SPAWN Nursery: The Power of Community Over 20 Years of Propagating Native Plants

Nursery Volunteer Crew at Propagation Bench, December 2022

By Audrey Fusco, Nursery Manager and Restoration Ecologist, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network The SPAWN restoration nursery, seaturtles.org/nursery, grew out of the desire to restore creek habitat for coho salmon by utilizing local genetic stock of native plants that were not available in any nursery. Beginning as a volunteer effort, we sought experts to mentor…

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Add Butterflies to Your Garden!

Field Crescent (Phyciodes pulchella) Photo by Scott Loarie, by way of Wikimedia Commons

Restoring Habitat for Pollinators Benefits Salmon and Other Wildlife By Audrey Fusco, Restoration Ecologist for the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network Along with plants, insects form the base of the food web and the bulk of the diet for fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Plants and insects have co-evolved. Native insects require a diverse set of…

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Endangered Coho Salmon Finally Secure Habitat Protection in Marin County, CA

Youth activist testifies at Marin County Supervisors hearing on SCA ordinance.

Two Decades, Multiple Lawsuits, and Creative Grassroots Persistence Was the Key to Success By Todd Steiner, Salmon Protection And Watershed Network Forest Knolls, CA—This is a story that begs to begin with the proverbial “once upon a time,” as it has all the classic elements of a captivating, decades-long tale. The endangered coho salmon is…

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Salmon Habitat Restoration Projects Enhance Habitat for Pollinators

Salmon Protection and Watershed Network By Audrey Fusco, Restoration Ecologist at SPAWN The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) focuses on protecting and improving habitat for central coast coho salmon and the forests and watersheds they need to survive in the Lagunitas creek watershed of Marin County, CA. We have restored more than 15 acres…

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From Roy’s Dam to Roy’s Riffles: Removing the Top-Priority Barrier for Central California Coho Salmon

SPAWN crew and volunteers celebrate the installation of a new pedestrian bridge over the more stable, complex creek. all photos this article by SPAWN, unless noted

By Rebekah Staub and Todd Steiner, Salmon Protection And Watershed Network A free-flowing creek replaced a nearly 100-year-old dam in Central California this past year, thanks to a decades-long restoration effort that is intimately tied to the genesis of the Marin County-based Salmon Protection And Watershed Network, or SPAWN. In December 1996, Todd Steiner stopped…

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Turtle Island Restoration Network Purchases 4-Acre Property on San Geronimo Creek for Salmon Protection

A portion of San Geronimo Creek purchased for protection and restoration by SPAWN. photo by SPAWNusa.org

By Todd Steiner, Salmon Protection And Watershed Network Turtle Island Restoration Network recently acquired a four-acre property on the most important un-dammed headwater tributary of Lagunitas Creek, which hosts the largest spawning population of critically endangered Central California Coast coho salmon. The purchase will allow the Marin County organization to promote the long-term survival of…

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Ocean-Going Coho End Season Strong

SPAWN monitors coho salmon smolts in San Geronimo Creek. Photo by SPAWN

By Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) This year’s coho salmon smolt season in Marin County’s San Geronimo Creek marked a significant year for the endangered species! After installing a fyke net trap on San Geronimo Creek—the largest free-flowing tributary to Lagunitas Creek—and monitoring coho migration for seven weeks in mid-April, the Salmon Protection And…

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SPAWN to Remove Central California’s Top-Priority Fish Barrier This Summer

Salmon Protection And Watershed Network The Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) will manage another large-scale restoration project on the former San Geronimo golf course this summer to remove the highest-priority fish passage obstacle in central California, which currently limits the migration of endangered Coho Salmon and threatened Steelhead Trout and creates poor habitat conditions.…

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Lagunitas Creek Floodplain & Riparian Restoration Project Transforms Second Marin Ghost Town into Coho Salmon Habitat

Salmon Protection And Watershed Network This October, the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network, or SPAWN, completed the second phase of our floodplain and riparian restoration project at the ghost town of Jewell, in Northern California. Our work recreating floodplain wetlands along Lagunitas Creek will help recover key populations of endangered Central California Coast coho salmon.…

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