Celebration of the Zinfandel Bridge
On Friday, November 18, the new Zinfandel Bridge Fish Passage Project was celebrated with an official ribbon cutting. The project is an important milestone for the health of the Napa River. FONR has supported this project throughout.
Quoted from the Rutherford Dust Society:
Welcome Home Salmon and Steelhead!
Napa County celebrated the completion of the Zinfandel Lane Fish Passage Project at the upstream end of the Rutherford Reach on November 18, 2011 to great fanfare. In the last few decades erosion downstream of the historic stone arch bridge had made a severe partial barrier to fish migration. Once again adult Salmon and steelhead trout returning to the Napa River to spawn will have unimpeded access to 65 miles of historic fish habitat in the upper watershed, and juvenile fish will be able to swim downstream through to the ocean. Thanks to funding from the Coastal Conservancy and the Napa Valley community through the Measure A watershed improvement funds, and the work of Napa County; the Napa Resource Conservation District; Winzler & Kelly; Michael Love & Associates; Blackburn Geotechnical, and W.R. Forde for their work in restoring this important gateway to the Upper Napa River watershed.
For more on this project visit: The Rutherford Dust Society
To see more photos of the celebration, visit FONR on Facebook
Coastal Cleanup, 2011
Volunteers are needed for the 2011 Coastal Cleanup. Organized by the Napa Resource Conservation District, the public can help pick up trash along the banks of the Napa River. A great family and group activity!
Saturday, September 17
Kayak NV cleans up!
Click here to contact the Napa RCD for locations and details.
FONR Participates in Congressman Mike Thompson’s Napa Event
Serving the people: Jill Techel, Mike Thompson, Diane Dillon, Bruce Ketron, Leon Garcia, Peter Mott, Gary Lieberstein, Mark van Gorder, (in back:) Brad Wagenknecht, (right:) Mike Grgich, Barry Christian
Friends of the Napa River participated in Mike Thompson’s Annual Pasta Dinner at The Ranch Winery, 105 Zinfandel Lane, in St. Helena on Saturday, August 13th. Mike shared his take on the redistricting that left him, fortunately for him and all of us, “in charge of Napa County.” As participants, we had a chance to talk to Mike about our priorities, e.g. completion of the flood control project, the river restoration, and the watershed in-school education. We received the following message:
“Thank you all so very much for participating in Mike Thompson’s Napa Event. The work you and your organizations do to promote sustainable living is admirable.
Best wishes,
Bonnie
Assistant Events Coordinator
Mike Thompson for U.S. Congress
Ph: 707-944-0799
Fax: 707-944-9626
No Napa River Festival with the Symphony in 2011
You will have noticed, due to lack of promotions, invitations to volunteer or to donate, that there will be no River Festival in 2011. From a report in the Napa Valley Register (April 23, 2011):
“Friends of the Napa River is canceling this year’s Napa River Festival on Labor Day weekend, citing a shortage of donations.
“It’s a sad decision that we had to come to and it’s mostly related to the financial situation,” said Bernhard Krevet, president of Friends of the Napa River.
The festival comes with a price tag of about $80,000 for lighting, sound and fees to the Napa Valley Symphony, the featured performers, Krevet said.
In the past, donations from corporate and individual sponsors yielded enough to cover the event’s costs, Krevet said. Today’s difficult economic times have made it harder to get financial support, he added.
Because some pledged funds from cash-strapped sponsors never materialized, Friends of the Napa River would be about $10,000 in the red if it forged ahead with this year’s festival, he said.
The free Labor Day festival has an approximately 20-year history, organized by Friends of the Napa River. Last year’s event drew an estimated crowd of more than 6,000 to downtown, according to organizers.
This will be the fourth time that the festival has skipped a year. Third Street bridge construction put the brakes on the 2001 festival. Flood control work in and around Veterans Memorial Park foiled the 2006 and 2007 events.
If money can be found, Krevet said the festival will return in 2012.
Moira Johnston Block, a founding member of Friends of the Napa River who serves on the group’s advisory board, said she is “terribly sad” about this year’s cancellation. But she remains enthusiastic about the organization’s overall mission.
She calls the festival “the crown jewel of the revitalizing riverfront.”
“We’re a modest volunteer nonprofit group that works very hard, and never with enough funding, but I think that’s so true of many (organizations) like ours,” she said. “During this recession, it’s harder and harder for our non-professional staff and our volunteers who devote themselves to fundraising.”
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