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Dear Supporter,
Greetings, and Happy Fall!
News from the Chair
by Nick Cheranich
 Environmental activists recently had something to celebrate: the decision by a majority of the Napa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to uphold an appeal that halted the Le Colline project. The project would have converted forest and natural woodlands within 200 feet of Conn Creek to a vineyard. (Right, Conn Creek. Photo credit: Save Napa Valley)
Back in early 2019, Napa Sierra Club wrote to county officials voicing its concern about the project’s negative environmental impact. Now, in the face of a barrage of “business as usual,” anti-environmental propaganda from the Farm Bureau following the Napa County BOS decision, we recently published a Letter to the Editor praising the Board’s decision (see below).
Is the Le Colline decision a one-off, or are we beginning to see that more elected officials throughout Napa are taking environmental protection seriously? We hope the decision is a trend that will be better reflected in the upcoming Napa County General Plan update.
As we have said before, we hold that the highest and best use of all land in unincorporated Napa County is that it be maintained as it is currently: farmland should remain farmland, wildlands should remain wild. Please let your Supervisor know how you feel about this. They need our support.
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 Our wonderful student interns recently designed and presented to audiences at the Napa and American Canyon libraries a well-received lesson on Monarch Butterflies and the effects of the loss of habitat along their long migration routes. Like proud parents, both Scott Thomason and I watched them as they engaged young members of our community (and their parents) in discussions and activities focused on the importance of preserving our environment for these amazing creatures. See below for more.
Just a reminder, your donations to the Napa Group help provide these young environmentalists with a small but meaningful stipend. Please consider donating directly to us, below.
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 Chris Benz has written Part 2 of her explanation of the importance about preserving our wetlands, particularly in American Canyon. See her article, below.
Speaking of preservation, it’s been great seeing the increase of electric vehicles on the road, which of course helps preserve the planet by helping to reduce one’s carbon footprint. If you too want to help preserve the planet, please consider joining the Napa County Climate Challenge. By joining the Napa Sierra Club Team, you can first calculate your own household emissions, and then choose several “Actions” that reduce those emissions. At the same time, you are doing it with other Napa Sierra Club members. It’s very easy.
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 Lastly, since Alfredo Pedroza is not seeking re-election to the District 4 Board of Supervisors seat, we have started the endorsement process for that district. We have sent out questionnaires to three candidates who are running: Amber Manfree, Peter Mott, and Kimberly Richards. Based on their answers to our questions, and with possible interviews with us, we will make our decision in the coming weeks and pass it on to you.
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Our next Conservation Committee meeting will be November 21, 2023 at 6:00PM (please note the new time). If you would like to attend, just click on the RSVP button below and I'll send you a Zoom invite in the near future. Thank you.
- Nick Cheranich, ExCom Chair
napavalleysierraclub@gmail.com
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Napa Sierra Club Supports Recent Decision by BOS Regarding Preservation of County's Environmental Well-Being
by Sam Chapman
 The following article was written by SC member Sam Chapman, as an LTE in the Napa Register. It was unanimously supported by the Executive Committee. (Photo: Lake Hennessey)
On August 15, a majority of the Napa County Board of Supervisors, Joelle Gallagher, Anne Cottrell and Chair Belia Ramos, voted to uphold an appeal from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) that halted a developer's effort to convert forest and natural woodlands to a vineyard. They found that this particular proposal in this particular location was inconsistent with a number of County conservation regulations.
We applaud their action.
The CBD in their appeal pointed out that the vineyard conversion project would destroy 28 acres of forest and shrublands, block a crucial wildlife corridor, increase wildfire risk and could pollute nearby Conn Creek that feeds Lake Hennessey, the main source of Napa’s drinking water. (Photo credit: Save Napa Valley) Article continues here.
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Great Job Student Interns!
by Nick Cheranich, photos by Scott Thomason
 Great job to our NSC student volunteers, Liliana Karesh, Paulina Zambrano, and Kate Bit, who designed and then presented a well-received lesson on habitat loss of the Monarch Butterflies. (Photo, from left to right: Kate, Paulina, and Liliana)
The hands-on, art-centric lesson was presented to several of our community’s children (ages 6-9), as well as their families, at both the American Canyon and Napa Libraries on August 6th and 10th. Proud members of the Napa Group Excom were present at both events. Thanks so much! (Photo: The interns teaching at the American Canyon Library)
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Wetlands Restoration in Napa County
by Chris Benz
 One hundred and fifty years ago the Bay was surrounded by tidal marshes, but today only about 10% of those remain. Marshes were diked and drained for use for agriculture, salt production, and landfills. Fortunately, the North Bay has had many of its tidal marshes restored.
