Friends of Auburn Ravine

s Collaborative, and other watershed organizations to provide these same services for other watersheds in Placer and Sutter counties. While working to increase the natural beauty of the Auburn Ravine watershed and the diversity of its native species, we respect private property rights, and the needs of domestic, agricultural, and recreational water users. We support deliberate and compassionate action to prevent illegal camping. We recognize the Public Trust Doctrine as the guiding principle for the role of public agencies as stewards of the watersheds in which they operate. We apply the concepts of Reconciliation Ecology to advocate projects that take a balanced approach to protecting and enhancing the Auburn Ravine watershed. An example of this is our advocacy for removal of the Hemphill Dam and installation at that site of a modern water diversion facility that will allow continued water deliveries to customers while also allowing unimpeded passage for fish migrating upstream and downstream. This will enhance salmon and steelhead populations in Auburn Ravine, and is a step toward our goal of restoring them to their historic range within the watershed. We support development of a Center for Wildlife Education along the banks of Auburn Ravine to improve the economy of the area through eco-tourism, and to provide educational programs for people throughout the region. We work with local governmental agencies and developers to increase property values in residential developments by including a mix of greenbelt lots and park-view lots in their designs, and where feasible, by providing public access to Auburn Ravine via walking/biking trails along the stream, and within its riparian corridor and flood plain. We facilitate collaboration on projects to achieve these goals, and work to obtain funding from local, state, and national agencies, and charitable organizations.