NONPROFIT GROUP, FRIENDS OF THE PETALUMA RIVER, PROMOTES APPRECIATION, PROTECTION

Published on May 12, 2006

© 2006- The Press Democrat

BYLINE: TOBIAS YOUNG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Petaluma River has a new advocate.

A fledgling nonprofit group called Friends of the Petaluma River has been launched to promote access, to educate people about the river and its marsh and to push for conservation.

“Getting people out here on the river is just as important as the conservation,” said David Yearsley , the executive director of the organization.

The Petaluma River, a 14-mile tidal slough, starts in the north Petaluma farmland and runs through town and 3,000 acres of marshland before flowing into San Pablo Bay.

Yearsley , a 62-year-old woodworker whose childhood river adventures in Delaware, Wisconsin and Texas led to his environmentalist role, knows the Petaluma River well.

He has been an advocate for the river and plied its marshes for more than a decade, including eight years as the sole member of the Petaluma Riverkeeper program.

Yearsley formed the Friends of the Petaluma River, which has a four-person board of directors. The organization got its nonprofit status last month.

Yearsley previously patrolled the river in his 15-foot, flat-bottomed aluminum skiff once a week as a volunteer for Riverkeeper, responding to citizen concerns, seeking compliance with environmental laws and working to resolve pollution problems.

After seven years, he got a small stipend to reward him for continuing his work, but left the post last year over ideological differences with the sponsor, San Francisco Baykeeper.

Baykeeper, an environmental watchdog organization, wanted more investigation and litigation in protection of the river. Yearsley said he favors an approach focused on education, conservation and appreciation of the river.

Baykeeper didn’t respond to telephone inquiries.

Yearsley returned to being a volunteer.

But he hopes his passion will eventually turn into a paid, full-time job as the organization grows into its conservation and education role, and as he shares the river and its marshland — the largest continuous unaltered tidal marsh in the state — with the public and scientists.

The group also wants to create a river heritage center to archive information, host events, administer programs and coordinate river-related activities.

He’s looking for volunteers and donations to kick-start the organization, and organized a sold-out, fund-raising, docent-led tour of the river tonight on a 50-foot yacht before stopping at Papa’s Taverna for dinner.

“The Petaluma River is often misunderstood,” he said. “I have heard it described as a dirty ditch with a disgusting smell. It is actually a highly functional tidal slough.”

He hopes to change the perception of the river.

It is working as a filter to clean the water, and the “nutrient soup” it produces in its marshlands is the foundation of the aquatic food chain, he said.

He looks at a run-down marina and envisions a paddle-in youth hostel and education center. He wants to restore run-down cabins in the marshland into overnight destinations for scientific research and conservation.

Yearsley said another goal of the organization is to reduce or prevent pollution and other harmful impacts on the river and its wetlands. He opposes the proposed expansion of the Redwood Landfill, which sits on the banks of San Antonio Creek, a tributary of the Petaluma River.

He has the backing of his board, which consists of Grant Davis, Andrew Packard, John Shribbs and Elizabeth Howland, all Petaluma residents.

Davis is executive director of The Bay Institute, a nonprofit organization that seeks to protect and restore the ecosystems of San Francisco Bay and the rivers, streams and watersheds of the region.

Packard manages a public interest environmental law firm in San Francisco, which files citizen suits under the Clean Water Act.

Shribbs is a horticulturist with patents in herbicide chemistry and teaches high school science in Petaluma.

Howland, who is married to Yearsley , is an owner of andHow, a marketing organization based in Petaluma and cofounder of the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance.

You can reach Staff Writer Tobias Young at 762-9498 or tyoung@pressdemocrat.com.

Infobox: MAKING FRIENDS

Who are they? The Friends of the Petaluma River is a nonprofit group that works for the education and conservation of the Petaluma River, its wetlands and wildlife.

What do they do? The organization seeks to create a river heritage center to archive information and host events, as well as reduce or prevent pollution and other harmful impacts on the river and its wetlands.

