Advocating for environment, Petaluma wetlands group given new clout

After operating as a committee of the Santa Rosa-based Madrone Audubon Society for more than a decade, a major Petaluma wetlands conservation, advocacy and education group has relaunched as an independent nonprofit.

The designation will make it easier for the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance to develop new and expanded programs under the leadership of a local board of directors, and marks a significant step for an organization that has helped introduce a generation of young Petalumans to the natural sciences through their city’s own marshland habitats, said Al Hesla, interim president.

“We’re just kind of formulating our ideas now, and we’ll probably spend the majority of this year in transition and developing new ideas, and really generating more interest in the community,” he said.

The award of nonprofit status in February marks the first time the Wetlands Alliance has operated as a sovereign organization since 2003, when became a part of Madrone Audubon. The Alliance first coalesced in 2001, born from advocacy to include extensive wetlands as part of the design of a new Petaluma wastewater treatment plant.

Those efforts are credited with helping to inspire the implementation of the Gray’s Marsh area as a component of the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility, a wetland that today is a haven for birds and other species. Coupled with the habitats of Shollenberger Park and the Alman Marsh, the wetlands have made Petaluma a major destination for birds and bird lovers alike.

After notching success in that effort, the Wetlands Alliance came to focus on education and preservation programs for the marshy areas in southeast Petaluma. Led by dozens of volunteer docents trained through an eight-week Alliance program, the group’s work includes regular guided tours, monitoring of existing species and removal of invasive plants.

Perhaps the most visible of those efforts for the everyday Petaluma resident has been a free program involving hundreds of third graders from Petaluma-area schools, an annual two-day affair that includes both classroom-based activities and an in-the-field exploration of Shollenberger Park, said Mary Edith Moore, a long-time volunteer who has been among the organization’s most active members since its inception.

The program is designed to work in line with the state’s curriculum for watershed education, and has helped introduce a wide swath of young Petaluma residents to the habitats of their city’s eponymous river.

Moore described her fellow volunteers, including around 60 docents, as a diverse group balancing intellectual engagement with an embrace of hard work.

“We have between six and 10 Ph.D.s in the organization, including my husband,” she said, referring to her spouse, Gerald Moore. “They’re willing to go out there and teach third graders, and they’re willing to go out there and pull weeds.”

A docent for two years before a recent move to Tucson, Ariz., Andy Larson credited his work with the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance for helping to hone his own attitudes toward environmental activism. He and his wife Rhishja Cota-Larson, another former docent, now run Annamiticus, a nonprofit focused on spotlighting illegal wildlife trafficking.

“They took me under their wing, so to speak, and really shared with me a love and appreciation for the wetlands, and the conservation, and all the hard work that goes into it,” he said. “That definitely piqued my interest as far as getting involved.”

Responding to an inquiry to current Madrone Audubon President Gordon Beebe, Susan Kirks, past president, declined to comment on the separation of the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance.

While the efforts of the Wetlands Alliance have some overlap with those of Madrone Audubon, Moore said the logistics of operating within the framework of the Santa Rosa-based organization over the years proved onerous. Functioning as an independent group will not only allow a greater degree of local control, but also streamline the process for public donations.

“We kind of fit in with Madrone’s mission in general, but there’s also a geographical distance between us,” said Hesla, the interim president. “Even volunteers who volunteer for things Madrone puts on in Santa Rosa, it’s tough for our volunteers to get there, and vice-versa.”

Hesla said the next few months were likely to be focused on laying the groundwork for a first-ever board election on June 26, but added that strengthening the relationship between the Wetlands Alliance, the city of Petaluma and other groups focused on the Petaluma River would be a major near-term goal.

“I’d like to expand our collaborations with other groups. Now that we’re kind of on our own, and not under the umbrella of the parent organization anymore, we can kind of strike out on our own,” he said.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports.)