Sonoma Ecology Center's Research Program is working on a strategic approach to reduce the amount of sediment in Sonoma Creek caused by streambed and bank erosion.  Using computer-based Geographic Information Systems, the Center is making sense of the best scientific information available through direct stream monitoring and measuring.

Samples taken from Sonoma Creek indicate sediment in stream water at concentrations above naturally occurring levels, negatively affecting steelhead spawning and rearing habitat. Creeks erode their channels rapidly in response to land use changes throughout the watershed. Changes that decrease the land’s ability to slow, spread, and sink precipitation into the ground surface bring an increase in speed and volume of storm runoff; consequently, less water moves slowly through the system for use by animal and human residents of the valley. Water that doesn’t just speed downstream has a chance to seep into the ground, recharging the aquifers that feed our creeks and wells during the summer.