Carmel River,
wrote John Steinbeck, is not a long river, but it
is a perfect one. Unfortunately it has been the
only natural significant source of water for the
area.
The river was
dammed to provide water for resort development on
the Monterey Peninsula
Fantastic
golf courses at Pebble Beach were made green by
water extracted from the Carmel River.
(Photo
by Top China Travel)
The
impassable fish ladder at San Clemente
dam
Every year
since the world famed resorts were built the Carmel
River has been troubled by a lack of
water
River
Steelhead Trout – the incredible sea going native
fish that returns 3 to 5 times to spawn in the
river. Until recent years there were runs of 20,000
steelhead each year returning to the river to
spawn. Recent counts have shown less than 300
steelhead return because there is such a shortage
of water. A local non-profit community group,
Carmel River Steelhead Association tirelessly wades
into the river’s pools to rescue juvenile
steelhead. The fish are stranded because there is
not enough water in the river.
(Photo
by SPAWN)
Church Creek divide,
the pristine valley of the Carmel River
headwaters
Carmel
River Watershed Assessment
Help
restore the Carmel River
People
of the valley are arising to restore the river.
To raise awareness of why we must do this, there
will be a grant, old-fashioned festive gathering
to celebrate the wondrs of the river valley and
the amazing talents it hs attracted.
Carmel
Valley is under seige. Water from its
river has been over appropriated for a
hundred years. That water has spawned
development all over the Monterey
Peninsula. The Valley’s habitats have been
so seriously diminished by the loss of
water that the once magnificent native
steelhead population is threatened with
extinction.
There
will be lots of food, wine, singing,
dancing, art, learning, mushroom
foraging, skits, exhibits and fun. We
will celebrate the wineries that
respect the watershed and practice
sustainable agriculture, and all the
folks who are conservation
minded.
Although
there have been huge challenges caused by
water extraction, Carmel Valley winemakers
have produced wines which are rapidly
ascending in fame. They do this by growing
organically and with sustainable
agriculture methods, such as dry farming.
The wines are extraordinary because of the
rare geologic and climatic conditions of
the valley.
We are
working for a sustainable Carmel Valley and a Whole
Watershed
Celebration with
a purpose
The Carmel River Fandango
will be held in March 2013 to raise awareness of the need
for river restoration. It will feature fun and
educational activities about the river and habitats of
the watershed. Local restaurants and wineries will
provide tastings for participants. While celebrating the
great efforts of the community volunteer organizations,
we will show off the extraordinary culinary talents of
Carmel Valley.
The theme evokes pre-dam,
pre-golf days when the River ran thick with native fish,
and the Valley ranches all gathered for a big party,
called a Fandango – such as seen in Marlon Brando’s
One Eyed Jacks and the principal scene in
John Steinbeck’s To A God Unknown. In early
California, the event was three days of eating, drinking,
singing, dancing and cavorting around the countryside.
Carmel Valley was a classic
example of that Spanish and Mexican era. Fandango,
although deriving its name from the Spanish dance, was a
uniquely California event.
It was a time when such an event
celebrated the bounty of the land. Ours will be a kind of
Back to the Land theme – a bring back the fish event to
connect river restoration with a sustainable life
style.
Help
us restore the Carmel River – and have a lot of
fun. Volunteer for the Carmel River
Fandango.
Our event will feature
educational booths, interpretive walks, and
displays to demonstrate the benefits of river
restoration and an environmentally sustainable life
style in the Valley.
There will be skits and
readings about the river and its attributes.There
will be an art exhibit featuring photography and
paintings of the watershed and other aspects of
valley life associated with the River; poetry slam
featuring local talent; native plant walks; skits
by school and theater groups; mushroom foraging,
identifying and cooking workshop.
Paola Berthoin’s book,
Passion for Placewill be featured –
with signing and storytelling. Steelhead hats will
be made for children. CRSA will demonstrate
rescues. CRWC will lead tours to San Clemente Dam.
There will be a panel discussion about sustainable
agriculture in the Valley, dry farming, and why we
make incredible wines in this geology and special
viticulture area.
To show off the wondrous
culinary talent in the Valley there will be
winemaker and Chef dinners and other events
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the
event.
On the day of the event,
wineries and restaurants of Carmel Valley will
provide foods they have prepared for a tasting. Our
ticketholders will go from table to table around
the hall with a grazing badge and indulge in the
incredible tastes of our valley. There will be a
kids’ tasting area, too.
:
Carmel
River, oil by Sam Johnston
.
Los Padres Dam
Carmel Valley back country
photo by Monterey Visitors Bureau
Register
as a sponsor of the
Carmel River Festival and
Feast
We
will be:
A
Carmel River
Steward
For
our $1,000
donation
We
receive 1/2 page ad,
Display Plaque, Festival
promotion, Art prize
named for us, 10
tickets
A
Carmel River Watershed
Partner
For
our $500
donation
We
receive 1/4 page ad,
Display plaqe,Festival
promotion, 5
tickets
A
Carmel River Habitat
Reviver
For
our
$250
donation
We
will receive 1/8 page
ad, Display certificate,
5 tickets
A
steelhead
saver
For
our $100
donation
Display
certificate, Ad listing,
2 tickets
We
will donate
items
for the
auction.
Contact:
My
Name
My Email
(necessary)
My phone number
Click
here to register with
payment
For
more information call 831 238
1683
Project
co-ordinator
The
purpose of PelicanNetwork is to promote environmental
sustainability.
River in Ruin
by Ray March
Review in
Amazon
The thin ribbon of the Carmel River is just thirty-six
miles long and no wider in most places than a child can
throw a stone. It is the primary water supply for the
ever-burgeoning presence of tourists, agriculture, and
industry on California’s Monterey Peninsula. It is also one
of the top ten endangered rivers in North America. The
river’s story, which dramatically unfolds in this book, is
an epic tale of exploitation, development, and often
unwitting degradation reaching back to the first appearance
of Europeans on the pristine peninsula.
River in Ruin is a precise weaving of water history,
local and larger, and a natural, social, and environmental
narrative of the Carmel River. Ray A. March traces the
river’s misuse from 1879 and details how ever more
successful promotions of Monterey demanded more and more
water, leading to one dam after another. As a result the
river was disastrously depleted, cluttered with concrete
rubble, and inhospitable to the fish prized by visitors and
residents alike.
March’s book is a cautionary tale about squandering
precious water resources – about the ultimate cost of a
ruined river and the slim but urgent hope of bringing it
back to life.