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.

James Corless Named Next CEO of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments

September 21, 2016

Sacramento, CA–The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) has unanimously selected James Corless to serve as its next chief executive officer. He will start April 3, 2017. The decision comes after SACOG’s current chief executive officer, Mike McKeever announced he will retire on December 31, 2016. Upon the announcement of McKeever’s retirement, the SACOG Board of Directors undertook a rigorous six-month national search that included input from SACOG’s member cities and counties, SACOG’s staff, and public and private stakeholders. To support the transition, Kirk Trost, SACOG’s chief operating officer/general counsel will serve as interim chief executive officer effective January 1, 2017.

Benicia nixes Valero plan to run crude oil trains through Sacramento, Davis, Roseville

September 20, 2016

By Tony Bizjak

The Sacramento Bee

The 5-0 vote, taken after four years of bitter debate, represents a victory for environmentalists and offers relief to Sacramento-area leaders who said the oil trains would put local residents and habitat at risk of a catastrophic oil spill and fire.

Lower American River conservancy granted by Jerry Brown

September 16, 2016

By David Siders

The Sacramento Bee

In a measure to make the American River Parkway eligible for more state money, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation creating a conservancy program for the area.

Developers play big role in Sacramento County supervisor elections

September 3, 2016

By Brad Banan

The Sacramento Bee

Rob Burness, a local environmentalist [and ECOS board member] who worked in the county planning office for about three decades, said the contributions pay off for developers.

“When push comes to shove, the votes follow the money,” said Burness, a member of the Environmental Council of Sacramento. “If you were to look at the significant votes, and the campaign contributions made to supervisors, you would find that they very rarely vote against a contributor.”

City of West Sacramento General Plan 2035 Update

The Draft Environmental Impact Repopt (DEIR) for the 2035 update to the City of West Sacramento General Plan is open for comments through September 19th, 2016. The chapters are available on the City of West Sacramento’s website.