Fears over water rise from drop to stream

From the bathtub rings around our reservoirs, to the salty Delta lapping up against our levees, there is ample evidence that in the span of just two years California’s water supply has shifted from wealth to want. Read  Read More

Night Meeting of Board of Supervisors – July 30th

DON’T FORGET: July 30- Board of Supervisors meeting 6:00 pm. Note special time  Read More

Wetlands maintenance poses funding quagmire

By Alicia Castro | Posted: Friday, July 5, 2013 /The Calaveras Enterprise To the applause of the 40-plus people in attendance at Tuesday night’s Angels Camp City Council meeting, the council adopted a resolution approving a preliminary engineer’s report and a resolution of intent that dealt primarily with the maintenance of wetlands in Greenhorn Creek. “I’m tired of continuing to kick the can down the road,” said Greenhorn Creek resident... Read More

Denair neighbors say farmer’s drilling sapped their wells

Published: July 7, 2013 By Garth Stapley — gstapley@modbee.com DENAIR — Faced with saving crops or friendships, Roger Smith chose crops. Home water wells owned by several neighbors went dry after the farmer drilled a huge agricultural well to keep alive the corn and alfalfa that feed his dairy cows. At least six families say they were forced to spend up to $13,000 each sinking new wells or lose the luxury of drinking, flushing and showering. They... Read More

Calaveras water rate hikes scaled back after ratepayers object

By Dana M. Nichols, Record Staff Writer July 11, 2013 SAN ANDREAS – Calaveras County Water District directors scaled back plans for a rate increase Wednesday after facing hours of sometimes-angry criticism from an overflow crowd of ratepayers. District staff had recommended hiking water rates by 60 percent over four years and sewer rates almost 70 percent over five years. They said the increase is necessary to replace aging pipes, pumps and... Read More

‘Bump parties’ out at Tulloch

Written by Sean Janssen, The Union Democrat July 10, 2013 12:30 pm Calaveras County leaders agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit against Lake Tulloch Resort brought on by “bump  parties” with a spring break-type atmosphere the past few summers. The settlement requires the resort to submit to a  special event permitting process to hold any similar gatherings in the  future and resolves a suit filed by the county in September in the  Calaveras... Read More

Board gets update from conservancy group

By Stephen Crane | Posted: Friday, July 12, 2013 8:13 am The mountains, forests and waterways of Calaveras County have been getting a boost over the past few years, and the economy has benefited as well. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy opened up Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting by presenting a variety of initiatives within the county the group has facilitated over the past few years. According to its mission statement, the conservancy “initiates,... Read More

On restoring our forests so they are more resilient in the face of fire

The following Op Ed by Steven Frisch of the Sierra Business Alliance was shared today on Facebook. Steve has kindly given permission to share here on the CAP Webpage: Let me state unequivocally, as one who has and likely will live in the wildland urban interface again, I don’t want a 30 year old father of four risking his LIFE for my accumulated sentimental baubles. We love our firefighters, they put their lives on the line to save our families... Read More

Experts: Expect bigger, fiercer wildfires in West

By ALICIA CHANG and SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writers LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s a dangerous but basic equation behind the killer Yarnell Hill wildfire and other blazes raging across the West this summer: More heat, more drought, more fuel and more people in the way are adding up to increasingly ferocious fires. Scientists say a hotter planet will only increase the risk. More than two dozen wildland fires are burning from Alaska to New... Read More

Court ruling a blow to land use collaboration

Editorial:  By the Editorial Board Published: Friday, Jun. 28, 2013 – Page 12A/Sacramento Bee A developer wants to dredge wetlands on his land to build a shopping center. He needs a permit. The local government agency tours the site and tries to negotiate a deal that would permit him to build, while offsetting the harm to the protected wetlands. These kinds of land use negotiations go on every day in California and across the country. State... Read More