by Lisa Wallace, Executive Director

Why does Andy Otto care enough about the Truckee to run River Friendly Landscaping?

Why does he care enough to convince homeowners to upgrade their landscaping? To get them to pay good money to stop soil erosion from their yards? Where does he get the patience to sort through the red-tape of permits, fees, forms, and reports?

To get an idea, take a peek at his list of life-influencing books.

Sand County Almanac: “Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a shovel. By virtue of this curious loophole in the rules, any clodhopper may say: Let there be a tree – and there will be one.” Aldo Leopold

The Portable Thoreau: “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” Henry David Thoreau

A River Runs Through It: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.” Norman Maclean

With these as inspiration, it seems inevitable Andy would someday work for the good of the Truckee River. I hope you will join Andy (and Aldo, Henry David, and Norman) and sign –up for River Friendly Landscaping today (you’ll be one of the first to receive your free site evaluation when the snow melts in the spring).

P.S. This is the first in a series of posts about how we at the Truckee River Watershed Council came to do our work.