Re-imagining water conservation

For generations, the Navarro River has defined the landscape surrounding the Husch estate. Today, protecting that river, and the fish within it, has become one of our most important responsibilities.

After more than a decade of collaboration with conservation partners including The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District, Husch announced a transformational re-organization of our water rights to protect 20 million gallons of summer water for the fish.

Too often “water rights” are the legal mechanism to take water from the fish who need it most. But with our new 1707 petition, the California Water Board now recognizes the Husch summer water right as a legal shield that reserves water for the fish.

With our new winter water right, Husch is now able to tap the river to fill its ponds when the flow is ample. Our lined ponds allow us to store that water for months at a time. When our grapevines get thirsty in July and August, the ponds have plenty of water to irrigate the vineyard. In sum, our vineyard thrives while helping preserve critical cold-water habitat for salmon and steelhead.

This new approach to water stewardship, termed “store and forbear,” is the future for agriculture in our wet-winter/dry-summer climate. Other vineyards, including some neighbors, are busy adopting their own store and forbear projects. These projects, along with other restoration efforts, seem to be finding success as fish counts in the Navarro River have started to rebound after decades of decline.

Learn more about Husch’s other sustainable practices: Regenerative farming * The Light Touch * Our Heritage *