No Comments »

DOLPHIN CHARTERS OFFERS TRIPS FULL OF HISTORY, WILDLIFE ALONG THE PETALUMA RIVER

Published on May 5, 2006

© 2006- The Press Democrat

BYLINE: JANET PARMER
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

PAGE: P3

Like many motorists, Mary and Dodd Thorpe of Fiddletown whiz through Petaluma en route to other destinations in Sonoma County.

But the Sierra foothills couple passed through town recently at the leisurely pace of about 8 knots — or 9 mph — on a custom-outfitted trawler motoring up the Petaluma River.

The Thorpes were part of an Elderhostel trip organized by Ronn Patterson, a naturalist and seaman who has traveled by boat to Petaluma for 25 years.

His Dolphin Charters trip originated at the Berkeley marina, with the Petaluma River Turning Basin as the destination.

The group debarked for an hourlong stroll to downtown shops and restaurants before heading back down the river.

Patterson’s company runs trips up the Petaluma River, in the San Francisco Bay and the Delta.

He also leads marine-based adventures in Alaska, British Columbia and the Galapagos Islands.

“I came to the Bay Area in 1949 and I’ve learned more in the last two days about the area. You get a different point of view from the water,” said Dodd Thorpe, who spent one day with Patterson on the Petaluma River and one on the San Francisco Bay.

Dolphin Charters offers three-hour Petaluma River tours originating in the Turning Basin, and Patterson hopes to entice residents who don’t have access to the waterway with their own boats.

“I’m passionately interested in people’s awareness of the environment, our home. So often people say, `What’s it good for?”’ said Patterson, taking a break on Delphinus at the Turning Basin dock.

“We come up the river and go very slow and look around. At low tide, it’s like a dinner bell being rung here. You see creatures in the mud.”

The Delphinus is a 50-foot vessel made of cedar and mahogany with a capacity of 32 passengers. The boat is outfitted for tours with seating areas outside and inside the cabin.

It also has a second-story outside deck affording a broad panorama for viewing the sites along the shoreline.

David Yearsley, who has led numerous river trips in his former capacity as Petaluma Riverkeeper, joined the Elderhostel group for part of their journey in March.

“You get a unique perspective from the boat. The second deck allows you to see behind the levees and appreciate the wetlands. It’s a wonderful viewing platform,” said Yearsley, who recently launched Friends of the Petaluma River.

“Ronn is one of the finest naturalists I’ve met. He knows a lot about birds and animal habitat,” Yearsley said.

Patterson’s Petaluma tours for the spring are sold out. Before returning in the fall, he will take the Delphinus to Alaska for weeklong wildlife, scenery and photography journeys.

While the highlights of the Petaluma River are more subtle than the Pacific Northwest’s bounty of bears, glaciers and snowcapped peaks, Patterson is enthusiastic about the virtues — and importance — of southern Sonoma County’s tidal slough.

On the round-trip excursions departing downtown Petaluma, he narrates the river’s history, talking about its economic role transporting goods produced in the area in the late 1800s.

He talks about animals and birds spotted along the riverbanks, and describes plant life in the area.

Although the mudflats along the river’s edge may not be scenic jewels, Patterson views them as critical in the food chain. During past tours , he’s glimpsed deer, river otters, seals and sea lions.

Patterson, a wildlife biologist, naturalist and photographer, acquired his knowledge of the Petaluma River from experience and reading historical accounts from the Petaluma Yacht Club, books about Petaluma and information provided by the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce.

Patterson spent 16 years as chairman of the UC Extension math and science departments, and started the natural environmental studies and photography programs.

He retired to Alaska, where he served as a member of the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission.

As the Delphinus captain, he puts about 10,000 miles a year on his boat. In October, he’ll return to the Bay Area and resume his winter schedule of short excursions in the San Pablo and Suisun bays, the Delta and Petaluma River.

With the May trips sold out, the next Petaluma tours will be in October and November.

For more information or to sign up, call (510) 527-9622 or e-mail trips@dolphincharters.com.

You can reach Correspondent Janet Parmer at 782-9130 or jhparmer@comcast.net.

Dolphin Charters offers trips up and down the Petaluma River. Clients aboard the Delphinus on April 8 get a close-up look at riverside industries. Spring tours are sold out. The next tours will be in October and November.

No Comments »