Blog Posts - Clear Lake Environmental Research Center(CLERC)

CivicSpark Fellow Starts with CLERC

9/15/2020

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.

CLERC is Awarded $3M from CAL FIRE for Hazard Fuel Reduction, Planning, and Workforce Development

3/18/2020

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

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).

CLERC Lab Receives State Accreditation - February 28, 2020

2/28/2020

After nearly 18 months of planning and preparation, on February 28, 2020, the CLERC analytical lab received accreditation from the State of California Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP). The CLERC lab is authorized to provide microbiological testing of drinking water and wastewater and report these results to the state for regulatory compliance purposes. Prior to the CLERC lab, there was no accredited laboratory in Lake County, so all water samples had to be sent to labs in other parts of the state. The CLERC Lab is located at Kits Corner in Kelseyville. If you’re interested in having water tested at the CLERC Lab, please contact the Lab Manager.

Contact Lab Manager

CLERC Staff Participate in UC Cooperative Extension Forest Stewardship Workshop

2/1/2020

In January 2020, CLERC’s Executive Director and Senior Program Manager both participated in the Forest Stewardship Workshop in Ukiah sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension. The purpose of the workshop is to facilitate the development of Forest Management Plans (FMP’s), an essential tool for planning and securing funding for fuel reduction projects on private forest land. The workshop series is funded through a CAL FIRE grant and CLERC is hoping to develop a future workshop series focused on Lake County landowners.

CLERC Executive Director, Will Evans, discusses forest management with Tim Bailey from Humboldt RCD / Watershed Research and Training Center.

CLERC Submits Community-Wide Grant Proposals to CAL FIRE Totaling Over $8 Million

12/20/2019

During the first week of December 2019, CLERC submitted several large funding requests to CAL FIRE for community-wide forest health and fire resiliency projects. The proposals represent the culmination of nearly six months of planning and coordination among multiple partners in and around Lake County including the US Forest Service (USFS), US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria, New Paradigm College, South Lake Fire Safe Council, UC Davis, Climate Action Reserve, CAL FIRE, Omni BioEnergy, LLC., Dogwood Springs Forestry, Pepperwood Preserve, and 45+ private landowners. A portion of the proposal development costs were funded through the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFC).

Portion of the watershed near Saratoga Springs Resort in Upper Lake.

Fire & Forestry Project Map

CLERC is moving in...

10/1/2019

During the first week of September 2019, the CLERC Board of Directors approved a lease for lab space located at Kits Corner in Kelseyville. CLERC has raised the necessary funds to purchase an initial set of lab equipment and apply for state accreditation. Once accreditation is obtained, CLERC will be able to offer lab services to local water agencies.

CLERC has a Certified Lab Analyst

5/10/2019

After many months of study, on May 1, 2019 one of the CLERC Board members, Carolyn Ruttan, passed the lab analyst exam and is now a certified lab analyst. This provides the necessary training and expertise required to open an accredited analytical lab.

The Konocti Project

3/31/2019

Mt. Konocti, Lake County's ancient towering volcano is the subject of legends. Pomo oral history describes a huge tunnel at the base of Mt. Konocti that was exposed during times of drought. Pomo explorers found a huge cave and lake inside, filled with blind fish. In the late 1800s and the 20th century, numerous stories have been recorded of a large venthole and caves on the peak of Konocti. Residents described dropping rocks down the vent and not hearing them reach bottom. Others carved initials on sticks and dropped them into the hole, to find them floating in the lake weeks later.

The Konocti Project, Inc., a non profit organization devoted to the “preservation, exploration and protection of Mt. Konocti” was created in the 1990's by Bob Zalusky, a World War II Flying Tigers veteran and ex-airline pilot in conjunction with Norman J. Lehrman, chief geologist for Homestake Mining Co.
The group believed the center of the mountain contained a huge cavern; one or more vent holes extended from the top of the mountain down into the center. Another tube extended from the cavern into the lake, allowing water from Clear Lake to flow in and create an interior lake.
The Konocti Project group assembled a crew of interested scientists and residents, to search for the location of the cave near Wright’s Peak. CLERC has obtained a film produced by The Konocti Project group that summarizes the findings from their search, which lasted from 1990-1999. The film is roughly 50 minutes long.

The CLERC Library

2/20/2019

The Clear Lake Environmental Research Center's online library is up and running! We're trying to gather as much information about Clear Lake as possible. Please consider uploading files if you have anything you'd like to contribute. This includes any interesting photos or videos. Expect to see lots of changes to the library over the next few months as more materials are added and things get a little more organized.

Go to the CLERC library

Hitch Observation Results Map

1/30/2019

Results from hitch observation program are now available online via web map. The map is updated in near real-time.

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