“A conservation group has purchased more than 1,000 acres of Cosumnes River canyon land from a Sacramento developer, protecting the rural property from development.”
“Nevada County’s law enforcement and environmental health officials usually are the only ones to see first-hand the devastation wrought by Mexican cartels that grow marijuana in remote, rugged areas that are rarely visited by the public.
“A recent raid on such a grow on private land near Bowman Lake was a near-perfect example of the undesirable impacts such operations can have on the county’s vital watersheds.”
A commentary by Assemblymen Brian Dahle and Rich Gordon in The Union [western Nevada County]:
“The two of us have many differences. One of us is Republican, the other a Democrat.
“One represents a sprawling rural district, the other predominately comprised of suburban communities.
“And to be sure, there is plenty we do not agree on.
“But one area we are in total agreement is the many benefits that flow from the Sierra Nevada to all of California — the most obvious of which is water.
“County officials appear ready to move ahead with interim rules limiting land use near creeks in the San Geronimo Valley and perhaps elsewhere — and may be willing to revise the countywide plan to do so.
“The Board of Supervisors seemed ready to give a tentative blessing to staff recommendations that were based on proposals from a board committee, but left key questions in limbo pending a Sept. 17 hearing.
“What we really need is ‘the science, the whole science and nothing but the science.’ But the plain truth is that every special interest group out there — whether it’s a federal agency, a utility company, an environmental group, or a local special interest group — works to have the science considered that most supports their individual preferred outcomes.
“Placer Land Trust has teamed with the Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust to acquire another 160 acres of land on the North Fork American River at Gillis Hill, guaranteeing a five-mile stretch of the river stays forever wild and scenic.”
“The American River Parkway, a 23-mile gem of the region, spanning more than 4,000 acres surrounding a wild and scenic river, once was a model for parkways across the country. In the last decade, however, it has been threatened by budget cuts.”
“On Tuesday, the leaders of the nonprofit L.A. River Revitalization Corp. used a riverside press conference at North Atwater Park to trumpet its plan to complete a continuous bike path and greenway along all 51 miles of the river, extending from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach, by 2020. …
“Yet the scope of those projects is minor compared to proposals being prepared by the U.S.
From the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA:
“At a hearing before the House Resources committee on July 17, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said she has paused the controversial ‘Blueways’ program designed to draw attention to national waterways.”
From The Stockton Record’s Alex Breitler Environment Blog:
” … as we topped the pass, the world fell away in front of us in a dramatic, 2,500-foot plunge to the bottom of Stuart Fork canyon. … I started thinking on a watershed scale.
