“Leading the Way” on strategies for a more sustainable California

October 27, 2016

Matthew Baker of ECOS led the research for a new report by ClimatePlan called “Leading the Way” on strategies for a more sustainable California

OVERVIEW 

California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375) connects land use and transportation planning with California’s ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. This innovative law requires the state’s 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to create Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCSs) showing how their regions will meet statemandated GHG reduction targets through changes in land use and transportation.

In many regions, the SCS process has led to innovative policymaking to support healthy, equitable, and sustainable patterns of development. Drawing on reviews of adopted SCSs, as well as extensive input from ClimatePlan partners, transportation planners, and others, this report highlights some of the leading practices that have emerged so far. It also offers recommendations that go beyond existing SCSs in areas such as climate adaptation, water, and affordable housing.

This report was prepared for ClimatePlan by Adam Livingston of Sequoia Riverlands Trust with expert input gathered by Matt Baker of the Environmental Council of Sacramento.

Read the full report here: http://www.climateplan.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Leading-the-Way-Full-Report.pdf

The Sacramento Valley Conservancy’s new hiding spot, unveiled

October 27, 2016

By Scott Thomas Anderson

Sacramento News and Review

The Sacramento Valley Conservancy is celebrating the end of a mission three years in the making—the opening of 11 acres of preserved woodland and riverbanks in the north city that’s open for anyone in the public to enjoy.

Known as Camp Pollock, the space is located at 467 Del Paso Boulevard and includes shady fields, a native plant garden, camping spaces, a rentable lodge and one of the only access points to the American River by Discovery Park where parking is free.

Read more here: https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/sacramento-valley-conservancys-new/content?oid=22589551

Sacramento Wild and Scenic On Tour Film Program Announced!

Thursday, December 8th, 2016

Doors Open at 6:00pm, Films 6:30pm-9:30pm

24th Street Theater at the Sierra 2 Community Center (2791 24th St, Sacramento, CA 95818)

Click here to view all the details about film festival.


Film Program

Parker’s Top 50 Favorite Things about Northwest Rivers

This fun film celebrates the best things about Northwest rivers, from a kid’s perspective. From sun, to rain, to waterfalls, to wild salmon, to time with mom, it’s the rivers that make the Northwest such a special place.

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Walt

Explore the life of Walt Shubin, San Joaquin-area grape farmer who has been striving to bring back this amazing river for over six decades. How do we value a river? How does a river form your life? Walt reminds us of the importance of a place like the San Joaquin.

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Kew Gardens: Beyond the Gardens- The Forgotten Home of Coffee

This is a story of guardianship over one of the world’s most economically valuable crops, revealing the surprisingly fragile foundations that lie beneath the multi-billion pound industry, showing just how important Kew’s scientific research is to securing the fate of our cup of coffee.

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The Fire Next Time

When the Rim Fire burned 256,000 acres of the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park in 2013, it exposed the impacts that high intensity wildfires are having on watersheds, wildlife, and carbon storage. It also forged a coalition of environmentalists, loggers, scientists, officials, and land managers who are responding to this megafire and recognize the need to forestall the next one.

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Co2ld Waters

Five of the most respected names in the fly fishing world converge on a single creek in Montana to talk about their passion and to discuss the single biggest threat to their timeless pursuit, climate change. Can four million fly anglers make difference? Legendary fishermen, including Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, believe it is possible.

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A Dam Problem

Building successful relationships takes time but those relationships are the key to completing a successful dam removal and floodplain restoration project near Sisters, OR, that benefited farmers, fish and the surrounding ecosystem.

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Sagebrush Sisters

Join three intrepid women, from ages 65 to 80, as they hike more than 50 miles following a pronghorn migration path across the high desert. The Greater Hart-Sheldon Region on the Oregon-Nevada border is a wildlife stronghold in the sagebrush sea, and these women hope to keep it that way.

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Avaatara: The First Route Out

David Lama achieves first ascent of the Baatara gorge in Lebanon. “If you travel roads that have already been discovered, you are basically always just following. But if you go somewhere where no one’s ever been and do something no one’s ever done, you’re on the lead and that’s one thing that I really like.” David Lama’s guiding philosophy has already taken him to the most impressive mountain ranges of the world and, more recently, to the Baartara gorge in Lebanon. A surreal ‘Avatar’-like landscape, unexploited and untouched.

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Plant for the Planet

Eleven-year-old Felix Finkbeiner from Germany learned about climate change and how trees take up CO2. Inspired by Wangari Maathai, he founded Plant for the Planet which has now planted millions of trees. This and the other Young Voices for the Planet films document young people playing a vital role in catalyzing change in their homes, schools, communities… and the world.

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Soil Carbon Cowboys

Many people talk about the cattle business as a big environmental problem. Cattle, when properly grazed, offer solutions to soil health, animal health, human health, water supply and food nutrition. It’s a brave new world, and it’s below our feet.

