Amidst all the agricultural and economic impacts of the drought, Dick Butler of the National Marine Fisheries Service pointed out the obvious--that it is also bad news for fish.

To help get a jump on the rationing that is almost certainly coming our way, here are the Sonoma County Water Agency's

Top 10 Water Conservation Tips:

• Reduce outdoor watering by one day a week
• Find and repair leaks now
• Inspect and tune-up your sprinkler system monthly
• Water between midnight and 6:00 a.m. to reduce water loss from evaporation and wind
• Use a broom, not a hose, to clean your driveway, deck or patio
• Use a bucket and a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle when you wash the car, or take your car to a carwash that recycles
• Cover pools and hot-tubs to reduce evaporation
• Use front-load washing machines
• Run the dishwasher and clothes washer with full loads only
• Prevent and report water waste

Marilee Eckert, Executive Director of the newly renamed Conservation Corps North Bay, says it is well-positioned to grow into a regional service agency.

Eckert anticipates bringing many of the programs the organization has already established in Marin into Sonoma County under their new banner, such as their youth recycling crew, which is already at work at some Sonoma County parks and schools.

The carefully coordinated release of some ready-to-spawn adult coho may mean that three years from now, Salmon Creek will once again contain its namesake.

Fish and Game biologist Bob Cooey carries a net containing two adult Coho salmon down to the water of Salmon Creek.  Cooey says the release site, a quiet bend in the lower part of Salmon Creek, a mile or so upstream from the stream's mouth into the ocean, is ideal habitat for the fish.

The hatchery raised salmon take a moment to orient in their new habitat as they are released from the net (above), then vigorously swim away (below). Thanks to Jim  Jim Coleman, a Research Coordinator at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center's WATER Institute (jim@oaec.org) for taking and sharing these photos.

 The oldest and perhaps only wireless telegraph station on the west coast is still beaming Morse code out to the world from its original outpost overlooking Tomales Bay.

By continuing to use the restored antique electronics at the Marconi station, Richard Dillman (the operator in the photo above) says they are practicing a form of living history.

The Maritime Radio Historical Society applied for and received a new commercial telegraph operators license for the Marshall station, which they now use to keep the signal actively operating on the weekends.

The Marconi Conference Center will host an open house displaying historical pieces of radio once used for both military and merchant ships coming into the bay. Located in Tomales Bay, the center will display the relics and provide stories of what it was like on the coast during the radio era.

The Radio Maritime Radio Historical Society is the driving force for the event, to visit their website click here .