Let’s not take oaks for granted

By Buzz Eggleston | Posted: Tuesday, January 15 Editor’s note: Calaveras County officials have revived long-neglected efforts to draft an oak preservation ordinance, the topic of this November 2005 column, reprinted below. Steve Stocking of San Andreas, a botanist and former professor at San Joaquin Delta Community College, tells us that an acorn planted when that column first appeared, well-tended and protected from animals that would eat it, could... Read More

Land restoration project in Calaveras

Much of the forested Sierra is overgrown and at risk of catastrophic wildfire…Modern-day Miwok crews funded by federal grants and local groups, are partnering with the U.S. Forest service to do this clearing work. Click link for article, photos, and audio of Native Crews Restore Sacred Sites on U.S. Forest Lands, Sacramento, CA Capital Public Radio, January 01, 2013  Read More

New supervisors eager to start 2013

Incoming county supervisors’ 2013 to-do list is a little longer and costlier than the average spate of New Year’s resolutions in Calaveras County, but at least as ambitious. Take District 1 newcomer Cliff Edson, who said Wednesday he aims to put board members back on the weekly meeting schedule resisted by his predecessor, Gary Tofanelli. Edson, poised to take Tofanelli’s seat on Jan. 8, said he fears the board’s lengthy, twice-a-month meetings... Read More

Battle Over the ‘Wild and Scenic’ Merced

The Wall Street Journal ran a news story about Merced Irrigation District’s efforts to drown the Wild & Scenic Merced River and weaken the National Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. FOR’s Ron Stork and several of our allies are quoted in the Journal’s story. Read the article by clicking here. Battle_Over_the_W_S_Merced__WSJ_1-9-2013_-1  Read More

Saving for after rainy day in western Calaveras*

Study finds that ancient groundwater is being depleted in western part of the county; officials working on recharge options. The Record, January 5. Read Here  Read More

SJ-East Bay revive water-sharing plan*

Plan would test water banking from the Mokelumne in San Joaquin aquifer. The Record, January 6. Read here  Read More

Calaveras County maps out detail, takes inventory of land*

New “environmental setting” documents for the general plan update describe the town’s forests, rivers, ranches and towns. The Record, January 3. Read here  Read More

State permit paves way for CCWD, golf course to end watering dispute

By Nick Baptista/ The Valley Springs News/ Dec. 28, 2012 A legal squabble between the Calaveras County Water District and La Contenta Golf Club over the use of treated water to irrigate the golf course is likely a thing of the past with issuance of a new permit from the State Water Resource Control Board. The water board on Dec. 13 issued a Notice of Applicability permit. The notice provides coverage for the district under general waste discharge... Read More

Dangerous precedent? Environmental groups say removing Wild and Scenic status from a section of the Merced River would be an alarming first

By Dana M. Nichols Record Staff Writer December 27, 2012 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – If dozens of California environmental groups are correct, then what happens to a small, half-mile section of the Merced River near McClure Lake Reservoir could be an omen of things to come for many other rivers. Merced Irrigation District wants to raise the level of McClure by 10 feet. That would inundate a small stretch of the Merced, which is currently protected... Read More

Forest thinning program benefits Lode counties

By The Record December 26, 2012 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – An innovative forestry project thinned 678 acres of fire-prone forests in Calaveras and Amador counties in 2012 and also created dozens of jobs, according to a national report released last week. The report by the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program reviews the performance of 23 projects in national forests across the United States. Congress created the Forest Restoration Program in... Read More