Watershed stewardship in the Napa Valley is a long-term, citizen-based process with the goal of maintaining a healthy, sustainable natural resource system. An important tool for achieving this goal is educationăproviding watershed residents with the technical tools and information they need to make well-informed decisions about resource management. This voluntary approach encourages creative solutions that meet the needs of the watershed and its stakeholders, emphasizing ongoing preventative maintenance of watershed systems, rather than crisis management.

A strong ethic has long existed in the Napa Valley to conserve soil, water, open space, and the natural beauty of the landscape. In recent decades, we have learned more about the complexity of the watershed system, and the effects of two centuries of human habitation on aquatic and riparian resources, and uplands. The need for a holistic, integrated approach to management of the watershed system is clear. Various regulatory programs have successfully accomplished some of the goals of resource conservation, but standard regulatory programs cannot provide all of the solutions. With a regulatory focus on individual components of the river system, mandated solutions to one problem can conflict with solutions to other identified problems: wetland and riparian corridor protection plans sometimes conflict with flood control efforts and insect vector control, for instance. In the Napa Valley, residents have realized the need to be more creative to keep their soil in place, to ensure clear, clean water and a healthy watershed ecosystem. An interest-based approach to promote voluntary development and implementation of solutions has emerged.

The creation of the Napa River Owner's Manual - A Framework for Integrated Resource Management, has played an important role in fostering greater awareness of the watershed among stakeholders and in building the foundation for effective partnerships. Broad support for the process came from community representatives; federal, state and local government agency representatives; private citizens; and local citizen interest groups. The first edition of the manual, completed in December, 1994, articulates the goals, objectives and practices for integrated watershed management in the Napa River system. Education and communication is key, providing landowners with the tools they need to make choices about their unique situations, while remaining aware of the effects of their actions on the watershed system. An important result of the manual and its creation is the development of mutual understanding and respect for the variety of interests held by individual stakeholders, and the recognition of overarching goals and objectives that all could share. Equally important is the successful formation of strong partnerships to carry out the objectives of the manual.

The goals of the Owner's Manual are to:

Maintain a sustainable river ecosystem for the Napa River watershed, using a systems approach.
Increase water quality in the watershed, and
Increase water quantity available for beneficial use of watershed human, plant, and animal communities.

Objectives are:

Promote stream stabilization using natural processes.
Promote contiguous habitat.
Increase biological diversity.
Increase migratory and resident fish habitat.
Coordinate natural resource protection and planning efforts.
Encourage land stewardship.
Reduce soil erosion.
Promote sustainable land use concepts.
Promote and improve water management.

Many voluntary programs are now in place in response to the energy and commitment in the watershed. Several inventory and monitoring programs measure watershed processes up and down the valley. Currently, fifteen water quality stations are monitored by volunteers. Eight gaging stations measure the rise and fall of the stream during and after storms. The stream stage data, combined with velocity measurements and rainfall, all gathered by volunteers, provides critical information about discharge and runoff in the sub-watersheds and the Napa river, for flood warning and other uses. The Napa County RCD is operating a computer modelling program that compiles and extrapolates the data. Other volunteer efforts include wildlife and vegetation monitoring and mapping, stream profile and cross-section surveying, fish habitat surveying, and land permeability mapping in various watersheds throughout the valley.

Education is a key component in successful watershed stewardship efforts. High school and grade school students and their teachers are involved through the use of various watershed curricula, and local community colleges are active in monitoring. Several sub-watershed stewardship groups meet regularly for educational programs and to carry out monitoring and restoration activities, with the enthusiastic support of local agencies such as Fish and Game, the County Department of Public Works, the County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Numerous partnerships have formed to meet the needs and interests of the valley's stakeholders. The Napa River Flood Management Coalition is involved in a successful, ongoing partnership to develop and implement a flood management plan for the watershed. Grape growers and winemakers have organized the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group, to encourage agricultural practices that are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable.

In the Napa Valley a process is in place that promotes networking and creativity-- people working together to maintain a sustainable watershed ecosystem. It is a long-term process that will continue to evolve over time as we learn more about the functioning of the natural systems and the needs and interests of the watershed community.