Help the Volunteers

The Coalition to Protect Watershed Volunteers and California’s Prevailing Wages has been thrilled by the great response from community groups throughout the state to help support AB 2537. With your help, the bill passed out of the Labor and Employment Committee on a unanimous vote!

Now the bill is set for hearing before the Assembly Appropriations Committee on the morning of May 7. Your assistance is requested again to advise the Committee of the critical need for this legislation. We are requesting an amendment to the bill for an extension of five years instead of three of the volunteer worker authority, with the additional requirement for an objective report back to the Legislature. And if there are no verified conflicts reported, the volunteer provision should then be made permanent.

Our author of the bill, Assembly Member Furutani, is on the Appropriations Committee that is chaired by Mark Leno of San Francisco.

• Please call or fax Chairman Leno to help him understand why you support AB 2537 at (916) 319-2013, or fax at (916) 319-2113
• Please also call Appropriations Committee Consultant Geoff Long at (916) 319-2081 to advise him on why you support AB 2537.

Your continued support is going to help move this bill through the Legislature and to the Governor’s desk.

The May 2008 Watershed Highlight

Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council

Above: LASGRWC landscape workshop .Above: LASGRWC landscape workshop Above: Plant Profiler.

The May 2008 Watershed Highlight goes to the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council for the implementation of their exceedingly innovative Sustainable Landscape Programs.

Guided by a needs analysis and scoping meetings developed by partners in Watershed Council’s Landscape Ethic Committee, and with a funding commitment from the Department of Conservation’s Watershed Coordinator Grant Program, the LASG Watershed Council initiated educational solutions that address water-use-efficiency and ecosystem restoration needs of the Council’s diverse stakeholders. Here is a quick look at a couple of their highly educational programs.

Similar to efforts throughout the state, the Los Angeles River Master Plan and the San Gabriel River Master Plan promote the design, installation and maintenance of water efficient landscapes which include the use of drought tolerant and native plants. Drew Ready, the Council’s watershed coordinator, developed the PlantProfiler website - a searchable native plant information and image database. Each plant profile has ten attributes, four images, and a scale drawing. The database is searchable by multiple characteristics that ensure designers and architects find the right plant for the right place. The database will be updated in the coming year to include an additional 100 plants and species specific maintenance information.

To further contribute to landscape architects’ and project managers' familiarity with the nuances of designing and managing native landscapes, Drew programmed a biannual series of Sustainable Landscape Design Seminars, targeted at planners and landscape design, build and maintenance professionals. These one day seminars provide a comprehensive overview of successful sustainable landscape design and management practices. Topics included designing storm water runoff BMPs, California Friendly landscapes, using native plants for public space, invasive plant control, maintenance manual design, contract growing, water conservation/efficiency rebate programs, and sustainable landscape case studies. The first two years of the program included 160 participants.

With a renewed commitment from the Department of Conservation to fund Drew’s watershed coordinator role for the Los Angeles River, the Watershed Council is looking forward to many more successful sustainable landscape programs.

View more Watershed Highlights of the Month.