DriWater used for Audobon Dry Creek Woodland Project

DriWater used to help establish Plants at Audobon BobCat Ranch

Alex Palmerlee, Ranch Manager, Audubon California Bobcat Ranch in Winters, CA used DriWater for native plant establishment on Audubon California’s Dry Creek Oak Woodland Corridor Project. This project, funded through the Wildlife Conservation Board, continues substantial work by Audubon-California and their partners in the greater Putah-Cache Creek Watershed. Since 1999, Audubon has worked with local landowners to implement habitat restoration projects on farms and ranches throughout the region. The goal of these efforts is to achieve multiple resource management and wildlife conservation benefits that are compatible with farm and rangeland practices. Through these programs, Audubon has restored native perennial grasslands, wetlands and riparian habitat, revegetated canal banks, and built wildlife habitat ponds on working farms and ranches. These projects have become models of private land stewardship.

Together with their partners, Audubon is restoring over 5.6 miles of riparian and oak woodland habitat and associated species in the Dry Creek Watershed. Building on previously forged relationships between local landowners, conservation groups, and conservation agencies, the project melds riparian habitat and oak woodland restoration compatible with economically viable agriculture through proven and practical changes in the management of the oak woodlands and riparian areas. DriWater was used to effectively establish native oaks and shrubs, where irrigation was not available on the east side of Dry Creek in the Audubon Bobcat Ranch. Alex Palmerlee, Ranch Manager noted that since irrigation was not available on many sections of Dry Creek, DriWater was the most cost effective method for establishing native plants and contributed to the success of the riparian restoration and oak woodland  areas within Bobcat Ranch. DriWater Tube & Gel Pacs were installed at time of initial planting in January 2010 and replaced every month during the dry season. The results of the project’s success will be documented by  Audubon California at the end of 2010 and an update will be forthcoming in the Spring of 2011.