Local Issues

Forests

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Wildlife

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  To the casual observer, the foothill region of the Central Sierra Nevada is scenic, full of oaks and grass-covered ridges, and relatively undeveloped.  In reality, the foothills are suffering from sprawling new development that is consuming natural resources and scenic, rural values – with one site after another falling like dominoes.

  In essence, a war is being waged against wildlife, native plants, and the wide open spaces that have traditionally been ranches and scenic backdrops for tourism.  The war is spurred on by high profits that come primarily from major new subdivisions tied to golf courses, as well as second-home communities targeting retirees.

Oaks Woodlands and Open Space Fall Before the Dozers

  For most of the past decade, development has sprawled outward from the core communities of the foothills.  Oak woodland has been bulldozed.  Foothill ridges have been leveled as giant earthmovers and bulldozers have flattened the landscape. 

  Scenic values have been degraded; wildlife habitat has been lost; and more and more water has been diverted from streams and rivers to meet the demands of development.

  CSERC staff has done our best to turn back the worst projects and to make improvements in all projects that threaten the environment of this spectacular region.  In recent years, our staff has responded to more than 150 separate development projects.  We review thick environmental impact reports and write detailed comment letters to county planning departments.  We visit project sites to identify at-risk plants and animal species, and we even meet directly with developers to attempt to negotiate greater protection for oaks, wildlife, open space, and water resources.

  Once we’ve done all the above, we almost always end up testifying at planning commission and board of supervisor hearings on individual projects.  Many times CSERC staff is the only voice for nature and rural values at key hearings.  Again and again, slick developers bring highly paid lawyers, consultants, and marketing promoters to present their development projects in the very best light.  CSERC’s staff scientists and executive director face an uphill challenge to attempt to show reasons why harmful projects should be reduced in size or why oak woodlands or other habitat values should be protected.

Despite the Challenge, CSERC Gains Improvement for Nature

  The developers have so much money and so much influence with county officials, there simply is no way to win much of the time.  Yet despite the unbalanced favoritism towards development by County decision-makers, CSERC has had many successes in gaining improvements for wildlife, open space, and habitat values.

  In many projects, CSERC’s input leads to building envelopes that restrict grading and the cutting of oaks to only the portion of lots within the defined portion of the envelopes.  In many projects CSERC has not only gotten oaks spared from clearing or cutting, we have also gotten far better mitigation measures than originally proposed by the developers.  In some projects, CSERC has gained years of delays so that highly needed studies for rare wildlife or plants are fully completed before project approvals are granted.  Delays only postpone the damage, but when those delays are tied to gaining important new information about at-risk species, the benefits can be important.

Calaveras County General Plan Process Inches Forward

  CSERC has worked with many local groups and interested individuals to press for revision of Calaveras County’s General Plan. and over the past two years, we’ve joined with citizen groups to successfully convince the supervisors to update the Plan.  Like many political processes, the General Plan update is moving slowly, and in the meantime, development projects are still affecting scenic, wildlife, and water resources.  CSERC has pressed Calaveras County officials to adopt a strong grading ordinance and a strong oak protection ordinance.  We’ve given presentations to the County Fish and Game Commission to suggest strong wildlife protection measures that should be incorporated in a new plan.

  When it comes to individual development projects, CSERC staff has worked closely in recent years with local citizen activists in Calaveras County.  We’ve helped negotiate with developers; we’ve worked to share concerns with the media; and we’ve joined with a coalition of concerned citizens to press County decision-makers to follow the law.  The pro-development bias by Calaveras County planning commissioners and supervisors has been revealed over and over when huge projects gain county approval despite the acknowledgement of significant environmental impacts.  Yet small steps towards more environmentally-sensitive regulations continue to inch forward.  More improvements will hopefully come out of the new General Plan update.

Tuolumne County Policies Are Better, But Results Are Often the Same

  Over many years of efforts by CSERC and other groups in Tuolumne County, the overall County policies for development are definitely superior to those in Calaveras County.  Unfortunately, most decisions on development projects are still strongly biased in favor of the developers, rather than what is best for existing County residents or the environment. 

  IF YOU ARE A CONCERNED CITIZEN IN EITHER CALAVERAS OR TUOLUMNE COUNTY, PLEASE CONTACT CSERC (info@cserc.org) IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WAYS TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT.

  The more that concerned residents speak up and show up when it is time for input on controversial projects, the better the chance that water, wildlife, agriculture, open space, and rural values will be protected.  Please add your voice to CSERC’s.