The Russian River Aquatic Resource Inventory (RRARI) is an inventory of aquatic resources and their associated vegetated areas in the Russian River Watershed and Sonoma County in California.  The inventory was largely developed using an automated approach consisting of a computer algorithm developed by GIS staff, to apply a standardized and regionally relevant classification system in order to support environmental planning and resource management tracking at a local and regional scale.   

RRARI is meant to serve as a basemap of aquatic resources, using the updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI) to support the Russian River Regional Monitoring Program (R3MP). RRARI addresses basic information gaps about the distribution, abundance, and diversity of aquatic and riparian habitats of the Russian River Watershed. The RRARI dataset is needed to implement the Sonoma County Riparian Corridor Protection Ordinance. It will also be used as the basemap for the planned online public R3MP GIS for sharing, visualizing, and summarizing environmental data in the watershed context.

The RRARI dataset extent includes the Russian River Watershed spanning portions of Mendocino and Marin counties, and all of Sonoma County in California. The extent covers approximately 1,371,475 acres.  

RRARI’s aquatic resource inventory classes were adapted from past Aquatic Resource Inventory classification systems, such as Delta Aquatic Resource Inventory (DARI) and San Diego Aquatic Resource Inventory (SDARI). It was adjusted to include aquatic resources that are distinct to the Russian River watershed and Sonoma coast employing the same nomenclature. Wetlands are mapped as polygonal features and are a combination of the open water bodies produced by NV5 Geospatial and the results of SFEI’s wetland classification process.  The channel network is a line feature class that was mapped by associates at NV5 Geospatial to meet USGS 3DHP standards and can be used for modeling and other purposes.  It consists of line work that is mapped continuously through narrow and wide channels, and through other aquatic features (including reservoirs and lakes) by the addition of Artificial Paths through those open water features.

RRARI v1.0 Streamlines data disclaimer: This data is provided as draft for review and discussion purposes only. It does not represent the final version and has not been reviewed, approved, or accepted by the USGS 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). All content is subject to change based on further analysis, stakeholder input, and 3DHP requirements. Do not distribute, cite, or rely on this draft as official 3DHP-approved data.

For more information on classifications and methods, see the RRARI v1.0 Standard Operating Procedures document.