Good job trying to protect the trees, and one hopes a compromise can be reached, but public safety has to take a priority.
Tree savers out on a limb
Deadline nears for compromise over clear zone at Rancho Murieta Airport
By Ed Fletcher - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Don't call him Terry "Butterfly" Schutten, but Sacramento County's top bureaucrat is leading the fight to protect 177 trees on county land next to Rancho Murieta Airport.
The trees -- including a 200-year-old heritage oak -- stand in the way of the privately owned airstrip allowing pilots to land at night.
The airport successfully got a court order demanding the trees to be cut to comply with federal, state and local safety rules.
"We are not against trees," said Art Negrette, an attorney representing the airport. "We want our night permit back; we want a safe airport."
The small single-runway airport is just west of the gated Rancho Murieta community, 25 miles east of Sacramento along Highway 16.
A line of trees -- oak, cottonwood, black walnut and a few non-native varieties -- lies between the runway and the Cosumnes River, about 200 feet south of the landing strip.
Between 1990 and 2002, the airport operated under a variance that allowed night landings despite the trees.
The county's fight to save the trees began before Julia Butterfly Hill drew attention by spending more than two years living in a Humboldt County redwood tree to protect it from loggers.
But the county's 20-year battle appears to be coming to an end after a July appellate court decision.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Shasta Dam Raising & Construction Boom
Shasta Dam expansion plan: Construction boom would follow Shasta Dam raising
By Dylan Darling (Contact)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Raising Shasta Dam would bring a wave of construction and change around Lake Shasta.
Moving campgrounds and waterproofing piers on the Pit River bridge are some of the bevy of projects that would be needed to ready the lake for a new footprint brought by higher water from a higher dam.
The Bureau of Reclamation is going through the process of evaluating these projects and their environmental impacts as part of a feasibility study of the raising of the dam. The study is due next year and, if approved, construction could start in four years, said Donna Garcia, who is heading the study for the Bureau of Reclamation.
"2011 would be the soonest we would see any potential construction," she said.
Shasta is one of four projects that state and federal agencies are looking at to increase the amount of water storage in the state, Garcia said. The others are a new 1.8 million acre-foot reservoir in Colusa County, an expansion of an additional 250,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water at Los Vaqueros reservoir in Contra Costa County and a raising of Friant Dam in Fresno County, which would add 700,000 to 1 million acre-feet of water.
Garcia said whether the projects are pursued depends on the results of their individual feasibility studies.
While the Bureau is now focusing on a 61/2-foot to 181/2-foot increase in Shasta Dam's height, the massive concrete dam -- second most massive in terms of concrete used behind Grand Coulee Dam in Washington -- could support an increase of 200 feet.
By Dylan Darling (Contact)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Raising Shasta Dam would bring a wave of construction and change around Lake Shasta.
Moving campgrounds and waterproofing piers on the Pit River bridge are some of the bevy of projects that would be needed to ready the lake for a new footprint brought by higher water from a higher dam.
The Bureau of Reclamation is going through the process of evaluating these projects and their environmental impacts as part of a feasibility study of the raising of the dam. The study is due next year and, if approved, construction could start in four years, said Donna Garcia, who is heading the study for the Bureau of Reclamation.
"2011 would be the soonest we would see any potential construction," she said.
Shasta is one of four projects that state and federal agencies are looking at to increase the amount of water storage in the state, Garcia said. The others are a new 1.8 million acre-foot reservoir in Colusa County, an expansion of an additional 250,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water at Los Vaqueros reservoir in Contra Costa County and a raising of Friant Dam in Fresno County, which would add 700,000 to 1 million acre-feet of water.
Garcia said whether the projects are pursued depends on the results of their individual feasibility studies.
While the Bureau is now focusing on a 61/2-foot to 181/2-foot increase in Shasta Dam's height, the massive concrete dam -- second most massive in terms of concrete used behind Grand Coulee Dam in Washington -- could support an increase of 200 feet.
Shasta Dam Raising Study
Shasta Dam expansion plan: Flood of concerns
Anglers, Wintu fear Shasta Dam raising will drown treasured sites
By Dylan Darling (Contact)
Monday, February 19, 2007
MCCLOUD RIVER -- The nation's largest water district is now in the private fly-fishing club business.
But Westlands Water District's $35 million purchase of the Bollibokka Fishing Club and almost 3,000 acres of pristine wilderness along a seven-mile stretch of the McCloud River just north of Lake Shasta has nothing to do with rods and reels and everything to do with crops in the San Joaquin Valley and raising Shasta Dam.
"We did not want to see the use of this land to be changed to impede the potential of raising the dam," said Tom Birmingham, general manager for Westlands, a Fresno-based district that counts more than 700 farms as members and covers more than 600,000 acres in western Fresno and Kings counties.
The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying the possibility of raising the dam since 1980 and expects to have a feasibility report complete next year that will detail whether the dam, and Lake Shasta, will be going up.
Ahead of the wave
While the bureau is looking at possibly raising the dam 6½ feet to 18½ feet, the dam's base could support a raise of up to 200 feet. Tourists often hear that when they visit the dam, which was built between 1938 and 1945. The original plans called for an 800-foot dam, but the lack of supplies and labor cut it to 602 feet.
Anglers, Wintu fear Shasta Dam raising will drown treasured sites
By Dylan Darling (Contact)
Monday, February 19, 2007
MCCLOUD RIVER -- The nation's largest water district is now in the private fly-fishing club business.
But Westlands Water District's $35 million purchase of the Bollibokka Fishing Club and almost 3,000 acres of pristine wilderness along a seven-mile stretch of the McCloud River just north of Lake Shasta has nothing to do with rods and reels and everything to do with crops in the San Joaquin Valley and raising Shasta Dam.
"We did not want to see the use of this land to be changed to impede the potential of raising the dam," said Tom Birmingham, general manager for Westlands, a Fresno-based district that counts more than 700 farms as members and covers more than 600,000 acres in western Fresno and Kings counties.
The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying the possibility of raising the dam since 1980 and expects to have a feasibility report complete next year that will detail whether the dam, and Lake Shasta, will be going up.
