Placement Site Address: Moss Landing Marine Labs. 8272 Moss
Landing Rd. Moss Landing, CA 95039
Moss Landing, CA - City Data Information Link
Site Supervisor: Kevin OConnor Mentors:
Jenny Balmagia, CCWG Watershed Coordinator and Sarah
Stoner Duncan, CCWG Research Associate; Arioch Mgreene,
CC&R Restoration Specialist
Number of Corpsmembers at Site: 2
Number of Years Site has Hosted WSP Corpsmembers: 9
Service Hours:
8-hour days: 80%
10-hour days: 10%
>10-hour days: 10%
Housing Offered: No
Work Vehicle Provided: Yes
CM Time Spent in Field/Office:
In the field: 70%
In the office: 30%
Corpsmember Activities:
Post-Restoration Monitoring/Maintenance: 15%
Invasive Plant Removal: 15%
H2O Monitoring: 15%
Habitat Surveys: 15%
Data Entry: 10%
CRAM or RipRAM: 5%
Site Specific Education & Outreach: 5%
Site Specific Volunteer Management: 5%
Commuting To/From Field Sites: 5%
Seining: 5%
GIS Mapping: 5%
Placement Site Objectives and Organizational Needs:
CCWGs mission is, To coordinate the advancement of wetland science and
management on the Central Coast. CCWG has programs focused on climate change planning,
habitat restoration, water quality monitoring/management, wetland assessment
and regional water planning. The Corpsmembers service with CCWG will focus on
wetland habitat and water quality monitoring, as well as data
entry/analysis to support their wetland monitoring efforts. The monitoring data
collection and assessment will include a mixture of watershed monitoring
supporting the installation of treatment wetlands in agricultural landscapes to
enhance water quality in local streams and estuary habitat monitoring for the
Marine Protected Area Monitoring Program across 7 estuaries on the Central Coast.
They will also include wetland habitat monitoring for the USEPA's National
Wetland Condition Assessment. These monitoring efforts will aid local
organizations in understanding where estuarine and watershed riparian habitat needs
restoration, where regulatory action may be needed to restore it to health, and
where it is most important to protect. Corpsmembers will participate in
multiple field trainings during their time with CCWG (CRAM, Riparian RAM).
CCWG has a growing list
of restoration sites in collaboration with its partner organization, Coastal
Conservation and Research (CC&R). Activities with CC&R will take place
in upland, brackish, and freshwater wetlands in the local watershed (lower
Salinas River Valley) as well as the dune system protecting the estuary in
front of the Marine Lab (Pajaro River/Elkhorn/Moro Cojo Sloughs). Activities will include planting and weeding
at new restoration sites, plant propagation at the green house, and maintenance
activities at past restoration sites. The sites benefit from ongoing planting,
weeding, assessment, and outreach activities with the community.
Mentorship Style:
The mentorship will be split between the staff of
CCWG in Moss Landing. Wetland monitoring and assessment mentoring will be performed by CCWG
staff while restoration mentoring will be performed by CC&R staff. In
general, Mentors at this site start the term with a prescribing style where
instructions are offered on how to handle problems, which then morphs into an advisory
style where suggestions and alternatives are given but lets the Corpsmembers
make the decision. As the year progresses, this transitions into more of an active
listening style where space is given to the mentees to develop their own
path. All along, Mentors try to be as
cooperative as possible, striving for a joint vision of what their time with
CCWG can be, involving them in selecting preferred projects, problem-solving,
and giving space for their opinion.
Unique Characteristics of Placement Site:
This site is an
academically stimulating environment, a beautiful location, and provides the
opportunity to work with people who are passionate about protecting, restoring,
and assessing the wetlands around us. The projects provide a balance of
educational opportunities (including field skills, database use, and GIS
applications), habitat restoration, and community outreach. Moss Landing Marine
Laboratories (MLML) administers the Master of Science in marine science for
California State Universities in central and northern California. The
institution is perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Moss Landing,
California, and houses a diverse array of researchers, faculty and students
studying the marine, estuarine and wetland environments of the Central and
Northern Coast. CCWG is an affiliate research group at MLML, established in
2006, focused on the study, preservation, and restoration of Central Coast
wetlands. CCWG works closely with regional partners who have active programs
spread throughout the Central Coast, including the local RCD, California Marine
Sanctuary Foundation, Elkhorn Slough Foundation, and Coastal Conservation and
Research (CC&R). CC&R is a small non-profit
with property in the Moss Landing area where it has a greenhouse used for
growing plants and staging restoration activities. The organization helps
implement and maintain most of CCWGs restoration projects. This restoration
partnership between the two organizations has been in place for almost 20
years.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Desired in CM:
GIS and database experience
Wetland or water quality monitoring experience
Horticultural experience
An ability to speak and communicate in Spanish
Plant identification
Well organized and independent
Interest in monitoring wetlands using a diverse
toolset
Interest in broad and varied experiences in
watershed restoration within both urban and agricultural watersheds