Posted by & filed under News.

By Jane Nielson, SCCA Board Member, 12/2/17

“We live in an ecosystem which has evolved to burn,” notes Michael Gillogly, Pepperwood Preserve ranch manager, as he considers that much of the preserve’s 900 acres of grasslands were burned.

The October Tubbs wildfire is not a new phenomenon, it overlaps the 1964 Hanly fire, the 1996 Porter Creek fires, and north of Calistoga, the 1960 Morrison and 1982 Silverado fires. Outlines of the Pocket fire, north of Geyserville, and the Atlas fire in Napa and Solano Counties, replicate areas that had burned in 1960s, 1980s, 2008, and 2013 fires.

In Sonoma Valley, the huge Nuns fire covered more territory than older burns in that area, but only two 1960s–1990s fire zones lie outside its footprint. An exception is the great 2015 Valley fire, which burned from Cobb to south of Middletown, and largely affected lands that had gone untouched by fire for more than a half-century.

Similar conditions present for each of these fires over the last decade spotlight two clear elements: high temperature and high wind speed conditions. Early on October 9th, wind speeds up to 77 miles per hour were recorded on a hilltop in Napa County, close to the estimated origin of the Tubbs Fire.

These and other data suggest that hot fires are likely to sweep across areas of north-coast California on a semi-regular basis—perhaps with about a 30 or 40- year periodicity.

The lifestyles of indigenous people conformed better to this natural fire cycle: building smaller and simpler dwellings of lightweight materials, and moving village sites seasonally. Indigenous people also set fires in woodlands to keep forests open and accessible, and to encourage food and medicinal plant growth.

We now need to examine the likelihood that wildfire will always be a fact of life in Sonoma and neighboring Counties. Rising temperatures due to climate warming may increase the frequencies and the heat of cyclic fires.

Based on past fire frequencies and threats, fire researchers and local leaders need to study if and how American construction and living patterns might adapt to the natural cycle of fire in lands that may not be tamable. ◊

Posted by & filed under News.

By Megan Kaun, Nichole Warwick, Lendri Purcell

12/1/17

California will restrict farmers’ use of certain pesticides near schools ac- cording to a new rule announced this November. Taking effect Jan. 1, farmers will no longer be allowed to spray certain pesticides within a quarter mile of public K-12 schools and li- censed daycares from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the school week.

While we are thrilled to see this statewide progress, locally we continue to experience the use of toxic pesticides in our public spaces and schoolyards. Sonoma County, now more than ever, needs to hold onto this vision of a toxic free future.

With contamination from ash and hazardous debris in runoff from burned areas, our watershed needs even more protection. This disaster reinforces the danger of depending on toxic materials in our everyday lives, because ultimately, they will end up in our environment.

Since SCCA launched the Toxic Free Future campaign in June, we have met with the department heads of key County departments responsible for public land management. These include the Agricultural Commissioner, Water Agency, Regional Parks, General Services and Public Works.

We’ve also met with multiple supervisors and continue to work directly with staff to move forward a County wide centralized pesticide management plan. We need to create transparent reporting, identify a reduction goal and outline a work plan to reduce synthetic pesticide use.

We also are working with the Assistant Superintendent of Santa Rosa City Schools, André Bell, to also reduce synthetic pesticide use at schools.

Over two hundred community members joined our panel discussion at Susan Moore’s No Name Women’s group in September. Erin Mullen from Landpaths proved that large scale land management with- out synthetic pesticides is possible. Mara Ventura from North Bay Jobs with Justice spotlighted the disproportionate impact of pesticides on low income landscapers and mi- grant workers. Nichole Warwick from Daily Acts shared her story of surviving environmentally caused cancer and the environmental health impacts affecting children in Sonoma County. Supervisor Lynda Hopkins offered her perspective as an organic farmer, and Megan Kaun ignited hope as a mom turned super activist.

In this month’s Made Local Magazine article, Supervisor Hopkins asked, “How do we make it normal not to spray chemicals into our ditches, which by the way runs straight into our creek, and from our creeks into our river where our kids play?”

We agree that we have to redefine “normal” and get these toxics out of our environment and homes, for our health and for the health of our planet.

Take an Action! 

Go to our Toxic Free Future campaign page to learn more and email your elected officials today!

Volunteer by signing up on SonomaCounty.Recovers.org

 

Posted by & filed under News.

 

10/25/17

OES Hazardous Waste and Debris Removal Fact Sheet

Questions have circulated about how to most quickly and effectively proceed with toxic waste clean up as rains approach.

This work is essential as Adobe Creek and Mark West watershed, among others, are at risk of toxic runoff.

The California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) has just provided the most up-to-date information (10/25/17) for homeowners and residents affected by the fires.

It lists and answers frequently asked questions as well as cleanup start dates in different counties and jurisdictions. This is an official government document.

 

 

Posted by & filed under News.

 

By Kerry Fugett, 10/16/17

The devastation that hit Sonoma County residents, students, small business owners, workers and our environment during the recent wild fires has been enormous. With well over 7,000 structures destroyed, our community has had to come together like never before.

As a leader in grassroots mobilization, Sonoma County Conservation Action stepped in on day one to help our community stay informed, work together and develop a platform for long term relief coordination.

To do this, we helped launch the SonomaCounty.Recovers.org website.

What is SonomaCounty.Recovers.org?

SonomaCounty.Recovers.org is a locally-managed bilingual website that works with local organizations, government and volunteers to help fire victims meet their individual needs without delay.

By leveraging the national Recovers.org community-powered disaster relief platform, we were able to start pulling together thousands of volunteers and donations in a matter of days, matching them to real-time needs in our community…by the minute! 

