This Sunrise Rotary Club meeting featured a guest presentation by Rob Schwenker, Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper, a 30-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County, California. Rob provided a comprehensive overview of the organization's mission, ongoing restoration and advocacy projects, and ways the community can get involved.
Russian Riverkeeper was founded approximately 30 years ago by Marty Griffin as Friends of the Russian River. The organization's mission centers on achieving a healthy, swimmable, fishable, and equitably shared Russian River. The Russian River watershed covers 1,500 square miles, with the river's headwaters originating near Ukiah and flowing 110 miles to the coast at Jenner. Rob Schwenker described the watershed as a funnel — collecting rainwater from over 200 streams and creeks and channeling it to the ocean. The river serves as the primary drinking water source for approximately 600,000 residents in the region.
Rob Schwenker, a former Kiwanian with two decades of service club experience, brings a background in business, nonprofit leadership, media, marketing, and software development to his role as Executive Director.
Russian Riverkeeper conducts daily professional trash removal from the watershed, recognizing that the watershed functions as a funnel not only for water but also for debris that ultimately flows into the ocean. The organization engages approximately 600 volunteers annually during California Coastal Cleanup Day, removing thousands of pounds of debris. Russian Riverkeeper also works with unhoused individuals living along the riverbanks, providing materials to help maintain clean camps and offering meaningful human connection.
Rob Schwenker emphasized the importance of building an inclusive environmental movement, noting that clean air and clean water represent common ground across political divides. He encouraged community members to reduce water use through simple household practices, plant native and drought-tolerant species, install drip irrigation, and carry a trash bag when visiting the river.
Topic 3: Restoration Projects
Arundo Donax Removal
Arundo Donax, a giant reed planted by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s to stabilize riverbanks, has proven harmful to the ecosystem. It consumes large quantities of water and displaces native plant species such as cottonwood trees. Russian Riverkeeper is clearing this invasive species from a 5-mile stretch in the Fitch Mountain area using a surgical herbicide application method — cutting the reed at the base and painting the cut surface with a fish-safe, human-safe herbicide using a paintbrush to avoid harming surrounding plants. The project is expected to fully eradicate Arundo Donax from Fitch Mountain within the next year, after which the organization plans to expand the effort to other areas of the watershed.
Floodplain Restoration at Martin Marietta Site
Historical aerial imagery shows that by mid-century, gravel mining operations dramatically altered the Russian River's natural course. Gravel companies extracted material from the riverbed, leaving behind large pits and forcing the river into a single channel. The Martin Marietta site near Windsor encompasses 357 acres and 4 abandoned gravel pits, some reaching depths of up to 100 feet. These pits contain methylmercury, which accumulates in fish such as bass and moves up the food chain to birds and other wildlife.
Russian Riverkeeper's plan involves a cut-and-fill approach — using material from on-site levees to fill the pits — restoring the river's connection to its floodplain. This is expected to eliminate the mercury reaction environment, create wetland habitat that produces phytoplankton and zooplankton as food for juvenile salmon, support salmon life cycle completion, and reduce downstream flooding in communities such as Guerneville. The project is currently in the design phase, funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy, with 60% design completion. Full design is expected by the end of next year. Total construction cost is estimated at $50–$75 million, requiring a combination of federal, state, and foundation funding.
