On Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 the partners of the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance (AWQA) honored winners of the alliance’s 2009 Stewardship Awards for exceptional strides in farm water quality protection and community leadership. The event, at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, marked the 10-year anniversary of AWQA's collaborative efforts to protect the health of sanctuary waters as well as the productivity of central coast farmlands. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, provided welcoming remarks commending growers and agency partners for their collaborative approach to protecting land and marine resources. Award winners also received certificates of recognition on behalf of Congressman Sam Farr (17th District), Assemblymember Bill Monning (27th District), and local mayors.

Winners of the 2009 AWQA Stewardship Award for exemplary water quality protection on individual farms are:

• Steve Pederson and Jeanne Byrne, High Ground Organics (Watsonville)
• Ian Teresi and Tim Chiala, George Chiala Farms (Morgan Hill)

The winner of the 2009 AWQA Confluence Award for exceptional collaborative efforts to address agricultural water quality issues collectively is:

• The Quail Creek Subwatershed Working Group growers and support staff (Monterey County)

Steve Pederson and Jeanne Byrne, High Ground Organics (Watsonville)

Protecting water quality is not always a landowner’s first priority, nor is the costly, time-consuming process of restoring land to a beneficial state for native species. Nevertheless, Steve Pederson and Jeanne Byrne have done precisely that at High Ground Organics, a family farm in Watsonville adjacent to one of the largest freshwater wetlands remaining in coastal California. With the help of the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Steve and Jeanne completed several large conservation projects, which include:

• Constructing a vegetative filter strip along a steep, highly erodible hill above the Harkins Slough
• Planting a native hedgerow along a highway perimeter to encourage beneficial insects and provide habitat for vulnerable species of bee and butterfly
• Restoring 11 acres of native grassland habitat to allow native species to flourish

Steve and Jeanne share their vision for exemplary environmental stewardship through university research partnerships, conference presentations and the educational component of their Community Supported Agriculture program, which reaches 1,700 subscribed community members. In addition to their efforts to bring the freshest produce to the community, Steve and Jeanne also open up their farm land to public tours and fieldtrips for kids at local schools to teach them the values of farming and habitat conservation.

Steve Pederson and Jeanne Byrne on their farm. Photo by Israel Jonson.

Ian Teresi and Tim Chiala, George Chiala Farms (Morgan Hill)

Tim Chiala and Ian Teresi don’t just talk about water quality. They implement water quality practices on their many properties and demonstrate results. Consequently George Chiala Farms is an influential model of proactive water quality stewardship for large agricultural operations throughout the Central Coast. As they learn of new opportunities, Tim and Ian continually adapt their management toward the longstanding goal of reducing agricultural runoff and filtering excess stormwater. They have implemented grassed ditches, buffer strips, water recycling programs, and a regular water monitoring program at different locations on the farm. They are proactive participants and often leaders in many initiatives to promote water quality protection, including Watershed Working Groups, Santa Clara Water Quality Short Courses, the Central Coast Agricultural Water Quality Coalition, the Regional Mobile Lab Program, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Mobile Land Program and Irrigation Efficiency Program. They share their success stories with their peers, offering their property as the site for training workshops and field tours. As Farm Bureau board members, Tim and Ian’s leadership in the agricultural community serves to promote and enhance the value of water quality stewardship on Central Coast farmland.

George Chiala Farms, Morgan Hill. Photo by Israel Jonson.

The Quail Creek Subwatershed Working Group growers and support staff (Monterey County)

The Quail Creek Subwatershed Working Group is a model example of collaborative problem solving. The growers of this subwatershed, a tributary to the Salinas River, have stewardship of approximately 2,300 acres of irrigated lands composed of row crops, greenhouses and nurseries. In partnership with technical support staff (Traci Roberts, Monterey County Farm Bureau, Rachelle Antinetti, Consultant to Dow AgroSciences and CSIRO, and Sarah Greene, Central Coast Water Quality Preservation, Inc.), they formed a Working Group to first investigate the sources of water quality impairments in their watershed and then seek to effectuate change. By proceeding through a careful and conscientious collaborative process that prioritized trust and conveyed information in a meaningful format, this Working Group was able to harness a broad arsenal of resources to improve water quality. This effort included watershed working group meetings, on-farm sampling activities, demonstrations of pesticide mitigations and discussions of nutrient and sediment management practices. The growers documented implementation of the following practices to mitigate impairments: tailwater retention, treating tailwater ponds with enzyme products, converting to or improving efficiency of drip irrigation, strategically constructing tailwater ditches to reduce run-off, eliminating Organophosphate pesticide applications, and trying alternative pest management tools. Their efforts ultimately achieved measurable water quality improvements, inspiring grower participation from nearby Chualar Creek. Because of Traci’s dedicated facilitation, Sarah’s ability to create trust, Rachelle’s ability to relay technical information, and most importantly, the growers’ willingness to implement new approaches to land stewardship, the Quail Creek Subwatershed Working Group has emerged as an exemplary model of community-based water quality improvement.

Grassed waterway in the Quail Creek watershed. Photo by Israel Jonson.

For more information contact Lisa Lurie, (831) 420-3662 or lisa.lurie@noaa.gov.