Register now to join us in California for the 2016 Natural Areas Conference October 18-21, 2016. Our theme is Climate Change Adaptation and Natural Areas Management: Turning Words to Action. This event will feature strategies and tactics that resource and natural areas managers can employ to prepare for and respond to climate change on the ground.  View a detailed schedule of events here.

We have a lot of great options for this year's trips, making the most of the surrounding natural areas and the area's rivers. Including a Rafting trip on the South Fork of the American River. 

Join researchers from the Center for Watershed Sciences on an all-day rafting trip (class 3) on the American River near Placerville, CA. The American River is a microcosm of California water, with Ag, Municipal, Hydropower, and the Environment all vying for the same water. There are twenty-six dams on the American River that try to meet the needs of all of these constituencies. This complicated plumbing exemplifies the nature of California water and understanding how climate change will impact these water sources will help guide for better management in the future. We will start our rafting trip in Coloma, where gold was discovered and discuss the history, present and future of the American River.