Volunteers Clear 18 Tons of Garbage From County Creeks

by Alta Tura April 28th dawned clear, and an estimated 1,400 volunteers turned out to clean a creek on Clean-Up Day. Moderate flows in our region's watershed this spring made the creeks more accessible than last year. Because there were no extreme high water events in the rainy season, less debris than usual was washed […]

Cleaning Steelhead Creek

by Libby Harmor Valley View Acres is a rural neighborhood in North Natomas bordered on two sides by Steelhead Creek and the Ueda Parkway. The east levee of the creek is a front or back fence for many residents. The parkway and creek are used year round for bike riding, horseback riding, dog walking, hiking, […]

Is Your Garden Creek Friendly?

by Betty Cooper It’s a great feeling to see all that trash piled up after a Creek Week Cleanup. But what can we do to help creeks every day, around our own homes? The choices we make in our gardens and home landscaping can contribute to the long-term health of our creeks, even if we […]

Mosquito Fish, Friend or Foe?

by Bill Templin Mosquito fish (Gambusia sp.) are small fish (1.5 – 2.5 inches) that tolerate a wide range of temperatures and are used as a predator of mosquito larvae in many diverse aquatic habitats throughout the world. With all of the attention being given locally to aerial spraying to control mosquitoes and reduce West […]

Pyrethroids in Creeks

by Dave Tamayo, Pesticide Control Program Manager, Sacramento County Stormwater Program Way back at the end of the last century (the 1990s), the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership (or SSQP, which includes Sacramento County and the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Rancho Cordova, and Sacramento) found that the water in local creeks was […]

Dry Creek Salmon Count

by Bill Templin, Board Member, Sacramento Urban Creeks Council and Upper American River Foundation Once again, a good volunteer turnout of over 30 people participated in walking 16 reaches of Dry Creek and it’s tributaries including Secret Ravine, Miner’s Ravine, Antelope Creek, Linda Creek, and Cirby Creek. The intrepid volunteers were documenting the number of […]

Winter Doesn’t Stop Students from Dipping Into Creeks

by Beth Etgen, UCCS Vice President – Education “Wow! I never knew that creeks could be homes for so many kinds of animals.” “I get it, a creek food web sticks everything together.” “Water bugs look like monsters.” “I‘ve seen junk in the creek near our house and it looks ugly.” These were some of […]

Time is Ripe for “Scoop the Poop” Pilot Program

Courtesy of Sacramento County Stormwater Quality The Sacramento County Stormwater Quality Program has partnered with Arcade Creek Recreation and Park District and local volunteer groups to develop a cost-effective pilot program called "Scoop the Poop." The program aims to reduce the bacteria found in local waterways caused by the improper disposal of pet waste in […]

Frank Cruzen Remembered

by Alta Tura Frank Cruzen, co-founder and first president of the Sacramento Urban Creeks Council, passed away on August 29, 2006. Frank accomplished many things before he took on the challenge of advocating for creeks in Sacramento County. After he and his wife Marie raised their family, he retired from Pacific Bell and could have […]

Creek Critters: Water Striders

by Bonnie Ross Among aquatic insects, long-legged water striders are about the easiest to see. They live on the water surface film and they tend to congregate in large numbers. One genus, would you believe, lives on the surface of the ocean, sometimes many miles from land! Water striders belong to the family Gerridae within […]