The Kassis Property: one of the city’s last pieces of open space

By Scott Thomas Anderson | January 27, 2021 | Sacramento News and Review

The Kassis property includes 40.7 acres that form an alluvial terrace on its upper plateau, and a lower basin that stretches along the river in the 100-year floodplain. There are 335 trees in the formations, split by a grassy, 30-foot-high bluff at the edge of a quiet neighborhood. For years, the property was owned by John P. Kassis. After his death, its title transferred to members of his family.

“Concerns about this project? Where to start?” said Ralph Propper, president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento. “We’re very concerned about protecting the last significant open space along the American River.”

Click here to read the article in full.

Click here to learn more about the property.

Where is the Kassis Property?

Here is a map showing exactly where the property is.

Creek Week 2020

Creek Week 2020 was cancelled because of COVID-19, but…

You can still help clean our creeks and other natural areas this fall and beyond! Whether you want to venture out with a small team on your own or join in an organized clean-up, please read and follow the clean-up guidance.

Join an Organized Clean-Up

A few organized clean-ups are offered in October. Check dates and locations on the Creek Week website. Registration for these organized clean-ups is open. Receive your Creek Week thank you memento at the clean-up location.

Random Acts of Clean-Up

Dates: Any morning in October you choose. Check creekweek.net pages for suggested creek spots or choose somewhere near your home that could use some trash clean-up. Registration not required. Report your clean-up results and receive a Creek Week thank you!

California Working Lands for Birds

Did you know farm lands can help save native animal species that are in danger? Audubon California partners with California farmers who grow rice, alfalfa, and other crops to manage their farms in bird-friendly ways that benefit such priority species as the Tricolored Blackbird.

Click here to learn more.

Photo by Irina Nature and Wildlife from Pexels

American River Parkway Resource Impact Monitoring Plan

August 4, 2020

Sacramento County Regional Parks has begun the long awaited process to get a Resource Impact Monitoring Plan in place for the American River Parkway. Before a Resource Impact Monitoring Plan can be developed and implemented, Parks has put together a technical team to develop a Natural Resource Management Plan. The purpose of this plan is to provide relevant and defensible information to the Parkway Manager so the Manager can make informed decisions for managing, maintaining and restoring the American River Parkway natural resources.

Please participate and complete the survey by the deadline, August 15th, and share it with your networks!

Take the Survey

Elk Grove Multi-Sport Complex Site Update

July 21, 2020

Heads up! The City of Elk Grove is still trying to acquire more land to develop, despite having thousands of acres that are available to develop within their sphere of influence. The next action deadline is August 19, 2020.

The latest move by the City of Elk Grove is called the Multi-Sport Complex Site and Southeast Grant Line Industrial Annexation Area. Here is where the project is in the environmental review process, under the California Environmental Quality Act.

There are four general stages to the CEQA process and the Supplemental EIR:

Notice of Preparation and Scoping – Under this stage, the City provides notice (through a Notice of Preparation) that a Supplemental EIR will be prepared. This provides other local and State agencies, as well as the public, with an opportunity to comment on the scope of the EIR.
Draft SEIR – The City will prepare and release for public comment, a draft Supplemental EIR. The EIR will be available on this page for review and comment.
Final SEIR – The City will review comments received on the draft Supplemental EIR and prepare responses to comments, along with technical corrections to the draft Supplemental EIR. This will be documented in a Final EIR.
Certification – Once the Final Supplemental EIR is prepared, the document will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council for review. The City Council will be asked to certify the document. Once certification is completed the City Council may approve the General Plan amendment, prezoning, and initiate the annexation application with LAFCo.

The Supplemental EIR is currently at Step 1, Notice of Preparation and Scoping. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) has been prepared and is available for review.

The comment period for the NOP is from July 20, 2020 to August 19, 2020. Comments may be mailed, emailed, or submitted using the form on their website.

To learn more, visit the project’s website at http://elkgrovecity.org/city_hall/departments_divisions/city_manager/strategic_planning_and_innovation/multi-_sport_park_complex.

Nesting in Natomas, Cathryn Rakich, Jul 2020, Inside Sacramento

Unaware they are trespassing on land owned by the Sacramento Kings, hundreds of snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons have taken up residence in a deserted oasis on the north side of Sleep Train Arena.

From a chain-link fence surrounding the grassland, the birds can be seen gliding among cement slabs and rebar, the foundation for a baseball stadium project led by Greg Lukenbill in the late 1980s that never came to fruition.

Click here to read the full article.