Clear Lake Environmental Research Center(CLERC)
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CLERC News
The latest news from the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center

Fire Prevention Grant - Progress Report #5

7/16/2021

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by: CLERC Staff
CLERC is over a year into implementing the Lake County Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project - Phase 1 and we're finally starting to see some major progress. Below are some highlights from CLERC's most recently submitted progress report to CAL FIRE.

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Lady of the Lake: Concerned about cyanobacteria in Soda Bay

7/11/2021

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From Lake County News:
The new “Lady of the Lake” column is written by Angela De Palma-Dow, a scientist, certified limnologist and staffer at Lake County Water Resources (It should be noted, she’s writing these columns on her own time, not county time, and the views expressed are her own). Her goal is to answer questions from community members about Clear Lake. Email her at LadyoftheClearLake@gmail.com.
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Cyanobacteria bloom in Clearlake Oaks, July 2021 (photo by: Angela DePalma-Dow)
Dear Lady of the Lake,

We have a family property on the lake in Soda Bay and the water in the lake there is really gross, it’s weedy, it smells, and I have heard that the algae growing on the top is toxic? We have children and dogs. What is going on and what do we do?

— Concerned in Soda Bay
Dear Concerned,

Thank you for asking this question, I am glad you are paying attention to the lake and you are noticing that the conditions have changed...
Read more at Lake County News
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CLERC President Receives Stars of Lake County Environmental Award

5/3/2021

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The annual Stars of Lake County award ceremony was hosted by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce on May 1 at the Soper-Reese Theater in Lakeport.  This year, CLERC's President and Executive Director, Will Evans, was presented with the Environmental Award in recognition of the tremendous impact he's made towards enhancing and preserving the unique landscape surrounding Clear Lake. The award was sponsored by Adventist Health Clearlake and presented by David Santos, Adventist Health President.
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"Will Evans is a dynamic force for environmental protection and scientific study. As President of CLERC, he has facilitated the acquisition of a $1M grant from the State of California to assist in wildfire resistance and recovery. He has played a prominent role in the work to protect and restore the unique Clear Lake Hitch, an endangered native fish of Clear Lake, working on the prevention of the invasion of quagga mussels into the lake, and established an organization, CLERC, to carry out and increase the amount of scientific research being conducted on Clear Lake and using the research as a way to promote economic development for the local community.  

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USFS Discusses Northshore Restoration Project at Sierra Club Lake Group meeting

2/17/2021

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In case you missed it - Frank Aebly and Hinda Darner of the Upper Lake Ranger District of the Mendocino National Forest discuss the impacts from the 2018 Ranch Fire and the efforts to restore the landscape.
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Late afternoon in the Black Forest: Thoughts on nature and us

1/25/2021

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By: Laurel Bard, CivicSpark Fellow
​The sun was already setting behind Mt Konocti and the Black Forest was deep in shadow by the time I started the climb. There was no official trail, but someone had left hints: cairns stacked atop decomposing douglas fir logs, or balanced precariously on huge boulders; and, best of all, a sturdy branch carved on one end into the perfect walking stick. I have a habit of following social trails, but this one was particularly steep, and the rocky dirt under my feet meant that for every two steps I took, I slid back one. Whenever I was about to give up, turn back – surely only deer had gone farther than this, any person would have stopped by now – I would see another cairn, another sign that my determination wasn’t unique. I kept on.
​I was trying to reach something that I’d seen from the ground: a tall bluff of exposed rock on the side of Mt. Konocti, which juts out into the Black Forest like the figurehead of a ship. I have a condition called being a climber, and it means that when I see rock, I must touch it. And that was some big rock. The only trouble: as soon as I entered the Black Forest, that bluff disappeared. The trees stood so thick that when I looked behind me as I climbed, I couldn’t see Clear Lake, despite the severity of the slope and how close the Black Forest is to the lakeshore. Forget seeing above me to the bluff – I had no hope of that at all. I just had to imagine that whoever set the cairns was also interested in getting to where I was going.
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(Photo of the bluffs above the Black Forest courtesy of the Lake County Land Trust)

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CLERC Co-Founder discusses the creation of the California Society of Environmental Analysts (CSEA)

12/1/2020

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The Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC) is a nonprofit organization in northern CA with a mission to bring permanent science to Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake in CA and oldest lake in the Americas. 
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Carolyn Ruttan, co-founder of CLERC and the California Society of Environmental Analysts (CSEA)
​On our way to complete our mission we are creating an accredited environmental laboratory for wastewater and drinking water. After a short time, it became clear there was no forum for the professionals working in laboratories and so we formed the California Society of Environmental Analysts (CSEA).

