Riparian Station
has closed. The avian research and bird banding programs are reestablished
at the San Francisco Bay Bird
Observatory in Alviso, and the watershed program data and
geographic information system are moving to the North
Bay Riparian Station at the San
Francisco Bay Model in Sausalito.
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