CLERC News
CLERC Co-Founder discusses the creation of the California Society of Environmental Analysts (CSEA)
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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. 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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CLERC Executive Director Provides Update at the Sierra Club Lake Group Community Meeting - November 19, 2020
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Coming to Lake County: North Bay Forest Improvement Program
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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
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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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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:
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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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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.
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CLERC Staff Participate in UC Cooperative Extension Forest Stewardship Workshop
CLERC Executive Director, Will Evans, discusses forest management with Tim Bailey from Humboldt RCD / Watershed Research and Training Center.
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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.
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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).
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Portion of the watershed near Saratoga Springs Resort in Upper Lake.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Results from hitch observation program are now available.
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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.
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The CLERC Library
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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.
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Blue Ribbon Committee Holds Tour of Middle Creek Watershed - December 20, 2018
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As part of the second meeting of the Blue Ribbon Committee, an employee with the California Department of Water Resources discusses upgrades being made to an existing stream gauge to collect water quality information.
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Clear Lake Hitch - Fish Observation Reports
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CLERC and the Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch are working together to coordinate volunteer fish observation reporting. This information is used to assess population numbers and spawning patterns, which can later be used to guide preservation efforts.
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CLERC Membership Program - Now Sign Up Online
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Annual CLERC membership can now be renewed online, reducing the need for paper forms.
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Research Vessel Now at Clear Lake - October 25, 2018
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This research vessel from UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) is at Clear Lake collecting information about the topography of the lake's bottom, also known as bathymetry.
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CLERC Analytical & Research Lab: Planning in the Works
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CLERC is working to construct an accredited, environmental laboratory on the shores of Clear Lake. The lab is a multi-benefit project that addresses several of Clear Lake’s immediate and long term water quality challenges.
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