Ahead of the wave
While the bureau is looking at possibly raising the dam 6½ feet to 18½ feet, the dam's base could support a raise of up to 200 feet. Tourists often hear that when they visit the dam, which was built between 1938 and 1945. The original plans called for an 800-foot dam, but the lack of supplies and labor cut it to 602 feet.
Human Caused Global Warming Skeptics Guide
The pro human cause is all over the media, but the skepticism is harder to find. Here is a guide put together by Senator Inhofe which is excellent.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bus & Rail Tax
I would venture to say that for the foreseeable future, transit will never provide transportation for any level of residents in the Sacramento region worth its cost, and that is due, very simply, to the suburban nature of the region and the impossibility of ever providing the level of access to where people want to go with rails and buses as can be done in a highly urban area like New York or San Francisco.
The car (and the bike to some degree) will continue to rule the valley floors, due to weather, employment base, and the car culture gene embedded in valley life.
Editorial: Is transit worth a tax?
Regional Transit kick-starts the debate
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Regional Transit General Manager Beverly Scott is right that transit in Sacramento needs more money. Buses and light-rail trains don't run frequently enough or cover enough ground in the region.
While 20 percent of downtown workers use transit to travel to their jobs, countywide on a typical workday, no more than 5 percent of Sacramento commuters use transit.
Most drive. Persuading those drivers to tax themselves for a transit service they don't use will be difficult.
Yet ridership can't be boosted significantly unless transit service is improved, and service can't improve significantly without more money. That's RT's conundrum.
Armed with a new survey that shows 74 percent of Sacramento County residents would support a ballot tax measure for transit and roads, Scott wants to put a new tax measure on Sacramento County's ballot as early as 2010.
Although she would prefer a comprehensive measure that would pay for roads, transit, and pedestrian and bike needs, Scott noted that the district's telephone survey of 2,000 registered voters found that 68 percent would support a tax increase just for bus and light rail. If other transit agencies are not willing to support a ballot measure in 2010, she thinks RT should consider moving forward alone with a transit-only proposal.
Sacramento is the only county in the region that has a local sales tax for transportation. County voters approved an extension of Measure A, the current half-cent sales tax for transportation in 2004, endorsing a plan to raise $5.2 billion over 30 years. Going back so soon to voters would be risky; a transit-only measure would make it even riskier. RT also needs to demonstrate it's a good steward of the money by better managing its work force. RT's bus drivers on average are absent 21 days beyond the 12 annual sick days allowed under their contract. That's unacceptable.
The car (and the bike to some degree) will continue to rule the valley floors, due to weather, employment base, and the car culture gene embedded in valley life.
Editorial: Is transit worth a tax?
Regional Transit kick-starts the debate
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Regional Transit General Manager Beverly Scott is right that transit in Sacramento needs more money. Buses and light-rail trains don't run frequently enough or cover enough ground in the region.
While 20 percent of downtown workers use transit to travel to their jobs, countywide on a typical workday, no more than 5 percent of Sacramento commuters use transit.
Most drive. Persuading those drivers to tax themselves for a transit service they don't use will be difficult.
Yet ridership can't be boosted significantly unless transit service is improved, and service can't improve significantly without more money. That's RT's conundrum.
Armed with a new survey that shows 74 percent of Sacramento County residents would support a ballot tax measure for transit and roads, Scott wants to put a new tax measure on Sacramento County's ballot as early as 2010.
Although she would prefer a comprehensive measure that would pay for roads, transit, and pedestrian and bike needs, Scott noted that the district's telephone survey of 2,000 registered voters found that 68 percent would support a tax increase just for bus and light rail. If other transit agencies are not willing to support a ballot measure in 2010, she thinks RT should consider moving forward alone with a transit-only proposal.
Sacramento is the only county in the region that has a local sales tax for transportation. County voters approved an extension of Measure A, the current half-cent sales tax for transportation in 2004, endorsing a plan to raise $5.2 billion over 30 years. Going back so soon to voters would be risky; a transit-only measure would make it even riskier. RT also needs to demonstrate it's a good steward of the money by better managing its work force. RT's bus drivers on average are absent 21 days beyond the 12 annual sick days allowed under their contract. That's unacceptable.
Deep Ecology & Gaia
This is an excellent article, from a British perspective, of the two movements so influential in the global environmental movement, virtually under girding the anti-technology arguments animating it.
The very important fifth principle of eight (particularly for those anticipating having a large family) of the deep ecology platform (from it’s founder) is: “5. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of non-human life requires such a decrease.” Arne Naess, 'Ecology, Community and Lifestyle', Cambridge, 1989, CUP, p. 29.
How deep is your ecology?
— The New Age versus the New Militants in hardline environmentalism.
There is a stereotypical picture of the British Pagan's interest in the preservation of the environment. Beards, long hair, flowing clothes, excessive use of wind-chimes and language peppered with references to "Mother Earth", "the cosmos", "Oneness with the universe" or even "transcendence of the false ego to achieve union with nature" are recognisable facets of this stereotype. However, while it is undeniably true that the lighter element of "pagan" ecology is often used as an excuse to drink a lot of herbal tea and wear dream-catcher earrings, there are other pagan and pagan-influenced perspectives on environmental issues which are worthy of note. If not always valid as scientific hypotheses, pagan-influenced environmentalist theories offer a fascinating alternative to "conventional" (i.e. person-oriented rather than earth-oriented) ecology.
