Sacramento Area Creeks Council

Category: Creek Info

  • McClellan Park West Nature Area

    by Brian Sytsma Tucked away in the western portion of the former McClellan Air Force Base, now known as McClellan Park, lays a unique natural resource area, called the “West Nature Area.” This 220-acre parcel of land is home to a wide variety of plants and wildlife. With the exception of a small rice farming…

  • Creek Critters: May Flies

    by Bonnie Ross Mayflies are found in a diverse array of aquatic habitats from standing water to cold and rapid head-water streams. They are ecologically very important; essentially being the first-order consumers in all water bodies they inhabit. As a preferred for most aquatic and terrestrial insectivores, they survive by sheer numbers alone. Mayflies were…

  • Thoughts From a Local Biologist

    By Tim Pafford Reprinted from Watershed, the Dry Creek Conservancy newsletter When I was a little boy, I was always messing around with water. I remember an incident of playing in rain-swollen puddles one stormy winter day after being sent home from kindergarten with a high fever. And I often came home muddy and wet…

  • Creek Critters: Dragonflies

    by Bonnie Ross The other day as I was walking to my car, a gleaming object on the hot pavement caught my eye. I bent down and picked up a dead dragonfly that seemed to radiate iridescent colors from its huge eyes, its long, delicate abdomen, and its stained-glass like wings. I decided at once…

  • Creek-Friendly Lansdscaping

    by Dave Tamayo, Pesticide Control Program Manager, Sacramento County Stormwater Program. The way you design and maintain the landscaped areas of your home or business can either help or hurt local creeks and rivers, and the creatures that depend on them. Landscapes have the potential to trap pollutants, conserve water, and prevent creek erosion. However,…

  • Creek-Friendly Lansdscaping

    by Dave Tamayo, Pesticide Control Program Manager, Sacramento County Stormwater Program. The way you design and maintain the landscaped areas of your home or business can either help or hurt local creeks and rivers, and the creatures that depend on them. Landscapes have the potential to trap pollutants, conserve water, and prevent creek erosion. However,…

  • Promoting Stewardship, Preserving Biodiversity

    by Frank Wallace Project Director, Sacramento Weed Warriors The American River Parkway and riparian areas along creeks throughout Sacramento are being invaded. The invaders are non-native plants, such as red sesbania, Spanish broom, arundo (giant reed), yellow star thistle, Chinese tallow tree, pampas grass, and others. So what’s wrong with these plants that have come…

  • Creek Critters: The Giant Water Bug

    by Bonnie Ross This is the first in a series of articles about aquatic insects. By way of introduction, an extinct relative of the modern-day mayfly was first detected in 250 million year old rocks. Today, 30,000 aquatic insect species representing 12 insect orders have been named. There are even aquatic members of the butterfly…

  • New Communities – New Creeks

    Mather The neighborhood of Independence at Mather formed a committee headed by Susan Crocker. They were concerned about the garbage in Morrison Creek where it ran by their homes and in nearby Mather Regional Park. Fourty enthusuastic neighbors helped to clean the creek. Because they feel so good about the effort, they are planning another…

  • West Nile Virus and Urban Creeks

    by Dave Tamayo, Trustee Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District West Nile Virus (WVN) has been in the news a lot recently, especially since it appeared in Southern California last year. It is almost certain to arrive in Sacramento this year. Since WNV is spread to humans by mosquitoes which breed in water, it helps…