What Does a Trump Presidency Portend for California’s Environmental Policies?

Constitutional Issues Loom Large in Future, Likely Federal-State Legal Confrontations Posted on November 11, 2016 by Richard Frank Read this and related articles here         http://legal-planet.org/    Read More

How a beer maker and a bottled water company want to save Sierra forests*

Project will test whether ecologically based forest thinning will allow snowfall and rain to accumulate and replenish creeks and rivers. Success could be translated to other areas and used to improve forest and watershed management throughout the Sierra Nevada and beyond. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article110738087.html#storylink=cpy  Read More

Oregon standoff acquittal sparks fears of new land disputes

The stunning acquittal of seven people who occupied a federal wildlife sanctuary in Oregon during an armed standoff raised fears Friday that the verdict could embolden other militant groups in a long-running dispute over government-owned Western lands. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article111271522.html#storylink=cpy  Read More

Calaveras Unified schools get grant for garden program

“One day, we’d like to see the bigger kids going down to the other sites and spreading their knowledge with younger kids to create a sense of community,” said Hesser. “The program is growing at a very nice pace.” The aim of the model is to educate students and parents about access, demand and consumption of specialty crops. Click here for article—Calaveras Enterprise, October 25, 2016  Read More

What we can learn about carbon taxes from British Columbia’s experiment

In 2008, the Canadian province of British Columbia instituted a tax on carbon. It is “revenue neutral,” which means that all the money raised by the tax is used to reduce other taxes — the government doesn’t get any new revenue to spend. Read Article Here  Read More

Foothill Conservancy challenges Amador County general plan

Thursday, November 3 For more information, contact Cecily Smith: 209-223-3508, cecily@foothillconservancy.org On Thursday, November 3, Foothill Conservancy filed a lawsuit in Amador County Superior Court challenging the County of Amador’s new general plan and related environmental impact report. The Conservancy’s petition for writ of mandate asks the court to set aside the general plan and EIR, and revise the EIR to correct identified errors and... Read More

Deconstructing the current California drought

At a brown bag seminar held in September of 2016, Dr. Michael Dettinger, a Senior Research Hydrologist for the USGS National Research Program, presented his analysis of the multi-year deficits that have accumulated during this drought including deficits in precipitation, snowpack, streamflow, reservoir storage, and hydropower generation. Read Article on Maven’s Notebook  Read More

The price of water conservation—Using less and paying more

Many people have seen their water rates go up as they conserve more, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Water Deeply, September 26  Read More

Work along with nature to manage forests

A letter to the Calaveras Enterprise speaks to working with nature for forest management:  http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_2c51d34c-919d-11e6-a437-7fcee6ad3ff8.html  Read More

Modesto-area lawmakers blast river flow proposal:

Two lawmakers from the Modesto area urged a state board on Tuesday to rethink a plan for greatly increasing river flows.  The doubling of reservoir releases into the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers would devastate the region’s already wobbly economy, Assembly members Kristin Olsen and Adam Gray told the State Water Resources Control Board.  They asked for more time to study last week’s updated proposal, which aims to help salmon and other... Read More