This distinction between "humanist" and "holistic" ecology may come across as arbitrary at first. For what is ecology if not simply the scientific study of the relationships that living things have to their environment and to each other? Those who advocate the "holistic" approach, and most notably followers of James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, would argue that the idea of study in itself suggests something that is apart from the student, a perspective which, as we are all part of the self-regulating organism that is Gaia and thus cannot separate ourselves from it, is ultimately misguided. If the earth or universe is conceived of as a self-regulating organism, then ecology, rather than being an observational scientific practice, becomes a thought system, a perspective on life and the structure of the universe that dominates all other thought. In opposition to "humanist" ecology, the accusation is that conventional scientific attitudes towards ecology are heavily rooted in the Western/Judeo-Christian perspective on nature which assumes that humanity has a certain amount of stewardship over the earth. This use of the term "humanist" is far from its standard definition — we can simply assume that, for the Gaia theorist, ecology that starts and ends with the perspective of the human is, for want of a better word, BAD. As Adrian Harris puts it in his article "Sacred Ecology":
"Besides the cerebral knowledge we all possess, the words & ideas stored in our heads, there is a deeper knowledge held within the tissue of our bodies. It is a somatic, physical knowing which comes from direct experience. This is the knowledge of faith, of emotion, of the gut feeling.
The philosophical tradition of the West is an intellectual one founded on logic & language. It is profoundly limiting, for within it whatever cannot be said does not exist. What I am proposing is a radical alternative: A Somatic philosophy which respects the knowing of the body, the knowledge memories & wisdom held within our muscles, flowing with our hormones, sparking through our nerves." (available at www.thegreenfuse.org)
The very important fifth principle of eight (particularly for those anticipating having a large family) of the deep ecology platform (from it’s founder) is: “5. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of non-human life requires such a decrease.” Arne Naess, 'Ecology, Community and Lifestyle', Cambridge, 1989, CUP, p. 29.
How deep is your ecology?
— The New Age versus the New Militants in hardline environmentalism.
There is a stereotypical picture of the British Pagan's interest in the preservation of the environment. Beards, long hair, flowing clothes, excessive use of wind-chimes and language peppered with references to "Mother Earth", "the cosmos", "Oneness with the universe" or even "transcendence of the false ego to achieve union with nature" are recognisable facets of this stereotype. However, while it is undeniably true that the lighter element of "pagan" ecology is often used as an excuse to drink a lot of herbal tea and wear dream-catcher earrings, there are other pagan and pagan-influenced perspectives on environmental issues which are worthy of note. If not always valid as scientific hypotheses, pagan-influenced environmentalist theories offer a fascinating alternative to "conventional" (i.e. person-oriented rather than earth-oriented) ecology.
This distinction between "humanist" and "holistic" ecology may come across as arbitrary at first. For what is ecology if not simply the scientific study of the relationships that living things have to their environment and to each other? Those who advocate the "holistic" approach, and most notably followers of James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, would argue that the idea of study in itself suggests something that is apart from the student, a perspective which, as we are all part of the self-regulating organism that is Gaia and thus cannot separate ourselves from it, is ultimately misguided. If the earth or universe is conceived of as a self-regulating organism, then ecology, rather than being an observational scientific practice, becomes a thought system, a perspective on life and the structure of the universe that dominates all other thought. In opposition to "humanist" ecology, the accusation is that conventional scientific attitudes towards ecology are heavily rooted in the Western/Judeo-Christian perspective on nature which assumes that humanity has a certain amount of stewardship over the earth. This use of the term "humanist" is far from its standard definition — we can simply assume that, for the Gaia theorist, ecology that starts and ends with the perspective of the human is, for want of a better word, BAD. As Adrian Harris puts it in his article "Sacred Ecology":
"Besides the cerebral knowledge we all possess, the words & ideas stored in our heads, there is a deeper knowledge held within the tissue of our bodies. It is a somatic, physical knowing which comes from direct experience. This is the knowledge of faith, of emotion, of the gut feeling.
The philosophical tradition of the West is an intellectual one founded on logic & language. It is profoundly limiting, for within it whatever cannot be said does not exist. What I am proposing is a radical alternative: A Somatic philosophy which respects the knowing of the body, the knowledge memories & wisdom held within our muscles, flowing with our hormones, sparking through our nerves." (available at www.thegreenfuse.org)
Monday, February 19, 2007
San Joaquin Valley Water Politics
They continue, and become more complicated with the change in congressional leadership.
Political barriers could stall Valley irrigation plan
By Michael Doyle - Bee Washington Bureau
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, February 19, 2007
WASHINGTON-Serious political and pragmatic obstacles impede a new proposal to shift vast San Joaquin Valley irrigation facilities into farmers' hands.
Capitol Hill skeptics hold key leadership positions. Congress is already booked up with another big Valley water plan to restore the San Joaquin River. Technical solutions are complicated. And history, if it's any guide, suggests it's extremely hard to transfer federal water projects -- especially ones serving California.
"A proposal like this will always face challenges," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, conceded Friday. "This is not a unanimous consent item."
Just ask El Dorado County residents.
In 1988, the area's congressman proposed that the Sly Park water and recreation unit be transferred from federal into local control. In 2003, Congress finally finished the job -- 15 years for a modest project that lacked the legal and environmental baggage associated with the San Joaquin Valley's west side.
Costa, nonetheless, said he finds promise in the new notion to deliver into local control the San Luis Reservoir and more than 100 miles of canals and associated pumping plants. He represents much of the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District.
Under the proposal, Westlands would join with the San Luis Water District and other districts in taking over the federal facilities. The state of California would also play a role.
The water districts would become responsible for resolving the irrigation drainage problems now afflicting almost 400,000 acres of the Valley's west side. In exchange, the federal government would forgive the districts' $489.6 million construction debt.
"This is an attempt, I think, to think out of the box," Costa said.
Political barriers could stall Valley irrigation plan
By Michael Doyle - Bee Washington Bureau
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, February 19, 2007
WASHINGTON-Serious political and pragmatic obstacles impede a new proposal to shift vast San Joaquin Valley irrigation facilities into farmers' hands.
Capitol Hill skeptics hold key leadership positions. Congress is already booked up with another big Valley water plan to restore the San Joaquin River. Technical solutions are complicated. And history, if it's any guide, suggests it's extremely hard to transfer federal water projects -- especially ones serving California.
"A proposal like this will always face challenges," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, conceded Friday. "This is not a unanimous consent item."
Just ask El Dorado County residents.
In 1988, the area's congressman proposed that the Sly Park water and recreation unit be transferred from federal into local control. In 2003, Congress finally finished the job -- 15 years for a modest project that lacked the legal and environmental baggage associated with the San Joaquin Valley's west side.