With over 50 local organizations working together on the backend of this site, we have already been able to meet over 150 individual needs in our community.

How does SonomaCounty.Recovers.org work?

With over 40 trained volunteer “matchers” on the backend, we are actively matching individual needs to resources in real-time as they are submitted on the website.

Fire victims can easily use the site to log a need for assistance, goods or services.

Community members can offer a donation or sign up to volunteer, noting their specific skill set and availability.

This easy sign-up process, multi-organizational collaboration and up-to-date recovery information makes this the most powerful site for helping meet the individual needs of our community following this crisis.

Simple, nimble and accessible, it has forever changed how communities can collaborate to support each other during and after a crisis.

How can you get involved?

If you know of an organization involved in disaster relief, invite them to use this tool! It’s free of charge and available to our local non profits to facilitate coordinate and collaboration. They just need to go to SonomaCounty.Recovers.org and apply as a representative of a local organization.

If you are interested in volunteering as a community need “matcher”, please email sonomacountyrecovers@gmail.com with “Matcher” in the subject line. Donations can also be logged on this site.  When a need is submitted that matches your donation offer, we’ll make the connection!

Together, we can not only re-build our community, but we can create a more resilient, equitable and networked community and healthy ecosystem.

 

Posted by & filed under News.

UPDATE: 10/15/17 – Vetoed by Governor Brown. Veto Message:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 649 without my signature. 

This bill establishes a uniform permitting process for small cell wireless equipment and fixes the rates local governments may charge for placement of that equipment on city or county owned property, such as streetlights and traffic signal poles. 

There is something of real value in having a process that results in extending this innovative technology rapidly and efficiently. Nevertheless, I believe that the interest which localities have in managing rights of way requires a more balanced solution than the one achieved in this bill. 

(more…)

Posted by & filed under News.

We are excited to have our beautiful Sonoma Coastline highlighted in the recent KCET and Link TV’s “Summer of the Environment,” video series, a state-wide project intended to ignite compassion and action for helping to save and heal our planet.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/california-coastal-trail/experiencing-the-wild-sonoma-coast-along-the-kortum-trail

This short video offers a beautiful overview of the history of Bill Kortum, co-founder of Sonoma County Conservation Action, and our community’s dedication to protect the Sonoma County coastline.

A story that winds it’s way from the 1960s to today, it highlights development pressures along our coastline and reminds us how important it is to safeguard the unique ecosystems we have in our own backyard.

A story of perseverance, collaboration and grassroots advocacy, this video captures the gift we have in our coastline. Enjoy!

(more…)

Posted by & filed under News.

Sonoma County Community Separators

Supervisors Unanimously Approve Community Separator Ballot Measure and Designations

 .

In August 2016 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted 5 – 0 to renew longstanding protections for green buffers between towns and cities for another 20 years with a ballot measure requiring a countywide majority vote in the November General Election.

The Community Separator Protection Ordinance will extend existing protections for rural open space and agricultural lands designated as community separators by preventing conversion to shopping malls, housing tracts or resort hotels without a vote of the people.

.

The supervisors also added lands to the existing eight community separators and established a long overdue community separator between Healdsburg and Cloverdale.

(more…)

Posted by & filed under News.

By Kerry Fugett, Executive Director

 

Stepping into Dennis Rosatti’s role as Executive Director can certainly be described as “big shoes to fill”. But I am ready for this challenge and am extremely honored and excited for the opportunity to take those shoes and stretch them out. To keep those shoes knocking on 50,000+ doors a year, educating and building our community to achieve a healthy quality of life and ecologically thriving environment in Sonoma County.

1

The environmental movement is shifting, as we stand on the shoulders of those before us, we must open our arms and acknowledge the impacts of social pressures affecting our environment. Longstanding, unsolved problems are festering: affordability of housing, stagnant wages, crumbling infrastructure, the impacts of climate change, and a generation who wants to call Sonoma County home but struggles to find a salaried job locally. This all affects our environment: carbon emissions from long commutes and increasing traffic, development pressures on open spaces, our local coastal access being used as a quick fix to state level funding problems.    While there is no shortage of problems, there is equally no shortage of solutions. Our community is filled with brilliant minds, passionate groups of millennials thinking outside the box, and advocates for our environment. The crucial piece is that we build the right alliances and push to have our values and voices represented in local government.

1

(more…)

Posted by & filed under News.

What Is It?

A County-Wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) that intends to provide a regional framework for addressing climate change. The plan builds on Sonoma County’s historic practice of reducing Green House Emissions through a combination of regional standards and local autonomy.

 

The Climate Action Plan is being developed through a collaboration with the Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA), working groups from each local jurisdiction, as well as a stakeholder advisory group, among others.

 

Why Now?

As cited by the RCPA, climate emissions in Sonoma County have declined since the 1990s. The concern is that these losses are expected to turn into gains, by 2020, if further action isn’t taken. This is why the current planning process is focused on near and long term goals.

  • By 2020, reducing Green House Gasses by 25% below 1990s levels
  • By 2050, Reducing Green House Gasses by 80% below 1990s levels

 

(more…)

Posted by & filed under News.

The Proposal

  • California State Parks has proposed a plan to create Fee Collection locations along the Sonoma County Coastline.
  • The proposal would allow for $8 day passes for entrance into some locations, while having $3 hourly parking fees in others. There would be a low income pass, and a credit system, but none of these elements have been concretely laid out.
  • The plan has been re-submitted to the Coastal Commission for approval after the County unanimously rejected it.

(more…)