March 22nd 2018

UKIAH, Calif. (March 19, 2018) – Mendocino® Redwood Company recently became involved in the Salmonid Habitat Monitoring Project, a program managed through the California Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The project is a paid opportunity for veterans to jumpstart a career in fisheries or a similar profession. Participants are trained to conduct research, monitor current conditions, and they learn various ways to restore habitats for endangered salmon and steelhead.

 

The program’s goal is to jumpstart a career for veterans interested in employment through fishery related organizations such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, or CA Department of Fish and Wildlife. MRC became a part of the program when approached by the CCC several months ago. David Ulrich, MRC employee, explains that MRC was “contacted because the CCC knew we conduct spawning and spotting surveying and could help train participants.”

 

David Ulrich started training, Veteran Ryan Shorrow, a participant of the Salmonid Habitat Monitoring Project, this past November and will continue to work with him until May. Ulrich explained that having an extra person out in the field is helpful and noted that he “has even added extra work to keep busy and to provide additional hands-on training for Shorrow.”

 

The two meet approximately three times a week to go out in the field where they conduct spawning surveys—the act of counting adult salmonids entering the stream: “We also run a Life Cycle Monitoring station in the North Fork Navarro River which includes counting adult salmonids entering the stream. We [created] a downstream migrant trap to count salmonids leaving the stream heading to the ocean” says Ulrich. Shorrow obtains additional hands-on training with the Sonoma County Water Agency and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

 

The Salmonid Project is a great opportunity for MRC to connect with the community and to provide resources. “I enjoy knowing that veterans like Shorrow are excited and enthusiastic; I know that he is going to pursue a career in something that I am passionate about as well,” says Ulrich in answering his favorite part about working with the program. MRC plans to continue assisting with this program and training other participants in the future.