Costa, nonetheless, said he finds promise in the new notion to deliver into local control the San Luis Reservoir and more than 100 miles of canals and associated pumping plants. He represents much of the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District.
Under the proposal, Westlands would join with the San Luis Water District and other districts in taking over the federal facilities. The state of California would also play a role.
The water districts would become responsible for resolving the irrigation drainage problems now afflicting almost 400,000 acres of the Valley's west side. In exchange, the federal government would forgive the districts' $489.6 million construction debt.
"This is an attempt, I think, to think out of the box," Costa said.
Greens Pollution
A good overview of how it happens and what is being considered to reduce it.
Fresh crops tainted by suspicion
E. coli has exposed flaws in spinach, lettuce production.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, February 19, 2007
Last year's E. coli outbreaks -- one traced to bagged spinach and two to lettuce -- have left a nation in a salad spinner of confusion.
Americans have come to expect the food they eat won't make them sick.
But unlike most edible items in the grocery store that have been cooked, baked, broiled, fried, or pasteurized to destroy harmful bacteria, fresh produce has no such "kill point," no moment on the assembly line when pathogens meet their doom.
The very attribute that makes produce so attractive in color, taste and nutritional value -- its freshness -- also leaves it vulnerable to contamination.
The outbreaks together sickened 350 people -- and killed three -- nationwide. Their one-two-three punch in the fall and winter led to consumer fear and outrage and an unprecedented push by politicians and health leaders for more regulation of the leafy greens industry.
"It's fundamental. You should be able to believe the food you're eating is safe," said Elisa Odabashian, director of the West Coast office of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.
Other produce, such as tomatoes, also can cause pathogen outbreaks. But spinach and lettuce, with all their wrinkles and crinkles where harmful bacteria such as E. coli can hide, are among the most vulnerable produce around. In the past decade, 20 cases of E. coli outbreaks have been traced to fresh leafy greens -- many linked to California's Salinas Valley.
Fresh crops tainted by suspicion
E. coli has exposed flaws in spinach, lettuce production.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, February 19, 2007
Last year's E. coli outbreaks -- one traced to bagged spinach and two to lettuce -- have left a nation in a salad spinner of confusion.
Americans have come to expect the food they eat won't make them sick.
But unlike most edible items in the grocery store that have been cooked, baked, broiled, fried, or pasteurized to destroy harmful bacteria, fresh produce has no such "kill point," no moment on the assembly line when pathogens meet their doom.
The very attribute that makes produce so attractive in color, taste and nutritional value -- its freshness -- also leaves it vulnerable to contamination.
The outbreaks together sickened 350 people -- and killed three -- nationwide. Their one-two-three punch in the fall and winter led to consumer fear and outrage and an unprecedented push by politicians and health leaders for more regulation of the leafy greens industry.
"It's fundamental. You should be able to believe the food you're eating is safe," said Elisa Odabashian, director of the West Coast office of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.
Other produce, such as tomatoes, also can cause pathogen outbreaks. But spinach and lettuce, with all their wrinkles and crinkles where harmful bacteria such as E. coli can hide, are among the most vulnerable produce around. In the past decade, 20 cases of E. coli outbreaks have been traced to fresh leafy greens -- many linked to California's Salinas Valley.
Hardly Homeless
This is really more like an urban camping out situation and one wonders how many, counted as homeless, fit this description, “homeless by choice”.
Homeless by choice, O.C. student learns self-reliance
Andy Bussell says his life in his pickup truck has taught him to adapt and change.
By Seema Mehta
Times Staff Writer
February 19, 2007
After a long day of film classes, working at the Apple Store, rock climbing at the gym and finishing homework in the student union, Cal State Fullerton senior Andy Bussell heads home — to a white Toyota Tacoma with a twin-size mattress in the truck bed, a camper shell for protection and black curtains for privacy.
The 26-year-old has been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student. What started out as a way to save some cash has turned into a journey of self-reliance and independence.
"Even though I had a good job, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not making any headway with my credit cards," he said. "I've learned that I can push myself, break down my own boundaries. I've been able to learn that I can change and adapt to different kinds of situations."
The odyssey began in 2005. Bussell was working full time as a "Mac genius" at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, sharing a $1,600-per-month apartment in Aliso Viejo. He had racked up more than $10,000 in credit card debt and was struggling to pay for school and save money for a three-month road trip. So on July 29, 2005, he started living in his truck, with the goal of lasting one year.
Co-workers created a pool on how long the truck life would last, with the longest prediction three months.
Homeless by choice, O.C. student learns self-reliance
Andy Bussell says his life in his pickup truck has taught him to adapt and change.
By Seema Mehta
Times Staff Writer
February 19, 2007
After a long day of film classes, working at the Apple Store, rock climbing at the gym and finishing homework in the student union, Cal State Fullerton senior Andy Bussell heads home — to a white Toyota Tacoma with a twin-size mattress in the truck bed, a camper shell for protection and black curtains for privacy.
The 26-year-old has been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student. What started out as a way to save some cash has turned into a journey of self-reliance and independence.
"Even though I had a good job, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not making any headway with my credit cards," he said. "I've learned that I can push myself, break down my own boundaries. I've been able to learn that I can change and adapt to different kinds of situations."
The odyssey began in 2005. Bussell was working full time as a "Mac genius" at the Apple Store in Newport Beach, sharing a $1,600-per-month apartment in Aliso Viejo. He had racked up more than $10,000 in credit card debt and was struggling to pay for school and save money for a three-month road trip. So on July 29, 2005, he started living in his truck, with the goal of lasting one year.
Co-workers created a pool on how long the truck life would last, with the longest prediction three months.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Good Commentary
We would agree with this analysis and hope others look at the facts soberly, leaving politics and personalities out of it.
We really need more flood protection. Our vulnerability to massive flooding is clearly the biggest public safety risk currently facing Sacramento.
A 500 year level is obviously desirable, and only the dam provides that.
For a dramatic graphic describing what the congressmen wrote about, go to the Department of Water Resources webpage at http://www.levees.water.ca.gov/history/floodprotect.cfm .
