A California appeals court ruled that Napa County violated state law in approving the development of the Walt Ranch Vineyard. 

The Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity had appealed a former ruling that would have allowed the destruction of 14,000 trees.

The appeals court stated that "the proposed preservation of oak woodlands did not count for the green house gas emissions (GHG) mitigation under the California Environmental Quality Act."

The Court of Appeals remanded the case back to the trial court for the GHG issue. The ruling will most likely not stop Walt Ranch but at least it will make it accountable for the actual loss of these rich carbon-storing trees.

The Napa Sierra Club has been fighting to save these trees for over a decade but this decision makes the years of struggle worth it. On a broader scale, it could have statewide implications for future developments.

The Sierra Club, in conjunction with the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a lawsuit against Napa County over their approval of the Walt Ranch project. The project aims to clearcut almost 300 acres of mature oak forest for vineyard development on Atlas Peak. The lawsuit was dismissed in a Napa court and the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club filed an appeal, as did the other litigants. 

History: Two years of dogged challenges to the Walt Ranch vineyard development by Sierra Club and other citizen groups received a setback December 20, 2016, when the Napa Board of Supervisors formally rejected appeals by opponents of the project, including a plea to gather more information about critical habitat, wetlands protection and noise and air pollution. By their action, the Supervisors approved the project.

We did not stop the Walt project. We did not expect to. The environmental review process is not designed to stop projects, but to allow community input for project mitigation. And did they get input—3000 pages worth! It  worked! The project was downsized significantly.

Our unremitting pressure has wrested significant concessions. The vineyard size is down to 160 acres, about half the original proposal. Trees to be felled are down from 28,000 to 14,000. Groundwater use has been capped, and the county will work on a monitoring plan for residential wells serving the neighborhood of Circle Oaks. Some construction vehicles are banned from Circle Oaks Drive, an unstable roadway overlying sewer lines. These are significant achievements, and none of this would have happened without our tireless efforts. Where we failed to gain much, if any, ground was for greenhouse gas mitigation and threatened species protection. 

Along with its allies, the Sierra Club has been vigorously fighting this project for four years. Others filing appeals include the statewide environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity, the Circle Oaks Homes Association and Circle Oaks Water District, and local advocacy group Living Rivers Council. To maximize effectiveness, each group is focusing its appeal on different aspects of the project. The Circle Oaks groups are concerned with threats to residents' water supplies and soil stability; while the Center for Biological Diversity is protesting lack of protection of rare ant threatened species, while the Living River Council has long had an interest in watershed sedimentation issues.

The central thrust of Napa Sierra Club's appeal is the threat that deforestation poses by pushing global warming. Despite state mandates, and years of advocacy by Napa Sierra Club, the County of Napa has failed to develop effective policies to limit the damages caused by destruction of Napa's woodlands and forests.

Above and beyond the Walt project, this fight has galvanized Napa. Literally hundreds of people helped in our effort. The energy spurred the creation of Vision 2050, a coalition of concerned residents working against harmful development throughout Napa County. Thanks to the Walt fight, the Napa environmental community is stronger and smarter than ever.

Developers have been put on notice. Attempts to clear-cut Napa woodlands will meet fierce opposition, resulting in huge costs and project delays. Many will decide there are easier ways to make money.

Sierra Club takes a global view, and a long-term view. Deforestation is the second biggest driver of climate change. The Walt Ranch development will destroy 14,000 trees. These are small potatoes in the context of the crisis of global climate change. But environmental damage—and progress—unfolds acre by acre, and tree by tree. If a rich county, in the richest country on the planet, cannot commit to small sacrifices for the health of the planet, what hope is there?

Through litigation, we might make case law at the state level. This is the long game.