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Check out the video of the presentation.
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CLERC Executive Director Provides Update at the Sierra Club Lake Group Community Meeting - November 19, 2020

11/24/2020

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Coming to Lake County:  North Bay Forest Improvement Program

10/28/2020

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CAL FIRE recently announced the winners of the Prop 68 Forestry Assistance Grant and the Rebuild North Bay Foundation was successful in securing $1.5M to develop a forest landowner assistance program in the four county area they serve (Lake, Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino).  The project is being implemented by CLERC in conjunction with the Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) in each county.  ​
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Ten percent of the project budget has been set aside to provide technical assistance to Disadvantaged Communities (DACs), of which Lake County has a significant portion of the total from the four-county project area.  Technical assistance will include completion of Cooperative Forest Management Plans for a selection of qualified landowners.  These plans will allow the landowners to apply for cost-share programs such as the California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).  More details will be available soon.  The project is scheduled to start in January 2021 and last for three years or until funds are exhausted.
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CivicSpark Fellow Starts with CLERC

9/15/2020

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The CivicSpark program is an Americorps program designed to help build capacity in local governments in an effort to increase resiliency in the face of climate change.  CLERC is sponsoring the Fellow for 1 year to help the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority and Lake County Resource Conservation District increase fire resilience capacity.  The Fellow and CLERC will be completing a GIS-based prioritization plan for fuel reduction projects, which will help streamline completion of projects listed in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
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​CLERC is Awarded $3M from CAL FIRE for Hazard Fuel Reduction, Planning, and Workforce Development

3/18/2020

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On March 11, 2020, CAL FIRE announced that it was awarding $3M to CLERC and a group of partners to complete the Lake County Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project Phase 1.  The project includes:
  • 190 acres of fuel break maintenance along the Mt. Konocti Interface Project
  • 85 acres of fuel reduction in BLM’s Black Forest on the north slope of Mt. Konocti
  • 504 acres of hazard tree removal along roads in the Mendocino National Forest
  • Planning and construction of the Scotts Valley Fuel Break, west of the City of Lakeport
  • Planning and construction of the Davis Fuel Break; east of the City of Clearlake
  • 20 acres of fuel reduction around the Seigler Mountain public safety communications site
  • Lot clearing on 200 high priority lots within residential subdivisions
  • Four years of funding for the South Lake Fire Safe Council chipping program
  • Ecological Restoration Workforce Development Program at New Paradigm College
  • Regional Prioritization Planning to assist with identifying and developing future projects
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Map of the Mt. Konocti Interface Fuel Break from the Fire Prevention Grant proposal. The grant includes funding for maintenance of the existing fuel break across private land and the Black Forest owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
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Clear Lake Environmental Research Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax identification number 47-1489147) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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© 2022 Clear Lake Environmental Research Center, PO Box 636 Lakeport, CA  95453
  • Who We Are
    • About CLERC
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • STAFF
    • Collaborators
  • What We Do
    • The CLERC Lab
    • Fire & Forestry >
      • Community Projects >
        • Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project - Phase 1
        • Wildfire Risk Reduction Project - Phase 1
        • Wildfire Resilience Project - Phase 1
        • Northshore Fuels Team
        • South Lake Chipping Program
        • Middletown and Cobb Evacuation Route Clearing
      • Cost-Share Programs >
        • North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP)
        • Building Fire Resiliency in California's Coast Range Forests and Grasslands
    • Hitch Observation Program
  • Resources
    • Current Conditions
    • Lab Forms
    • Wildfire Resiliency Resources
    • The CLERC Library
  • Connect
    • CLERC News
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us >
      • Landowner Contact Form
    • Donate