Benefits of Auburn dam outweigh costs of a flood
Good forest management can be balanced with logging interests
By John Doolittle and Dan Lungren -
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Bureau of Reclamation's recent report provided insight on what an Auburn dam could mean for our region. The report is clear that under certain conditions an Auburn dam could:
• Provide 500-year flood protection;
• Generate significant water supply and hydroelectric power revenues; and
• Provide positive recreational and environmental benefits along the American River.
Congress directed the bureau to prepare a special report within the parameters of the latest design for an Auburn dam, which took place in 1978. This required the bureau to adapt a 30-year-old design to meet current conditions and make numerous assumptions to develop a range of potential benefit values and costs.
It is unfortunate that The Bee selected the most unfavorable range of benefit and cost values and presented it as if it were a report finding. The report states no conclusions or recommendations but rather provides information to use as a catalyst for a constructive discussion about flood control.
One finding that is clear, however, is that our region is faced with twice the risk and half the protection from catastrophic flooding as New Orleans had been prior to Katrina.
Tacoma, St. Louis, Dallas and Kansas City are the other major cities at risk of catastrophic flooding. All have 500-year flood protection. Besides New Orleans, only Omaha has a mere 250-year flood protection. Astoundingly, our region currently has roughly 85-year flood protection. We have labored hard to put in motion major repairs of the levees and modifications of Folsom dam, and look forward to their completion over the coming decade. Unfortunately, the most Sacramento can hope to achieve from all these improvements is 220-year flood protection.
We really need more flood protection. Our vulnerability to massive flooding is clearly the biggest public safety risk currently facing Sacramento.
A 500 year level is obviously desirable, and only the dam provides that.
For a dramatic graphic describing what the congressmen wrote about, go to the Department of Water Resources webpage at http://www.levees.water.ca.gov/history/floodprotect.cfm .
Benefits of Auburn dam outweigh costs of a flood
Good forest management can be balanced with logging interests
By John Doolittle and Dan Lungren -
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Bureau of Reclamation's recent report provided insight on what an Auburn dam could mean for our region. The report is clear that under certain conditions an Auburn dam could:
• Provide 500-year flood protection;
• Generate significant water supply and hydroelectric power revenues; and
• Provide positive recreational and environmental benefits along the American River.
Congress directed the bureau to prepare a special report within the parameters of the latest design for an Auburn dam, which took place in 1978. This required the bureau to adapt a 30-year-old design to meet current conditions and make numerous assumptions to develop a range of potential benefit values and costs.
It is unfortunate that The Bee selected the most unfavorable range of benefit and cost values and presented it as if it were a report finding. The report states no conclusions or recommendations but rather provides information to use as a catalyst for a constructive discussion about flood control.
One finding that is clear, however, is that our region is faced with twice the risk and half the protection from catastrophic flooding as New Orleans had been prior to Katrina.
Tacoma, St. Louis, Dallas and Kansas City are the other major cities at risk of catastrophic flooding. All have 500-year flood protection. Besides New Orleans, only Omaha has a mere 250-year flood protection. Astoundingly, our region currently has roughly 85-year flood protection. We have labored hard to put in motion major repairs of the levees and modifications of Folsom dam, and look forward to their completion over the coming decade. Unfortunately, the most Sacramento can hope to achieve from all these improvements is 220-year flood protection.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Methane from Manure
Hopefully this is what will be happening at all of the dairies and other farms where it is feasible. It is a good use of waste to recycle it for energy, and a good idea for legislation if it already hasn’t been passed.(pun alert)
Cow power means money from manure via electricity
By Edie Lau - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, February 17, 2007
The cows on Fred Denier's dairy soon will be producing something more than milk -- they'll be making juice.
That's juice as in electrical power.
Cal-Denier Dairy in Galt has a deal with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to capture methane gas from cow manure to generate electricity.
The deal is one in a wave of new agreements in California aimed at boosting the state's use of renewable energy by harnessing the power of cow pies.
Cow power means money from manure via electricity
By Edie Lau - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, February 17, 2007
The cows on Fred Denier's dairy soon will be producing something more than milk -- they'll be making juice.
That's juice as in electrical power.
Cal-Denier Dairy in Galt has a deal with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to capture methane gas from cow manure to generate electricity.
The deal is one in a wave of new agreements in California aimed at boosting the state's use of renewable energy by harnessing the power of cow pies.
NIMBY is Rational Response
Communities not wanting social service centers to open in their neighborhoods are acting rationally, as the evidence—whether anecdotal or well researched—is that they degrade, rather than upgrade, neighborhoods.
An emerging trend is for services to be scattered, virtually on an individual basis and for treatment teams to deliver services throughout the community rather than in congregate sites.
This is the model pioneered by Pathways to Housing, a homeless provider in New York, which does not set congregate housing for the homeless in a neighborhood but rents existing apartments and subsidizes rent for the homeless while delivering services to the scattered sites.
This works well for the homeless, as they are less apt to have previous values reinforced through group interaction, and for the community, which then deals with the homeless as individual apartment dwellers rather than in a group home situation.
It is the model Sacramento should also use for its new homeless effort.
Homeless shelter director criticizes Antonovich
Advocates say the supervisor's office is trying to sabotage their effort to move homeless women and children to a facility near Sylmar.
By Cara Mia DiMassa and Jack Leonard
Times Staff Writers
February 17, 2007
A year and a half after it was proposed, a novel effort to move homeless children and their mothers out of skid row and into a hillside encampment area near the Angeles National Forest is in danger of falling apart, officials said Friday.
The proposed 71-acre home for women and children trying to get out of homelessness and off downtown's skid row was supposed to be an easy project because it would be built far from homes in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
Officials called it an important litmus test for other efforts across the county to decentralize homeless services and spread the problems of skid row to outlying areas.
But on Friday, the president of Union Rescue Mission, which proposed the Hope Gardens complex, said the project is in jeopardy of falling apart, accusing Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office of trying to sabotage the effort.