The American Canyon Wetlands were restored in two phases. In the 1990s, approximately 178 acres of land were restored to tidal action around the landfill. Located beside the river and in the wetlands, the landfill has been closed, capped and landscaped. It has been transformed into a major recreation opportunity for the region with a multi-use trail, known as Congressman Mike Thompson's Hike and Bike, around its base. In 2006, the City restored the low-lying floodplains north of the landfill site to tidal and seasonal wetlands. These baylands provide habitat for many fish, waterfowl, shorebirds, and wildlife species.
Article continues here.
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Earth Is Now Well Outside the Safe Operating Space for Humanity
from a Study Published in Science Advances Magazine
 This is an excerpt from a research article by Kathrine Richardson, et al, which was recently published in Science Advances Magazine. The entire article can be found here.
The transgression of a majority of Earth’s nine planetary boundaries (i.e., Climate change, Ocean acidification, Biosphere integrity, etc.), by human activities have now brought humanity well beyond a “safe operating space.”
This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity. Ocean acidification is close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds the boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The transgression level has increased for all boundaries earlier identified as overstepped.
As primary production drives Earth system biosphere functions, human appropriation of net primary production is proposed as a control variable for functional biosphere integrity. This boundary is also transgressed. Earth system modeling of different levels of the transgression of the climate and land system change boundaries illustrates that these anthropogenic impacts on Earth system must be considered in a systemic context. Article continues here.
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Coastal Clean Up Day, 2023, in American Canyon
Article and photos by Scott Thomason
 Working with the City of American Canyon, the Napa Resource Conservation District celebrated its Coastal Clean Up Day, Saturday, September 23rd in several locations around American Canyon.
Included were the Wetlands, Community Parks 1 and 2, Shenandoah Park, Silver Oaks Park, the Adult Center, Veterans Park and Par Course. (Pictured: Catherine Villarimo and her daughter, Alexandra (left), and Sophie Borgeaud with her son, Derrick, at Silver Oaks Park)
 “We’re just giving a little back to the community and we’re happy to do it,” said Cynthia Sanchez, who joined with more than two dozen other employees from her company—Westlake—which designated Coastal Clean Up Day as its Global Service event for 2023.
(Left: Cynthia Sanchez and Alexandro Guzman of Westlake, at the Adult Center)
 Thank you to all Napans who took part in dozens of cleanups throughout Napa County. (Right: Gil Cardenales and Rickie Locano, Westlake, at the Adult Center)
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Wondering What Your Legacy Might Be?
 A sense of legacy might be defined as the impulse to care for those who come after us.
As you know, the Napa Sierra Club Group has a mission to conserve natural ecosystems and work for sustainability in land and water usage, and to reduce the carbon release into the air. We take on projects that we think are significant to Napa that may be helped by local action.
We are trying to take care of our environment for those who come after us.
We are still looking for people to join our Executive Committee team who have knowledge and experience relevant to our mission and skills in research, presenting, organizing, and/or educating our neighbors. People who are willing to learn.
Is that you? Or do you know someone? We have openings on our team. Looking for motivated volunteers. Prepare for your legacy now.
Join us at our next meeting to ask questions and/or see how we roll. Email us, in care of Nick Cheranich, at napavalleysierraclub@gmail.com. Thank you!
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Save the Planet, Put Down That Burger
By Cara Buckley (courtesy of the New York Times)
 (In case you missed it from the last newsletter.) People who follow a plant-based diet account for 75 percent less in greenhouse gas emissions than those who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat a day, and a vegan diet also results in significantly less harm to land, water and biodiversity, according to new research from the University of Oxford. (Photo Credit: Steven May/Alamy)
While the link between animal agriculture and environmental harm is well established, earlier studies used scientific modeling to reach those conclusions. By contrast, the Oxford research drew from the actual diets of 55,500 people — vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters — in the United Kingdom and used data from some 38,000 farms in 119 countries.
The peer-reviewed study, led by Peter Scarborough, a professor of population health at Oxford, was published on Thursday in the journal Nature Food.
If meat eaters in the United Kingdom who consumed more than 3.5 ounces of a meat a day (slightly less than the size of a quarter pound burger) cut their intake to less than 1.7 ounces a day (roughly the amount of a single McDonald’s meat patty) it would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off the road, Dr. Scarborough said.
The study found that, compared to meat-heavy diets, vegan diets resulted in 75 percent less land use, 54 percent less water use, and 66 percent less biodiversity loss. A vegan diet avoids all animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy. The article continues here.
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