Colusa Almond Project

Best Management Practices Manual

The Colusa Almond Project team has created the "Best Management Practices for Colusa County Almond Growers" Manual. This handy publication outlines each of the BMPs that were implimented through the Colusa Almond Project with descriptions and photographs. Hard copies will be mailed out to appoximately 300 almond growers in April, 2011. Additional copies will be available at no charge in the Colusa County Resource Conservation District office in late-April. For more information about the Colusa Almond Project, please see the Project Overview and Updates below.

click here to download a pdf copy of the Manual

Project Updates

March 31, 2011 - project end date

Project Overview

The Colusa County Resource Conservation District (CCRCD) - in conjunction with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Audubon California's Landowner Stewardship program - is currently working with local almond growers on a demonstration project to reduce sediment and pesticides in runoff from their almond orchards. This project is funded through the State Water Resources Control Board.

Within the project, there are eight demonstration sites that involve growers that are interested and involved in implementing best management practices (BMP) on thier farms. The CCRCD, CAFF, the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Audubon's Landowner Stewardship Program are working with these farmers at the local level because they have found farmer-to-farmer interaction and information exchange is the best way to encourage beneficial agricultural management changes within the county.

In this project, measurements of sediment and Diazinon loads will be taken upstream and downstream, and before and after the demonstration sites are implemented to assess Best Management Practice (BMP) effectiveness. Practices such as cover cropping, insectory hedgerows, grassed swales, and stream bank stabilization are just some of the practices that will be utilized in this project. Updates will be presented throughout the project.

Newsletters

For More information on the project call Mary Fahey- Colusa Basin Watershed Coordinator, (530) 458-2931 x117

Project Partners

Water Boards

This project has received support through a grant from the California State Water Resources Control Board with funding from Proposition 50 called the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002.