The supervisor's staffers are doing "everything they can to delay women and children from moving out to Hope Gardens. They've gotten kind of nasty about it," Andrew J. Bales said, adding that delays have already cost the mission more than $1 million in legal costs and interest payments.
Antonovich's office, however, denies the charges and said the supervisor has not decided yet whether he will support the project, a key issue because it's in his district.
The stakes on the outcome of Hope Gardens are high. Last year, the county announced a $100-million program to spread the burden of homeless services across the region in an effort to improve conditions on skid row, which has the highest concentration of homeless people in the western United States.
The plan called for establishing five centers across the county that would provide temporary shelter and social services for transients. But the ideas met with immediate opposition from residents near some of the possible locations, and no sites have been chosen.
An emerging trend is for services to be scattered, virtually on an individual basis and for treatment teams to deliver services throughout the community rather than in congregate sites.
This is the model pioneered by Pathways to Housing, a homeless provider in New York, which does not set congregate housing for the homeless in a neighborhood but rents existing apartments and subsidizes rent for the homeless while delivering services to the scattered sites.
This works well for the homeless, as they are less apt to have previous values reinforced through group interaction, and for the community, which then deals with the homeless as individual apartment dwellers rather than in a group home situation.
It is the model Sacramento should also use for its new homeless effort.
Homeless shelter director criticizes Antonovich
Advocates say the supervisor's office is trying to sabotage their effort to move homeless women and children to a facility near Sylmar.
By Cara Mia DiMassa and Jack Leonard
Times Staff Writers
February 17, 2007
A year and a half after it was proposed, a novel effort to move homeless children and their mothers out of skid row and into a hillside encampment area near the Angeles National Forest is in danger of falling apart, officials said Friday.
The proposed 71-acre home for women and children trying to get out of homelessness and off downtown's skid row was supposed to be an easy project because it would be built far from homes in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
Officials called it an important litmus test for other efforts across the county to decentralize homeless services and spread the problems of skid row to outlying areas.
But on Friday, the president of Union Rescue Mission, which proposed the Hope Gardens complex, said the project is in jeopardy of falling apart, accusing Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office of trying to sabotage the effort.
The supervisor's staffers are doing "everything they can to delay women and children from moving out to Hope Gardens. They've gotten kind of nasty about it," Andrew J. Bales said, adding that delays have already cost the mission more than $1 million in legal costs and interest payments.
Antonovich's office, however, denies the charges and said the supervisor has not decided yet whether he will support the project, a key issue because it's in his district.
The stakes on the outcome of Hope Gardens are high. Last year, the county announced a $100-million program to spread the burden of homeless services across the region in an effort to improve conditions on skid row, which has the highest concentration of homeless people in the western United States.
The plan called for establishing five centers across the county that would provide temporary shelter and social services for transients. But the ideas met with immediate opposition from residents near some of the possible locations, and no sites have been chosen.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Need More Voices Raised for 500 Year Protection
A good editorial for 200 year protection but we need to hear public voices raised for 500 year protection, which major river cities (St. Louis, Tacoma, Dallas, Kansas City) already have, while New Orleans has 250 year protection and Sacramento currently is at about 89 years.
An excellent graphic of this can be found at the California Department of Water Resources @ http://www.levees.water.ca.gov/history/floodprotect.cfm
Editorial: Big flood vote
Editorial: SAFCA poised to ask residents to invest
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
The local agency in charge of flood protection in the Sacramento area is ready to ask residents in harm's way whether they are willing to pay a dime (via a property assessment) for a dollar's worth of new protection. It is a bargain. This assessment election, and its outcome, is arguably the region's most important political decision of the year. The area faces no greater threat than flooding. And it has no greater opportunity to do something about it than in the coming weeks.
Board members of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, or SAFCA, voted Thursday to authorize this election. SAFCA has done a masterful job putting together a list of achievable flood control projects on the Sacramento and American rivers, as well as for streams that threaten south Sacramento. The timing could not be better.
Billions in state funds for flood control projects will be available, because voters approved a statewide flood bond, 1E, last November. The communities that are ready to invest in their own futures will end up with the most protection. SAFCA has put the community in the perfect position to prevent a disaster from happening.
An excellent graphic of this can be found at the California Department of Water Resources @ http://www.levees.water.ca.gov/history/floodprotect.cfm
Editorial: Big flood vote
Editorial: SAFCA poised to ask residents to invest
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
The local agency in charge of flood protection in the Sacramento area is ready to ask residents in harm's way whether they are willing to pay a dime (via a property assessment) for a dollar's worth of new protection. It is a bargain. This assessment election, and its outcome, is arguably the region's most important political decision of the year. The area faces no greater threat than flooding. And it has no greater opportunity to do something about it than in the coming weeks.
Board members of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, or SAFCA, voted Thursday to authorize this election. SAFCA has done a masterful job putting together a list of achievable flood control projects on the Sacramento and American rivers, as well as for streams that threaten south Sacramento. The timing could not be better.
Billions in state funds for flood control projects will be available, because voters approved a statewide flood bond, 1E, last November. The communities that are ready to invest in their own futures will end up with the most protection. SAFCA has put the community in the perfect position to prevent a disaster from happening.
Government is Economic Engine
And will remain so in Sacramento for some time to come.
Government is city's engine
Rising tide should help law firms, lobbyists and other cottage industries
By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Sacramento's economy will grow more quickly than any other major metropolitan area in California over the next decade, a leading private economist says.
One of the big reasons why may surprise you.
For all of Sacramento's efforts to diversify its economy, the region's old reliable industry -- state government -- will be one of the leading growth engines between now and 2015. After several years of deficits, hiring freezes and downsizing, the state will hire in earnest to keep up with California's exploding population and infrastructure needs, according to the report by Stephen Levy, director of Palo Alto's Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
The private sector will be a major part of this, he said. The cottage industries that serve government -- law firms, lobbyists and so on -- will mushroom to keep up with the state's hiring, particularly as California implements billions of dollars in planned infrastructure improvements.
"The state is going to be putting out a ton of money," Levy said in an interview. "State government is the gorilla of the economic base."
