CONSERVATION
Audubon comments on wind facility: The Redbud Audubon Conservation committee, including Roberta Lyons and Brad and Kathy Barnwell, has submitted comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding the proposed Walker Ridge Wind Generation Facility. Comments are in response to a request from BLM for input on the scoping and focus of the Environmental Impact Statement that must be prepared for the project.
Walker Ridge Positon: Walker Ridge is located in the north-eastern part of Lake County, in the vicinity of Indian Valley Reservoir. Comments from Audubon focused on the impact on resident and migratory bird species as well as bats. We commented on the importance of baseline data and the fact that night time monitoring is essential as part of this baseline data because of the night flying birds that migrate to and from Clear Lake. Link to the full text is here.
Redbud Audubon LOCAL IMPACT: The Redbud Audubon Society has been a major group representing the environmental community on important county wide resource management committees. The Society was an original signer of a Memorandum of Understanding to create the first Coordinated Resource Management Plan for the Clear Lake watershed that has evolved into the lake County Resource Management committee. The Society is represented on this committee, as well as the Clear Lake Advisory Subcommittee, which reports to the Resource Management Committee. Audubon members also serve on the Managing Aquatic Plants taskforce, which is a group of stakeholders concerned with the management of non-hydrilla aquatic plants that are causing problems for Lake Access.
| Clear Lake Advisory Subcommittee: The Clear Lake Advisory Subcommittee was established on July 25, 1995 to advise the Board of Supervisors on "development of a workable administrative program that will promote, protect and enhance the lakebed and surrounding lands." The committee consists of 18 BOS appointed members representing the interests various stakeholders in the CLear Lake basin: the two incorporated city governments; their chambers of commerce; Native American groups; Lake County Water Resources Division of Dept of Public Works; environmental restoration; agriculture, CA Fish and Game; navigation; public access (open space) wildlife; recreation industry; habitat-ecology; algae (aesthetics); Rimlanders (property owners); fishery; water quality I; water quality II. The current representative for wildlife is Janet Swedberg. The alternate position remains unfilled. If you are interested in filling this position, contact Marilyn Waits and get an application from the secretary of the BOS. |
| Over the last five years the CLAS has been actively overseeing the County's effort to produce and implement the Aquatic Plant Management Plan. This was a lengthy effort for the DPW Lakebed Management personnel which included exploring all the options, writing the plan, clearing the EIR, and getting it adopted by the Board of Supervisors. CLAS reviewed the plan at each stage and recommended its adoption by the BOS. |
| The issue of invasive plant species continues to be of great concern, as the water primrose mats at various places around the lake increase in size and take over traditional tule habitat, killing the tules. Also of great and critical concern is how to prevent the invasive zebra or its cousin the quagga mussel from entering the lake, as quagga mussels have been discovered in Lake Mead. Last year CLAS recommended the BOS write CalTrans requesting that all trailed boats be inspected at the state border crossings. At that time, it was thought that notifying the public in any fashion would bring negative publicity to Clear Lake, however, CLAS is now considering what kind of public education effort might be appropriate. |
REDBUD AUDUBON CONSERVATION CHAIR: Roberta Lyons
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