Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who came out on Sunday to help spread the straw and bark on the riparian habitat along Rock Creek. The owner of the property, that burned in the 49 fire on Aug. 30, said it would have taken him weeks to do what the volunteers did in just one morning.

Chuck Parcher , Al Albertazzi and several other 49er Lions brought a hard working crew including several young men who really got on it early and helped get the spreading done by noon. Other groups sending volunteers were the Lincoln Hills fishing club, and the Auburn Area Democratic Club. On their day off, eleven California Conservation Corp members from the Placer Center in Christian Valley came to volunteer for the afternoon shift but the lion’s share of the work, no pun intended, was already done. Antoinette one of the organizers of the Auburn Big Time Pow-Wow coming up on Oct. 17 at the Auburn Fairgrounds, took time out to come and help. Find out more at www.campaignforcommunitywellness.org www.campaignforcommunitywellness.org

Chris White has been volunteering his personal time to lend his expertise to numerous water shed protection projects in Placer County recently, and he was on hand Sunday to help guide us. Chris is with Auburn office of Balance Hydrologics an environmental consulting company.

The afternoon shift was Placer County’s fifth district County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery and her fire fighter/paramedic husband Dan. They drove in from Serene Lakes on Donner Summit and installed 50 feet of straw waddles the right way. I say the “right way” because as you drive by many of the fire-damaged properties in North Auburn you see tubes of straw staked to hillsides. These straw waddle installations will not help stop sediment from moving into our streams because they have not been installed correctly or in the right locations.

Property owners who would like free advice on how to protect the topsoil on their fire damaged property can contact Mark White at the Placer County Resource Conservation District in Auburn. Mark will make a site visit and recommend how you can best protect your property from the coming rains to the greatest effect and for the least amount of money. Call him at 530-885-3046 ext 117 and he will be glad to help.

The next volunteer effort that Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead (SARSAS) is asking volunteers to help out with is on Saturday Nov. 14 along Auburn Ravine in the Lincoln area. If you would like information about this effort you can sign up for SARSAS email newsletters at our website www.sarsas.org or call Scott Johnson at 530-878-1566.

Last but not least a big thank you to Greg at Echo Valley Farm Supply and Tom at Don Robinson Sand and Gravel. They responded to the call with a discount price and rapid delivery. Thanks very much. The Auburn Journal helped get the word out on short notice so thanks to the Journal.

Placer County Water Agency district 3 Director Lowell Jarvis was on hand making use of the training he received at a CA Water Board workshop on Wetland restoration. Thanks very much to Lowell for volunteering to protect our watershed