Those of us who live here on the North Coast of California have a lot of a lot or respect for the way our watersheds all fit together.

But the North Coast Eco-Logical Community is still not as well integrated as it could be. But that does not need to be a problem any longer.

We have had smaller groups. But now we do have the makings of a larger Watershed Restoration Council that could very easily create a way to unify all these smaller Watershed Groups into a working and protective whole Eco-Regional Council that can speak with one voice.

Unification means we won't have to keep reinventing the wheel every time a local problem shows up.

What has been finally achieved in one watershed, with one county or with one state or federal agency, will not always have to be done all over again, from the very beginning in another watershed just over the ridge that may have similar problems.

Disconnection is a very real problem and our good energy is often wasted reinventing the wheel over and over again. Integration is the solution.

Watershed Issues

The larger Watersheds like the Klamath and the Central Valley and the Bay Area with more size and or population of course have a lot more potential for becoming well organized than the smaller ones and with more power.

All the various watershed groups and different environmental organizations of every kind naturally tend towards a few very specific focus issues because of the limitations of time and resources. And as a result of that, a lot of things might be falling between the cracks and only the big things are getting worked on.

A New Coalition

Let's take a good look at the North Coast as a whole, and to begin the creation of a New Coalition of Watershed Groups who are willing to link up in mutual support, not just for their own local watersheds, that they may live in, but for the entire North Coast of California.

It starts out like an idea and then it becomes a reality.

Together we will be able to speak with a unified voice to protect our forests, our wildlife, our waters and our local economies. Things can be simplified to save and to restore our environments.

Restoration

What works in one place can be used some place else. New issues could be raised that might be of concern to all of us who live and will die here on the North Coast.

One Group that can speak with One Voice would be very helpful when confronting the powers that be.

I think it's time now to create what could be called the North Coast Watershed Restoration Council.

Things do have to be the right size and even the Trees know they have to be well rooted to be effective. We do have a close physical connection since we do live in the same neck of the woods which is dominated by the Beautiful Eel River Watershed Region.

The Vee Points

But what you might ask is a Watershed really all about? Watershed Regions are usually to be defined by the Vee points from which all the surrounding mountainous areas can be said to generally drain down past.

The Vee Point for any Watershed Region is the point generally along a river or a creek which defines an area of drainage that lies uphill and drains down to that point. One big secret is that you can pick any point you want to use to define a whole Watershed Region or even a very small part of a watershed region as being One Whole or One Part of a Whole.

Let's take the Mouth of Big River as just one example. That defines an entire Watershed Region where all the water flows down to the Ocean at that point. And there are 7 major rivers along the North Coast. But in between these points at the mouths of rivers are areas that would be left out if we didn't create the concept of the Vee Line.

A Vee Line is another way of defining an even larger EcoRegion like the North Coast Eco-Region which is defined as all that land which drains down into the Pacific Ocean along the coast line in between Bodega Bay and just south of the mouth of the Klamath River for instance which picks up not only all the larger river systems but even the very small ones along the coast which might otherwise be overlooked.

We can define our own particular parts of a larger Watershed as being for instance just the Middle Fork of the Eel River down to where it meets up with the Main Stem.

Or we can define it as being just below that point to include the main stem as well as the Middle Fork just by moving that Vee Point down below the Confluence of these two reasonably equal branches that makes up the what could be called the Upper Eel River.

We can see these as two separate branches on the same Tree or as One branch as defined by One Vee Point either just below the confluence.

Every point is a potential Vee Point as long as it is downhill from somewhere. Even a Tree way up on top of one of the highest ridges becomes a source of Water for itself when it Snags the Fog and makes it Drip down on the soil beneath its towering branches.

The same thing is true of people. We create and change our own habitat and affect each other in many ways.

We are all potential Vee Points who can become Integrated or remain separated. And so the one question that may come to mind at this point would be, What ties all these North Coast Watersheds together? The Pacific Ocean is just one answer.

I think one other answer might be just those very Trees that as I have said do grow right up on top of the ridges and the rainwater that falls from their branches drains down on both sides of the ridge.

In this way the entire North Coast Watershed Region is unified and made whole by living things who have a hand in creating their own living conditions by changing their own local environments and that of the Earth as a whole.

If we lose the Trees we will lose the Earth.

We now do know we are ready to speak and we do need one Voice with which to speak so I think it is time for the Creation of the North Coast Watershed Restoration Council to be formed.

The Eco-Logical Summit

To bring the Council together it would be good to have a Summit that could be called The North Coast Watershed Restoration Summit.

What happens at The Summit stays at The Summit where we will meet and decide by consensus what is important to all of us and what really matters here on the North Coast and what The Council should be and how it should work.

Collaboration

One way for it all to come together would be for an unofficial core group of committed people to come forward who will take on the job of organizing it and then to expect others to join in cooperatively.

But the Council will only really become what it needs to be beginning at The North Coast Summit when we make it what it is and not until because this needs to be something that everybody has a stake in and that we all had a hand in creating.

The Voice of the Community does need to be Integrated in face to face interaction so we will need people who can facilitate some of this.

Collaboration

If you have something to contribute towards these ends or something else entirely that you want to do at the Summit or something you want to work on with the cooperation of The Council, or whatever it is that you might want to say or do, please do join our Online Network below and introduce yourselves and your interests.

Save Bohemian Grove - Article in Vanity Fair.

Let us know what skills and resources you have to give and what is it that you need help with or want to learn more about. To join our group just send a blank email to the address below.

Those who want to make a small contribution can use the donation button below. Those who can recommend good videos or would like to collaborate with others to form watershed groups should join our email group or you can contact me at the address below towards a vision of an Earth Restored and a World at Peace. - T