Category: climate change

Groundwater management tax faces protest election

Chico-area residents have only a few weeks if they wish to reject controversial fee
by Natalie Hanson and Leslie Layton | Posted July 1, 2023

Vina subbasin stretches from Durham to the northern Butte County border and includes Chico.

Chico-area property owners have through July 26 to reject a proposed new fee for groundwater management that will otherwise appear on their December tax bills.

The annual per-acre fee would fund and implement a new groundwater management plan for the area known as the Vina Subbasin. That subbasin, which holds a significant portion of Butte County’s water, stretches from the Durham area northward to the Butte County line and includes Chico.

The fee will appear on property tax bills if it’s not rejected in what’s called a “protest election” underway now. Property owners who are opposed can send a written protest by July 26 to Vina Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (see address at end of story) or voice their objection at a public hearing that day. read more

Facing climate grief during terrible week

Life-affirming work is empowering
by Leslie Layton | Posted June 19, 2023

The photos this past week that showed tens of thousands of dead fish washing ashore on the Texas Gulf were haunting. Then, reports surfaced that dead wild birds were washing up on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, too.

‘Haunting’ became macabre.

Temperatures around the world soared, breaking records in Mexico and producing the hottest June day on record in Mexico City that sits more than 7,000 feet high. The Canadian wildfires turned some smoke-filled skies in the Northeast an eerie orange, and ocean temperatures underwent a “sudden escalation” because of global warming combined with natural events like an El Niño. read more

Governor slashes water quality protections; lawsuit threatened

Fish advocates, conservationists say they're "enraged"
by ChicoSol staff | Posted March 10, 2023

photo by Karen Laslo
The governor’s order must be rescinded to “ensure adequate public safety,” said Carolee Krieger of the California Water Impact Network.

A coalition of environmental groups, including Chico-based AquAlliance, has submitted a notice of intent to sue the State Water Resources Control Board over an order to suspend water quality and fish protections in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta.

The Board issued the order following a decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to retain water in state reservoirs to ensure future deliveries for Central Valley agriculture, an AquAlliance press release says. The coalition also includes the California Sportfishing Alliance and the California Water Impact Network.

“Fish advocates and conservationists were enraged by the order, given 2023’s abundant rainfall and snowpack and repeated cutbacks over the years in the reservoir releases that sustained the ecological health of the Sacramento River and its Delta, resulting in the collapse of California’s iconic salmon runs,” the press release says. read more

Valley’s Edge opponents worry about environmental impacts

Fight over foothill development has wracked Chico for decades
by Leslie Layton | Posted February 5, 2023

photo courtesy of Steve Evans
From left, Steve Evans, Michael McGinnis and Kelly Meagher announced the No way San Jose campaign in 1988 to stop development next to Upper Bidwell Park.

Part II in a two-part series

Thirty-five years ago, a small, progressive coalition stopped development in the lower foothills adjacent to Upper Bidwell Park with the rallying cry, “No way San Jose.”

That area has been protected under the name of Bidwell Ranch since the 1988 referendum that stopped the project. Voters in favor of stopping the Rancho Arroyo project wanted to protect northwest Chico -– not so much from inevitable population growth -– but from the kind of suburban sprawl that had come to be associated with California cities like San Jose and Fresno.

Rancho Arroyo was first planned for 5,000 houses northwest of Bidwell Park, later trimmed down to 3,000 houses to placate opponents, and then resurrected as Bidwell Ranch before it was stopped altogether. read more

Bidwell Park struggles with increased use, dry conditions

Californians flock to public parks to escape lockdowns, connect with nature
by Natalie Hanson | Posted November 1, 2022

photo by Leslie Layton
This photo was taken in Lower Park, that portion of the park west of Manzanita Avenue, but the total length of the park is about 11 miles.

The city of Chico winds around one of the largest municipal parks in the country — Bidwell Park. Step off the sidewalk and enter the park, and the city seems to disappear. You’re under a tree canopy, on a street or trail lined with oaks, ferns and sycamores.

Park lovers -— who on most days see dog-walkers, cyclists, runners and skateboarders -– say they fear losing this precious place to climate change, wildfires, littering and human overuse and indifference. Residents and scientists say they want to see city leaders step up to protect the parks to prevent loss to wildfire and climate change -– particularly now that usage has increased. Bidwell, like many of California’s public parks, saw an increase in visitors during the COVID pandemic. read more

Adapting agriculture to new climate demands

Global warming: "Humans made it, humans can unmake it"
by Richard Roth | Posted October 28, 2022

photo by Richard Roth
Wilson Landing Road orchards exemplify problems with conventional ag practices.

Adaptive agriculture is one of the greatest tools humans have for solving the problem of global warming. A big ticket — true, but in an age where cow burps and farts have become the vapor of hot debates all around the world, it is time to take a reflective examination of the “what, when, how, where, and who” of natural resource management in our homes and greater communities. And then encourage implementation of corrective adaptation quickly.

In a time of radical climate change, we must consider radical change in land use management when considering such things as formation of the Tuscan Water District. read more