The Mill Valley StreamKeepers is one of many Bay Area organizations striving to research, protect and improve our watersheds.
The Leaf Pack Network® is an international network of teachers, students, and citizen monitors investigating their local stream ecosystems. Following instructions in the Leaf Pack Network Manual, monitors use tree leaves and aquatic insects to determine the health of their stream and understand its ecology.
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Klamath Resource Information System:
www.krisweb.com: Scientific studies and bibliography about Mill Valley’s streams (see East Marin-Sonoma, Arroyo Corte Madera) are posted in graphic and chart information with full sourcing.
Works to protect and restore the ecosystems of San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the rivers, streams and watersheds tributary to the estuary.
The departments, commissions and boards that make up the city, plus information on service, issues and ordinances.
A group of community activists from a variety of local organizations.
Dedicated to preserving our environment through education, the EFM provides an intensive training program and public educational services that increase understanding of ecology, environmental issues and the planning process.
Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed:
North of Mill Valley is a large watershed stretching from Fairfax to San Quentin. This is nonprofit volunteer organization.
Aims to inspire individuals to live more sustainably and to voice their concerns about the destruction of our environment.
Marin Agricultural Land Trust:
Preserves farmland in Marin County through conservation easements, public education (including hikes and tours of farms, ranches and gardens) and advocacy.
Works to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program :
MCSTOPPP strives to prevent stormwater pollution, protect and enhance water quality in creeks and wetlands and preserve beneficial uses of local waterways.
One Tam: a collaborative effort to promote the long term health of Mt. Tamalpais especially through volunteer work.
San Francisco Estuary Institute: An excellent resource for information on Bay Area Riparian and wetland ecosystems, this site contains useful protocols for stream surveys as well as access to Bay monitoring reports.
Save the Bay: Seeks to preserve, restore and protect the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Estuary as a healthy and biologically diverse ecosystem essential to the well-being of the human and natural communities it sustains.
SPAWN: The Salmon Protection And Watershed Network works to protect endangered salmon in the Lagunitas Watershed, and the environment on which we all depend.
STRAW: Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed is a watershed education program of Point Blue. STRAW provides teachers and students with the scientific, educational and technical resources to prepare them for hands-on, outdoor watershed studies, including ecological restoration of riparian and wetland habitats.
The County of Marin provides stream gage data. Under “Select View,” click on “All Sites.” Under “Select site,” click on “Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio.” Then click on “graph” to see a plot of the current river stage. The gage is located along the creek near the Marin Theater Company, just above the extent of tidal influence.
An EPA-sponsored site that links watersheds across the 50 states and Puerto Rico, and allows access to maps and information in many geographical regions in the country.
By the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, this web site is for people interested in issues surrounding San Francisco Bay and the organizations working on restoration efforts.
Recommended Native Riparian Plants for the Corte Madera Creek Watershed The following plants are native to eastern Marin, and when planted in appropriate locations, should thrive without any maintenance after the first couple of years of periodic watering and weed control. In addition to salinity and shade considerations, some plants require moister soil than others, so should be located lower on the creek bank. Heavy soil can be fatal to some plants. Native plants have their own beauty, help to stabilize creek banks, and will attract birds and butterflies to your area. When ordering plants from a nursery, be sure to use the scientific names in addition to the common names. It may be hard to find suppliers for some of these plants. In each group below, the list begins with larger species and progresses to smaller ones. TIDAL WATERWAYS: At high water level: Atriplex lentiformis, gumplant (Grindelia stricta), Marsh rosemary (Limonium californicum), alkali heath (Frankenia salina), perennial pickleweed (Salicornia virginica), fat hen (Atriplex triangularis), Jaumea (Jaumea carnosa), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata). On levee slope: coast live-oak (Quercus agrifolia), valley oak (Quercus lobata), arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), coyote-brush, (Baccharis pilularis, upright form), California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), western goldenrod (Euthamia occidentalis), saltmarsh mulefat (Baccharis douglasii). On adjacent filled marshland: buckeye (Aesculus californica), blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), in addition to those listed for levees. FRESHWATER CREEKS: Shade: giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata), lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), sword fern (Polystichum munitum), whiteroot sedge (Carex barbarae), vanilla grass (Hierochloe occidentalis), redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), redwood violet (Viola sempervirens), wild ginger (Asarum caudatum), and wake-robin (Trillium ovatum). Note: coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and California bay (Umbellularia californica) are relatively fast-growing trees native to this area, and may be planted in the shade. When mature, they can create deep shade which tends to limit understory plantings to those listed in this group. Semi-shade: valley oak (Quercus lobata), coast live-oak (Quercus agrifolia), Oregon oak (Quercus garryana), white alder (Alnus rhombifolia), black oak (Quercus kelloggii), Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), box elder (Acer negundo californica), buckeye (Aesculus californica), blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis), rose-bay (Rhododendron macrophyllum), western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale), coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica), hazel (Corylus cornuta californica), creek dogwood (Cornus sericea occidentalis), twinberry (Lonicera involucrata), ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus), flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), California gooseberry ( Ribes californica), oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), wood rose (Rosa gymnocarpa), California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), and California pipevine (Aristolochia californica), reed grass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis), rush (Juncus patens, Juncus effusus), in addition to those listed for shade. Spice bush (Calycanthus occidentalis) is an attractive additional shrub, native to Napa, but not to Marin. Relatively open areas: yellow willow (Salix lucida lasiandra), red willow (Salix laevigata), gray willow (Salix exigua), arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), creambush (Holodiscus discolor), California rose (Rosa californica), and honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula), California fescue (Festuca californica), in addition to those listed for semi-shade. Nurseries selling native plants in Mill Valley: CNL/Proof Lab Native Plants, 254 Shoreline Hwy Green Jeans Plants in Strawberry/Mill Valley