SACRAMENTO
Senate leader McGuire honors former Russian Riverkeeper executive director Don McEnhill
Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) recognized Don McEnhill on the Senate floor Monday for his accomplishments as Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper. McEnhill, of Sonoma County, recently retired after nearly a quarter century of spearheading efforts to restore, enhance, and protect the Russian River watershed.
“Don McEnhill is one-of-a-kind. He has dedicated his life to protecting the Russian River, which is the source of life for the North Bay and one of our most precious natural resources,” Pro Tem McGuire said. “Thanks to his tenacious leadership, his ability to build bridges between communities, and downright grit, we can honestly say the Russian River is healthier now than it was 25 years ago. We owe Don a heartfelt thank you for his unwavering commitment to the people of the North Bay and for always standing strong for this watershed we all love.”
Since taking the helm at Russian Riverkeeper in 2001, McEnhill has worked tirelessly toward the vision of restoring a river that is healthy, swimmable, fishable, and protected for generations to come. His work has led to significant victories, including winning the battle against destructive gravel mining operations, reintroducing coho salmon to the river, advancing some of the largest habitat restoration projects in modern history, and ensuring the Russian River is protected in perpetuity. McEnhill has also proven to be a successful advocate, influencing environmental policy decisions at the local and state level.
“If you grew up in Sonoma County, you’ve probably spent many hot summer days on the Russian River, like I did,” Don McEnhill said. “The river is central to our cultural and economic development, and it’s vital to our quality of life. The Russian River is always worth fighting for and I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to work with such an amazing team over the years, along with thousands of dedicated volunteers. I’m grateful to call Senator McGuire a friend, he’s stepped up time and again over the years.”
Under his leadership at Russian Riverkeeper, McEnhill engaged thousands of volunteers, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship throughout the watershed. Since stepping down as Executive Director, McEnhill has been helping the nonprofit through the transition and serving as Deputy Director. One thing is for sure, Don will always be there for us and the Russian River.
—Submitted
LAKEPORT
Tempest Celtic Rock concert presented by KPFZ
Saturday, April 19 at 7 p.m. at the Soper Reese Theatre.
Open seating. $30 at the door $25 in advance
Tempest is a Bay area High-energy Celtic rock band that has been performing for over 35 years in the U.S. The band fuses Irish reels, Scottish ballads, and Norwgian influences into their rock music. It’s the perfect mix for dancing and singing along.
This event is a benefit for KPFZ, Lake County Community Radio.
LAKEPORT
2nd annual Team Trivia Challenge
Presented by the Lake County Symphony Association on Saturday, April 26 at 7 pm
Join Quizmaster Mark Lipps from Ripe Choice Farm as teams of four compete in a fun-filled, multi-round trivia challenge against the defending 2024 champions. Audience members participate in trivia games for prizes and can enter a drawing to be part of the “wild card” team. A fundraiser for the Lake County Symphony Association.
To ensure a place on stage, participating teams and singles are urged to order their tickets now. All participants are asked to be present on the day of the event no later than 6:40 p.m.
Set the date to come join the LCSA for a delightful evening of fundraising and entertainment! Appropriate for all ages.
$200 for a team of four, i.e. one ticket plus three computers per group.
$50 for a team individual. Open seating for general audience: Lower section $30; upstairs seating $15 (Open seating for general audience seating on the honor system; no ticket checking required)
Teams can consist of anyone: family, friends, co-workers from businesses or public-service agencies, or members of community service or fraternal organizations. The possibilities are endless! Team sponsors are welcome and will be publicly acknowledged. The winning team from last year, “Dames and Dunces” (Josh and Renee Cook; Holland and Jennifer Libby), were invited back to defend their title- at no charge. They have eagerly accepted the challenge and will be the ones to beat this year.
For tickets and more information, go to the Soper Reese website: www.soperreesetheatre.com.
—Submitted
LAKE COUNTY
Lake County participates in worldwide ‘City Nature Challenge’
For the first time, Lake County has its own entry in the worldwide “City Nature Challenge” — a four-day event which encourages “citizen scientists” to use their phones or cameras to submit observations of all forms of life to further develop the inaturalist.org catalog of the world’s life forms. Between Friday April 25 and Monday April 28, observations submitted to inaturalist.org will be logged into Lake County’s project as part of this competition. Anyone can participate with the inaturalist app or at the inaturalist.org web site.
People can observe on their own, or can take part in two special events, called “bioblitzes” where a group explores an area with some guidance. The events are at 9 a.m. Sunday April 27 at the Lake County Land Trust’s Rodman Preserve at 6350 Westlake Rd., Lakeport; and Monday April 28 at 9AM at the McLaughlin Preserve, 26775 Morgan Valley Rd, east of Lower Lake.
In 2016, organizers from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and the California Academy of Sciences started the “City Nature Challenge” with the metropolitan areas of San Francisco bay and Los Angeles engaging in a friendly competition to document as many forms of life as their citizen scientists could. By 2024, the annual event had grown to include 690
competing geographic areas, with over two million observations of over 65,000 species and over 83,000 participants.
The Lake County Project and more information is at
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2025-lake-county-california.
—Submitted
