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Brian Hines, a Creekkeeper Volunteer & TU State Officer, checks maps at an illegally dug channel in Alexander Valley.

River Patrol

All too often we find homeowners building elaborate docks with no permits such as this person above. This dock was being prepared as a ramp for a hydro-foil race boat and allowed sediment, concrete, roadbase and other pollutants into the river.

Related: Report a polluter to Riverkeeper.

Maintaining an on-the-water presence is at the core of all Waterkeeper programs. All the work we do is grounded is the everyday reality we see on the Russian River. Every year we spend hundreds of hours on the river from the upper reaches in the Ukiah Valley all the way to the mouth at Jenner. The River Patrol is used for identifying problems impacting the river, documenting regulatory compliance and researching watershed dynamics. The information we gather often directs our activities and encompasses water quality, riparian vegetation, bank stability, terrestrial and aquatic wildlife communities, land use and human interaction with the river. We are often the first to spot problems and trends on the river and sometimes bring the regulators and elected officials on the river to see problems first hand and work on solutions. We spend more time on the river than some agencies charged with protecting the river so our impact on problems is significant.

Our tools of the trade are fairly simple. It starts with a working knowledge of watershed systems, biology, water quality, resource protection laws and regulations and how to document problems and who to report them to. Our main patrol craft is a canoe although we sometimes use a kayak, aluminum skiff or inflatable zodiac with our modern low emission Honda outboard. Inside our boats our tools include a notebook, cell phone, binoculars, camera and video recorder, GPS device, electronic water meter and water sampling equipment.

Top Five Problems We Find On The River 1. Clearing or Cutting In-Channel Vegetation This is bad for property owners since the vegetation roots hold the banks together, loss of vegetation almost always results in bank erosion. Many homeowners cut trees for a better view usually the River obliges and comes closer to your home with undesired results such as loss of property. Property owners can clear a view corridor without clearing their banks and keep their riverbank in place where it protects your property!

2. Unpermitted and Illegal Bank Stabilization & Rock Rip-Rap Using rock fill, pouring concrete and other bank "armoring" requires at least five or more Federal, State and local permits. This due to the major impacts on the River's flood capacity and habitat as well as impacts to adjacent properties as such structure just move erosion a neighbors property. The River is full of examples of how bank armoring is prone to failure and un-intended consequences. The permit process ensures any such projects do not result in impacts elsewhere. The need for such projects is often created by mis-guided vegetation removal and resulting erosion (see #1)