Government is city's engine
Rising tide should help law firms, lobbyists and other cottage industries
By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Sacramento's economy will grow more quickly than any other major metropolitan area in California over the next decade, a leading private economist says.
One of the big reasons why may surprise you.
For all of Sacramento's efforts to diversify its economy, the region's old reliable industry -- state government -- will be one of the leading growth engines between now and 2015. After several years of deficits, hiring freezes and downsizing, the state will hire in earnest to keep up with California's exploding population and infrastructure needs, according to the report by Stephen Levy, director of Palo Alto's Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
The private sector will be a major part of this, he said. The cottage industries that serve government -- law firms, lobbyists and so on -- will mushroom to keep up with the state's hiring, particularly as California implements billions of dollars in planned infrastructure improvements.
"The state is going to be putting out a ton of money," Levy said in an interview. "State government is the gorilla of the economic base."
Folsom Dam Meeting Announcement
Folsom Dam construction topic of public meeting
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
A plan to improve flood protection provided by Folsom Dam, which could mean at least seven years of construction near parts of Folsom Lake, will be discussed at a meeting Tuesday.
The meeting, the first in a series, is from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the Folsom Community Center, 52 Natoma St.
The meetings are designed to give residents a chance to voice concerns about the project, expected to cost more than $1 billion.
Representatives from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency and the California Department of Water Resources/ Reclamation Board will attend.
A draft document outlining construction plans raised the possibility of closing Folsom Point during construction.
The possible closing prompted objections from residents who use the popular boating launch.
The Bureau of Reclamation is considering alternatives to keep the boat launch open.
A final decision about how the project will be done is due in late March.
Construction is expected to begin next fall.
For more information about the meeting, contact Shawn Oliver at the bureau, (916) 989-7256 or soliver@mp.usbr.gov.
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
A plan to improve flood protection provided by Folsom Dam, which could mean at least seven years of construction near parts of Folsom Lake, will be discussed at a meeting Tuesday.
The meeting, the first in a series, is from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the Folsom Community Center, 52 Natoma St.
The meetings are designed to give residents a chance to voice concerns about the project, expected to cost more than $1 billion.
Representatives from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency and the California Department of Water Resources/ Reclamation Board will attend.
A draft document outlining construction plans raised the possibility of closing Folsom Point during construction.
The possible closing prompted objections from residents who use the popular boating launch.
The Bureau of Reclamation is considering alternatives to keep the boat launch open.
A final decision about how the project will be done is due in late March.
Construction is expected to begin next fall.
For more information about the meeting, contact Shawn Oliver at the bureau, (916) 989-7256 or soliver@mp.usbr.gov.
Vote for 200 Year Protection
If 500 year protection continues to play a role, though it’s still too small of a one, in our region’s planning, then getting to it in steps is fine.
March vote approved for flood assessment
$326 million would be raised for capital-area levee and dam projects.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency board of directors on Thursday unanimously agreed to ask voters to approve a new property tax assessment for greater flood safety.
The election, which is designed to raise $326 million over 30 years, will not use the traditional ballot box approach. Instead, a weighted mail ballot system will be employed, with ballots going out starting March 2.
"This is the No. 1 public safety issue in Sacramento," said Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, who also sits on the board of the flood control agency, known as SAFCA.
The assessment would pay for the local share of what it would cost to provide a much higher level of flood protection for Sacramento. The total price tag, $2.68 billion, would be largely paid by federal and state sources.
"This is an investment of about 10 cents on the dollar to avoid a catastrophe," said Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County supervisor and SAFCA trustee. "That's a deal you can't pass up."
Proceeds from the assessment, if supported by a majority of the weighted votes cast, would pay for work on levees on the American and Sacramento rivers and other waterways, as well as improvements to Folsom Dam.
The work, which would take at least 10 years, would provide Sacramento with 200-year flood protection. Currently the city has 100-year protection (and even less in some areas), making Sacramento the most flood-vulnerable large city in America. One-hundred-year protection means levees are expected to withstand huge storms with a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any given year.
March vote approved for flood assessment
$326 million would be raised for capital-area levee and dam projects.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency board of directors on Thursday unanimously agreed to ask voters to approve a new property tax assessment for greater flood safety.
The election, which is designed to raise $326 million over 30 years, will not use the traditional ballot box approach. Instead, a weighted mail ballot system will be employed, with ballots going out starting March 2.
"This is the No. 1 public safety issue in Sacramento," said Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, who also sits on the board of the flood control agency, known as SAFCA.
The assessment would pay for the local share of what it would cost to provide a much higher level of flood protection for Sacramento. The total price tag, $2.68 billion, would be largely paid by federal and state sources.
"This is an investment of about 10 cents on the dollar to avoid a catastrophe," said Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County supervisor and SAFCA trustee. "That's a deal you can't pass up."
Proceeds from the assessment, if supported by a majority of the weighted votes cast, would pay for work on levees on the American and Sacramento rivers and other waterways, as well as improvements to Folsom Dam.
The work, which would take at least 10 years, would provide Sacramento with 200-year flood protection. Currently the city has 100-year protection (and even less in some areas), making Sacramento the most flood-vulnerable large city in America. One-hundred-year protection means levees are expected to withstand huge storms with a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any given year.
Dams & Global Warming
Some may be dirty, some may be clean, so it’s clear that further research is needed.
'Clean' energy dams may be dirty after all
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan to borrow $4.5 billion to build two massive new reservoirs. He pitched them as a vital response to climate change.
"With the impact that global warming will cause to our snowpacks," he said, "we need more infrastructure ... so the next generation of Californians is not faced with a shortage of this precious resource."
But new research suggests the governor's water plan may instead aggravate climate change. In recent years, scientists have documented that dams and hydropower -- long considered a "clean" energy source -- may actually pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in surprising ways.
Emissions occur, first, during cement-making and construction for a dam. More happens when land behind it is flooded, causing vegetation to rot, releasing carbon dioxide and methane.
Emissions continue throughout the dam's life as more organic matter washes in from upstream, and when water is released to make electricity, causing a pressure drop that frees gases locked within the stored water.
