Focus on Foothill Water: Beyond the Drought

The public is invited to a FREE community event to learn about the long-term issues involved in Tuolumne and Calaveras County water when the Columbia College Foundation kicks off a new community lecture series.

“Focus on Foothill Water: Beyond the Drought,” a two-hour evening program at the Sonora High School Auditorium, will be moderated by Columbia College Natural Resources Professor Dr. Tom Hofstra, and features leading experts representing a range of interests including local water districts, agriculture, the environment and native California tribes.

The evening’s keynote speaker is John Mills, a leading authority on California water and a Columbia resident. Mills, one of state’s top water advisors was just appointed to the California Emergency Drought Task Force.  He will offer an overview of the twists and turns in local watershed management over the last 80 years.

Mr. Mills comments will be followed by a guided discussion among panel members, all of whom are representatives in the Tuolumne-Stanislaus Integrated Regional Watershed Management Group. To date, confirmed speakers include:

Lindsay Rosasco Mattos – Administrator, Tuolumne County Resource Conservation District
Don Stump – President, Mountain Counties Water Resource Association and President, Calaveras County Water District
Patrick Koepele  – Executive Director, Tuolumne River Trust
Stephanie Suess – Community and Resources Development Director for the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California. Suess is also a Columbia College Foundation director.
Tom Trott, General Manager, Twain Harte Community Services District

Speakers will focus on the big picture of watershed management – past and future – rather than the specifics of the immediate drought emergency.  The majority of the evening will include comments and a guided discussion among the panelists, with a brief opportunity for audience members to submit questions at the end. Refreshments by Columbia College Culinary Arts students will be available at an intermission and after the event.

For more information, visit www.gocolumbia.edu/foundation  or call (209) 588-5065.