About the  
Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed

The Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed group began in Nov. 2004.  It is open to any local resident. It currently includes about 30 people from Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen, Discovery Bay.  

It is a group of local people who 

• Care about Marsh Creek and its surrounding watershed

• Enjoy Learning about our watershed

• Get Involved in protecting and restoring the watershed

Issues and Concerns of the Group

Activities:

Creekside Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden

Involvement in Local Planning

Education

Stewardship and Creek Monitoring

Issues and Concerns of the Group:

• Restoring the Marsh Creek channel to a more natural state.
  • Encourage city planners and developers to work together to restore the creek corridor (where possible) and to create linear parks along the creek during the development process.
  • Effects of Urbanization on Watersheds
• Upcoming Developments Along Marsh Creek (or its tributaries)
• Maps of  Developments being planned
• Monitoring Water Quality
• Educating local residents about how their activities affect the watershed
• Supporting larger restoration projects such as:
• Installation of a fish ladder in Marsh Creek for spawning salmon
• The Dutch Slough Restoration Project (to restore 1100 acres of freshwater marsh at the mouth of Marsh Creek)  

Activities:

Involvement in Local Planning

The FOMCW group has attended local planning commission and Park Commission meeting to support the development projects that include creek corridor restoration as part of their plans. 

· We have met with two developers to encourage creek restoration as a part of their development.  

· We have formed a  working group with one prominent and innovative development company.

· We are working with Brentwood City Staff and other agencies to develop a workshop for Planning Commissioners and other City officials and staff to help them incorporate creek protection into the city planning process.

See list of Upcoming Developments along Marsh Creek (and its tributaries)

See Map of  Developments being planned

Creekside Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden

In spring of 2005, the Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed Group began a small project at the north end of Creekside Park, Brentwood.  The goal of this project is to

§ educate people about the value of native plants

§ showcase native plants that residents can plant in their own gardens

§ restore a small plot to native riparian habitat that will be beneficial for local birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

Weeds were cleared and covered with cardboard and mulch in preparation for restoring native plants.   We hope to begin planting in fall 2006 before the rain.

See the Planting Layout  and the Plant List

Education

• We host educational slide shows about Marsh Creek Wildlife and other watershed-related  topics
• We organize guided walks and hikes in Round Valley ,  Morgan Territory Preserve, and other areas led by naturalists, bird experts or biologists to introduce local people to the natural history of the Marsh  Creek Watershed.
• We organize bike rides, canoe trips and other outings to help people better appreciate or local natural area.

Stewardship and Creek Monitoring 

• Creek Clean-ups – We help organize community creek clean-ups.  Brentwood’s clean up is the 3^rd Saturday of September;  The Oakley creek clean-up is in late spring.
• Salmon Monitoring  - In fall we walk along the Marsh Creek trail to identify and count spawning salmon (downstream of Sunset Rd)
• Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Monitoring – In spring we participate in the county-wide program to sample insect life in the creek bottom.  Scientists who identify these insects can determine the general health of the ecosystem by what type of bugs they find in the creek mud.

• GPS Mapping of Marsh Creek.  In fall we participate in a county-wide program to map areas of erosion, invasive plant infestations, and also areas beneficial for fish or wildlife habitat.