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Diversity and Inclusion In Our Wild Spaces

A campfire discussion on improving the diversity of both the visitation and the employment within our parks and wild spaces happened last May in Yosemite National Park. A gathering of extraordinary people from non-profit agencies, land management bureaus and those involved in the movement to encourage more people of color to visit and seek careers in the outdoors brings light to important issues facing today’s conservation movement and outdoor recreation.

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Defined by the Line

Josh Ewing began visiting the Bears Ears region of southeastern Utah to climb at Indian Creek and explore the local archaeology. But when he moved to the town of Bluff, he saw degradation from oil drilling, looting, and careless visitors. Ewing knew simply loving a place was no longer enough.

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Dredging Up A Solution

Howard Wood, an amateur diver, restored the marine ecosystem in Lamlash Bay by establishing the first community-developed Marine Protected Area in Scotland. Narrated by Robert Redford, Dredging Up A Solution illustrates how an ordinary person can effect extraordinary change. Howard Wood is a true environmental hero who placed himself squarely in harm’s way to battle intimidating adversaries while building strong grassroots support.

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One Woman Roadblock

A former tribal chief of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, Marilyn Baptiste led her native community in defeating proposed gold and copper mines that would have destroyed Fish Lake—a source of spiritual identity and livelihood for her people. Narrated by Robert Redford, One Woman Roadblock illustrates how an ordinary person can effect extraordinary change. Marilyn Baptiste is a true environmental hero who placed herself squarely in harm’s way to battle intimidating adversaries while building strong grassroots support.

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A Line in the Sand

Edward Abbey’s words have always been deliberately provocative–especially when said in defense of the desert landscape he loved so much. The words in this film are a mash-up of quotes from speeches to articles, to interviews and books. Abbey was willing to say things that no one else would, and his sentiment is relevant now more than ever. What will we stand up for? What will be lost if we chose not to stand at all?

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62 Years

The last time Ken Brower traveled down the Yampa River in Northwest Colorado was with his father, David Brower, in 1952. This was the year his father became the first executive director of the Sierra Club and joined the fight against a pair of proposed dams on the Green River in Northwest Colorado. The dams would have flooded the canyons of the Green and its tributary, Yampa, inundating the heart of Dinosaur National Monument. With a conservation campaign that included a book, magazine articles, a film, a traveling slideshow, grassroots organizing, river trips and lobbying, David Brower and the Sierra Club ultimately won the fight—ushering in a period many consider the dawn of modern environmentalism. 62 years later, Ken revisited the Yampa & Green Rivers to reflect on his father’s work, their 1952 river trip, and how we will confront the looming water crisis in the American West.

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Sacramento Railyards Plan Wins Approval, But Not Without School Concerns

October 24, 2016

By Steve Large

CBS13

The Sacramento Planning Commission unanimously approved the massive Sacramento railyards plan Monday night, but not without raising some new concerns.

[…]

The Sacramento Unified School District’s Chief Operating Officer testified that the district will need a new school site for hundreds of new children expected to move in.

“So 420 elementary, 140 middle and 140 high school at the low level,” Sacramento Unified School District COO Kathy Allen said. “And there’s not enough facilities around downtown for them right now? I will not have capacity by the time that first student arrives.”

Learn more here: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/10/24/sacramento-railyards-plan-approved/

Folsom annexation blues

October 20, 2016

By Scott Thomas Anderson

Sacramento News and Review

Showered by developer cash camouflaged through a political action committee, the Folsom City Council has quietly led an aggressive annexation campaign that could impact traffic, air quality and wildlife in northeast Sacramento County for decades to come.

[…]

The Environmental Council of Sacramento has raised concerns about the plan, including the impacts on smog and traffic, the effects on hawks and migratory birds and—most prominently—its seeming reliance on a nonexistent stable source of water: The city council voted in 2013 to supply thousands of future residents of the development with surplus water from conservation efforts within Folsom’s perilous local supply.

“They overallocated their water,” said Matt Baker, land use and conservation policy director at ECOS. “They’ve really not provided any kind of plan for an event that could drastically reduce their supply in an extremely dry year.”

Read the full article here: https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/folsom-annexation-blues/content?oid=22531569

Announcing the 2016 Environmentalists of the Year!

The 2016 Environmentalists of the Year include:

– Chris Lewis of ECOS, the Sacramento Valley Chapter – California Native Plant Society and Elderberry Farms Native Plant Nursery

– Marty Maskall for her work to establish the Fair Oaks EcoHousing: A Family-Friendly Green Neighborhood Project

– The Mather Alliance as Coalition of the Year for their outstanding work to protect the Mather Vernal Pools

– Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli as Public Servant of the Year for his tremendous work advocating for the conservation of the Mather Vernal Pools

Congratulations to this year’s awardees! We look forward to recognizing these environmental stewards on November 16th, 2016. Read all about the event here.