We love our volunteers! Pictured is Bob, hand-seeding California native forbs along the North Fork trail, mowing the Camp Putah site, and getting trained on excavator operations.

Spring is in the air! The Reserve staff uses cattle grazing to manage some areas of the Reserve in lieu of mechanical mowing and/or herbicide spraying to control invasive noxious grasses and broadleaf weeds. This picture is from the old channel of Putah Creek, West of Hwy 113, where the land was seeded with California native grasses. Happy cows!

Poppies are coming up! Near Camp Putah along Levee Rd...

Lots going on on the Reserve today! UCD cross country meet; fish sampling for species and measurements; See Putah Creek students planting along the levee; lots of visitors looking at birds or trying to spot salmon!

The Putah Creek Reserve is also home of the UCD cross country team. Here are a couple of pictures from their first meet of the year.

After years of discussions and permitting with the State Water Resources Control Board, we were finally able to redirect water into the original fork of Putah Creek this year, on the now isolated "North Fork" of the Reserve, recharging groundwater and greatly expending our wildlife ecosystem. Next we will control the invasive plants, line the channel with native plants like juncus, carex, willows and more that used to thrive there before intensive land alteration. The site already has a healthy population of oak trees.

Making lots of progress towards native revegetation... Couldn't do it without the help of our interns.

The shaded picnic tables at Brooks and Levee Rd provide a nice place for a lunch or a break while hiking the trail along the Reserve. Also the picnic grounds on Levee rd that has drinking water. Sadly we have been hit pretty hard by vandalism, trash dumping and littering, and graffiti. Help us by reporting any illegal activities you witness by calling UC Police at 752.1230. If you feel like it, and want to help us preserve this area for everyone's enjoyment, pack a little bag and pick up trash when you see it. There is a large trash container at Levee rd and Hopkins rd. Contact us if you would like to volunteer with the Reserve, on an ongoing basis or for specific projects.

Invasive plant removal work underway, now with the Putah Creek volunteers. Species is Australian Pine: Casuarina species. Once removed, the slope will be seeded with native grasses and trees and shrubs will be added. In this area we will also work on creek bank stabilization and trail improvement. You can see our progress on the way to the swimming hole and "the beach".

Invasive plants removal. All hands on deck!

Hard working summer interns going down the creek pruning vegetation back so members of the public can safely paddle down the creek...

Today's pic: restoration area after Levee road realignment near Camp Putah...