Tag Archives: Habitat

Here’s what Solano County’s California Forever project could mean for Sacramento

By Robin Douglas | June 2, 2024 | Sacramento Business Journal

Immediate Past President of the ECOS Board of Directors, Ralph Propper, was quoted in a Sacramento Business Journal article about the proposed California Forever project.

“I think this project will make things worse in all regards,” Propper said, listing air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and habitat preservation as likely to be harmed by the development.
He also noted that California Forever’s footprint is only a bit farther from the city of Sacramento than the city of Lincoln in Placer County. “The Sacramento area has some of the worst air quality in the country, and look at the way the wind blows,” he said.

Click here to read the full article.

Comments on the City of Sacramento’s Draft Parks Plan 2040

The City of Sacramento, which manages 235 parks with 4,329 acres of parkland, has prepared a Draft Parks Plan (2040). The Parks Plan importantly supports recreational activities for Sacramento’s diverse communities. However, it falls short in one of its key goals to bring nature to all City residents. Currently, most City Parks provide only a facade of nature that consists primarily of exotic grasses and trees. However, the City can effectively bring biodiversity to its parks by planting native trees such as oaks in combination with native shrubs and herbaceous plants. Native plants support native birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife.

On April 8, 2024, Habitat 2020, the Conservation Committee for the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), and ECOS submitted our comments on the City of Sacramento’s Draft Parks Plan 2040.

Click here to read the letter in full.

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Campaign for Protecting Natural Areas in the City of Sacramento

January 2024

The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) is urging the City to designate a network of natural areas across the eight Council Districts, and to establish a Natural Areas Program to administer the natural areas network. There are numerous examples of commendable natural area programs across cities of the Western United States, and the City of Sacramento could use them as models for establishing a Natural Areas Program tailored to the unique and vibrant natural features, cultures, and ethnicities of the City. Doing so would be consistent with the City’s 2035 General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, the City Parks Plan 2040, the California Biodiversity Initiative, and the California 30×30 Initiative.

Click here to learn more (PDF).

Why are Sacramento County Supervisors pursuing a lame idea that’s bad for the region? Opinion by Tom Philp, Oct 24, 2023, The Sacramento Bee

An October opinion piece in the Bee states the Sacramento region has already approved more suburban projects than the region will need for the next generation.

“It is time for supervisors to think far more strategically about growth. They must acknowledge that there can only be so much growth and what growth is approved must happen in a way that minimizes congestion and maximizes affordable housing and transit opportunities. Otherwise, it simply doesn’t make sense for the Sacramento County of today. . .

According to the latest SACOG population projections, the entire six-county region is expected to grow by approximately 278,000 between now and 2050. But Sacramento County’s transportation staff is suggesting that nearly half of the region’s entire growth is about to happen in Supervisor Phil Serna’s district.”

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article280893568.html#storylink=cpy

Click here to read the article: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article280893568.html