Sierra Club
Redwood Chapter Newsletter
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Sonoma Group Report Suzanne Doyle | |
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Water! Increased population growth in Sonoma County is causing problems in all areas of water planning, from wastewater disposal and falling groundwater levels to the water agency's announcement that its distribution system is maxed out. But it is the Sonoma County Water Agency's low-flow proposal for the Russian River that has really brought the soup to a boil. This proposal would reduce summer flows in the Russian River to about 25% of what they are now. It is being presented as a plan to make conditions better for salmon spawning, but it has impacts on almost every other water issue. From the SCWA's point of view, the low-flow proposal is win-win. It will give the federal and state agencies a plan for endangered species recovery, and it will free up river water for continued growth in the county or sale out of the county. For the salmon, however, the low-flow proposal looks like a loser. An independent analysis of the proposal, funded by the county, has been critical of low-flow's effects - both on salmon and on the general health of the river. Forests and 'Option 3' The draft EIR for the Sonoma County General Plan will come out in September. First the Planning Commission, and then the Board of Supervisors, will be voting in the following months on whether to choose Option 3, the ban on conversion of forest to vineyards. Superintendant Mike Reilly asked in June that county legal staff begin drafting the ordinance, so that if Option 3 is approved it can be adopted quickly. |
California Tiger Salamander The Tiger Salamander Strategy Team has become the Santa Rosa Plain Conservation Strategy Team. It is now considering four endangered plant species as well as the tiger salamander in choosing conservation areas. The Team will finish meeting in August, and what happens next depends on how much support for endangered species conservation there is within the Santa Rosa City Council and the County Board of Supervisors. Input from the public will help remind them that this issue is very important to us. Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Santa Rosa City Council
Members e-mail and phone numbers: http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us. |