"If these are going to be built as a response to climate change, you at least need to convene some people to study the effect it will have," said Danny Cullenward, a research associate at the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. "The facts are in that it's not a zero-impact source from an emissions standpoint."
Natural lakes may produce emissions in the same way. But the effects could be greater in man-made reservoirs because water levels change more dramatically behind dams. And, like any other man-made energy source, reservoirs would be counted as an addition of greenhouse gases beyond natural levels.
"Obviously, there's some irony if measures supposed to help us adapt to climate change are themselves contributing to the problem," said Patrick McCully, executive director of the International Rivers Network in Oakland.
Research shows that some reservoirs have a positive effect, absorbing more carbon dioxide than they emit. In either case, the effects vary according to geology, climate, reservoir operations and other factors.
'Clean' energy dams may be dirty after all
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan to borrow $4.5 billion to build two massive new reservoirs. He pitched them as a vital response to climate change.
"With the impact that global warming will cause to our snowpacks," he said, "we need more infrastructure ... so the next generation of Californians is not faced with a shortage of this precious resource."
But new research suggests the governor's water plan may instead aggravate climate change. In recent years, scientists have documented that dams and hydropower -- long considered a "clean" energy source -- may actually pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in surprising ways.
Emissions occur, first, during cement-making and construction for a dam. More happens when land behind it is flooded, causing vegetation to rot, releasing carbon dioxide and methane.
Emissions continue throughout the dam's life as more organic matter washes in from upstream, and when water is released to make electricity, causing a pressure drop that frees gases locked within the stored water.
"If these are going to be built as a response to climate change, you at least need to convene some people to study the effect it will have," said Danny Cullenward, a research associate at the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. "The facts are in that it's not a zero-impact source from an emissions standpoint."
Natural lakes may produce emissions in the same way. But the effects could be greater in man-made reservoirs because water levels change more dramatically behind dams. And, like any other man-made energy source, reservoirs would be counted as an addition of greenhouse gases beyond natural levels.
"Obviously, there's some irony if measures supposed to help us adapt to climate change are themselves contributing to the problem," said Patrick McCully, executive director of the International Rivers Network in Oakland.
Research shows that some reservoirs have a positive effect, absorbing more carbon dioxide than they emit. In either case, the effects vary according to geology, climate, reservoir operations and other factors.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
States Business Health Facts
Just the facts often help resolve arguments.
Job-flight theory falters
State share of U.S. total rises, study says
By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
It seems the California business climate is always on trial.
Business leaders say high costs are driving companies out of state. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used that argument to persuade the Legislature to overhaul the state's workers' compensation system. Ever the showman, he cast himself as a defender against business recruiters from other states, at one point unloading a moving van to welcome a company that moved to Southern California from Las Vegas.
But a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California says talk of a problematic business climate is overblown, and California is holding its own against other states.
The study, being released today by the nonpartisan San Francisco-based institute, says that while some California companies are moving jobs out of state, non-California companies are moving operations here. And, of course, existing companies are adding jobs.
"California's share of national employment dipped in the early to mid-1990s and has risen since then," says the study, co-authored by the institute's Jed Kolko and David Neumark. The numbers "make it difficult to argue that these changes reflect a bad business climate in recent years."
Job-flight theory falters
State share of U.S. total rises, study says
By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
It seems the California business climate is always on trial.
Business leaders say high costs are driving companies out of state. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used that argument to persuade the Legislature to overhaul the state's workers' compensation system. Ever the showman, he cast himself as a defender against business recruiters from other states, at one point unloading a moving van to welcome a company that moved to Southern California from Las Vegas.
But a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California says talk of a problematic business climate is overblown, and California is holding its own against other states.
The study, being released today by the nonpartisan San Francisco-based institute, says that while some California companies are moving jobs out of state, non-California companies are moving operations here. And, of course, existing companies are adding jobs.
"California's share of national employment dipped in the early to mid-1990s and has risen since then," says the study, co-authored by the institute's Jed Kolko and David Neumark. The numbers "make it difficult to argue that these changes reflect a bad business climate in recent years."
Species Review Announcement
Species status review begins
- Bee Metro Staff
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it will conduct a status review of 58 protected species in California and Nevada, including the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.
The review, required every five years, will determine whether the species status should be changed under the Endangered Species Act. The affected species include 12 animals and 40 plants in California, and six animals in Nevada.
Wednesday's announcement begins a 60-day public comment period to obtain information about each species.
The population of the majestic Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep has increased in recent years. But its recovery has been controversial because it required controlling their only predator, mountain lions.
- Bee Metro Staff
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it will conduct a status review of 58 protected species in California and Nevada, including the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.
The review, required every five years, will determine whether the species status should be changed under the Endangered Species Act. The affected species include 12 animals and 40 plants in California, and six animals in Nevada.
Wednesday's announcement begins a 60-day public comment period to obtain information about each species.
The population of the majestic Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep has increased in recent years. But its recovery has been controversial because it required controlling their only predator, mountain lions.
Invasive Vine Program Announcement
County prepares attack on invasive nonnative vine
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
In a matter of weeks, Sacramento County agriculture officials will launch a test program to eradicate an invasive nonnative plant recently found in Sacramento.
In June, local officials discovered the Japanese dodder (Cuscuta japanica) -- yellowish spaghetti-sized vines that can choke the life out of their host plants -- was thriving at several sites in the city.
The eradication effort comes after county officials accepted a $25,000 contract from California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The contract targets 15 county sites.
To date, the plant, also known as devil's guts, have been found more than 120 sites in California, 80 of which are in Sacramento County.
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, February 15, 2007
In a matter of weeks, Sacramento County agriculture officials will launch a test program to eradicate an invasive nonnative plant recently found in Sacramento.
In June, local officials discovered the Japanese dodder (Cuscuta japanica) -- yellowish spaghetti-sized vines that can choke the life out of their host plants -- was thriving at several sites in the city.
The eradication effort comes after county officials accepted a $25,000 contract from California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The contract targets 15 county sites.
To date, the plant, also known as devil's guts, have been found more than 120 sites in California, 80 of which are in Sacramento County.
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