Sacramento Group January 2024 Newsletter
“We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” — Maya Angelou
In This Month's Edition…
- Leadership Update – Our 2024 Executive Committee
- American River Parkway Threat – can Habitat & Recreation proponents prevail?
- City of Sacramento Climate Action/Adaptation and General Plan Update
- Our Plate is Full – List of New & Ongoing Areas of Focus
- Outdoor and Volunteer Activities
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Group leadership
Sierra Club's Sacramento Group welcomed 3 newly elected Executive Committee members at our first meeting of 2024.
Spencer Cox has been working with our outgoing Treasurer for the past few months learning the details of the Treasurer responsibilities and assumed that role this month. Spencer has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and has served as a volunteer for the local Sierra Club in his home state of Kentucky. He recently settled in Sacramento and has begun a career with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Alexa Manzano, stepping in to support us as Secretary, comes to us with 10 years of experience in supporting large-scale programs that require collaboration, engagement, and coordinated delivery across diverse groups of stakeholders. Her undergraduate degree is in Evolution and Ecology and she began her professional career in environmental services and environmental education. She maintains an ongoing interest in birding, climate change effects and mitigation, hiking, and supporting local environmental groups. She’s looking forward to helping us raise awareness and understanding of environmental issues and helping to develop and instill in others an appreciation for the outdoors.
Kevin McManis joins us after many years as a Sierra Club member, with experience working on numerous trail building and restoration projects in Washington state, serving on the board of a sustainability and recycling community nonprofit, and has a strong interest in electing environmentally conscientious officials to various local and state offices. He enjoys camping, hiking, and kayaking. Kevin will be serving as our Political Committee Chairperson.
We want to extend our sincere thanks to the members who have moved on. We’ll miss Perry Metzger who retired from our Executive Committee after serving 12+ years as our Treasurer, Braden Heimbach who worked on transportation and tree planting projects, Kim Delfino who served as Political Chair, and guides us through the complexities of the Coyote Creek solar proposal, and Elsa Dooling who provided social media and newsletter support. We wish them well in their new endeavors.
US Army Corps Levee Work Threatens Habitat, Water & Air Quality, and Recreation along the American River Parkway
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The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released their proposal for what is known as the 3B project to work on the levees along the American River between the already completed section near Sacramento State University and the Mayhew Drain, near Gristmill County Park. The photo depicts the current conditions of the area to be affected and what has resulted from already completed work by the USACE near the university. While we strongly support the need for adequate flood protection, the extent of the project appears to be above and beyond what various local experts believe is needed. In addition to the riverbanks, another property with a large pond that is home to wintering waterfowl and a pair of Bald Eagles will have to be re-engineered by the Corps and have its capacity markedly reduced.
Why the concern? This project will involve extensive vegetation removal, including over 500 trees, many of which are centuries-old oak trees along the riverbank. It will also involve altering the contours of the waterway, with the potential to change water flows, as well as alter nearby hiking and cycling trails. The parkway is also a critical site for many animal species who use the corridor from the Sierra foothills to the Sacramento River basin. We are working with Save the American River Association (SARA) and the newly formed citizens group, American River Trees, and many others to press for changes to the plan, making it effective for flood control, yet much less harmful to the environment around the river. The period for environmental review has been extended to February 23, 2024 following the request of our collective groups to allow more time to evaluate the extensive documents. Links to the documents, more detail and info on how you can help is available on these websites: Save the American River and American River Trees. Hard copies of the USACE documents will also be available at the Sacramento downtown public library.
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City of Sacramento’s General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan Adoption Hearing, February 27, 2024
After years of public engagement and policy development, City of Sacramento staff will bring the 2040 General Plan and CAAP to the Planning and Design Commission on January 25 at 5:30 pm. At this public hearing, City staff will report back on revisions to the Draft 2040 General Plan and CAAP since the November 29 Planning and Design Commission meeting. This public hearing will also allow the public and the Commission an opportunity to provide comments on the 2040 General Plan, CAAP, and Final Master Environmental Impact Report (MEIR). At the end of the hearing, City staff will be asking the Planning and Design Commission to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council for the certification of the Final MEIR and adoption of the 2040 General Plan and CAAP. If the committee recommends approval, City Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on adoption of the General Plan and CAAP on Thursday, February 27. You can check out the letter that the Sierra Club Sacramento Group sent to the city in October 2023. Click here to read the January 25 staff report and final proposed General Plan and CAAP. If you would like to write a comment for the Planning and Design Commission meeting, you can do so on the public comment portal.
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Our List of Action Items is GROWING – Have Some Spare Time & Can You help?
Our group has focused on many facets of local environmental issues over the years, including but not limited to climate action plans, land use, affordable housing/infill, conservation of habitat, reliable water supplies, public open spaces & parks, transportation, and electing environmentally conscious public servants. We lead on some issues and partner with other environmental organizations on others. There is always a need for more help in reviewing all seven Sacramento County cities and County proposals, attending meetings with our compatriots to represent the group, and supporting our outreach efforts. Our growing list of projects that you can help with includes the aforementioned American River Parkway levee proposal as well as:
1) Candidate endorsements and outreach for the upcoming 2024 election cycle. We are in the process of finalizing the endorsement process that we’ve begun for the March primary, and will announce the results soon. The process will continue for other races following the primary.
2) Attending meetings and review of environmental documents on proposed projects such as:
- The proposed industrial solar project on critical habitat and tribal cultural lands,
- The Sacramento County Climate Action Plan,
- The City of Sacramento Climate Action Plan,
- Large scale development plans in the Natomas Area which threaten the Habitat Conservation Plan for that area,
- Preservation of 20+ acres of land along the American River,
- Proposed plans for further expansion of the City of Folsom into an area outside of the county urban plan area, which would threaten water availability, air quality, and
- Interstate 80 and other freeway expansions threatening the state mandated air quality goals and sensitive habitat areas.
3) Do you enjoy event organizing and meeting like-minded people in our community? We’d like to host another “Spring Social” gathering for our members and other environmental organizations. We have the opportunity to rent an indoor/outdoor space featuring music, finger foods and good company.
Email us at sacramentosierraclub@gmail.com if you are willing & able to help!
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Outdoor & Volunteer Opportunities
Support Our Region & Enjoy Time With Eco-Minded Friends!
Sacramento Sierra Club Outings
• Sign-ups are posted on Meetup and registration is required.
River City Waterway Alliance
• Stay connected with the Alliance for upcoming river bank clean-ups on Facebook River City Waterway Alliance
Sacramento Picks It Up
• Sponsoring frequent clean-up events in various locations around the county, Sacramento Picks It Up posts updates on Facebook and Instagram.
Contact us anytime via email at sacramentosierraclub@gmail.com
Check out our website for more info including our prior newslettersSierra Club - Sacramento
Find us at “Sierra Club Sacramento” on Facebook, Instagram, and X aka Twitter
Thank you for all you do for the environment,
Barbara Leary
Group Chair
Sacramento Group
Sierra Club
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