Sierra Land Use News DECEMBER 2009
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Sierra Land Use News DECEMBER 2009 The Land Use News is a monthly electronic update of news, events, and notices regarding land use issues happening in or relevant to the Sierra. Articles of interest are hyperlinked. Click on the link to access the article online. Do you have an item that should be included in the Land Use News? Send it to [email protected]. Table of Contents – in this issue… I. Special from the Alliance 1. The 2010 Sierra Conservation directory is now available online! 2. The 2009-2010 Ski Area Environmental Scorecard is here! California resorts receive high marks for watershed, habitat protection; poor performance on energy II. News from California 1. Tahoe Agencies Applaud Restoration Bill, Yuba Net 2. Cities grapple with state law on land use and greenhouse gases, The Press-Enterprise 3. State to look at growth plan, San Francisco Chronicle 4. Sierra Valley ranchers, farmers battling land developers, The Reno-Gazette Journal 5. Placer Land Trust Joins Partnership to protect Bear River, Yuba Net 6. Transit Use is Growing, But Not Where You Think, Planetizen 7. Sutter Creek's Gold Rush Ranch expenses, revenues logged, Amador Ledger Dispatch 8. Loma Rica organic farm closes, The Union 9. Study sees transit saving Californians' energy, cutting greenhouse gas, The Sacramento Bee 10. Calaveras golf course owners get more time, The Record 11. Federal law provides tax incentive for conserving land, San Francisco Chronicle 12. Lockeford debuts design guidelines, Lodi News-Sentinel 13. My Valley Springs New Website!, ThePineTree.net III. News from Nevada 1. Private Tahoe Development still a major issue, conservations say, Reno-Gazette Journal 2. Interior, Agriculture Secretaries To Purchase 5,026 Acres of Western Land With High Conservation Value, Yuba Net 3. After initial public forum, many in favor of Boulder Bay project in North Tahoe, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza 4. New plans for Walmart to be considered Dec. 1, The Record Courier 5. Green vs. green fight over Tahoe redevelopment, The Modesto Bee IV. Events 1. PCL’s annual conference: Greening California’s Landscapes: Smart Solutions for a New Era 2. Pre- and Post-Wild Fire Forest Management for Ecological Restoration and Fire Resiliency, Feb 9-11, 2010, Sacramento I. SPECIAL FROM THE ALLIANCE 1. The 2010 Sierra Conservation directory is now available online! http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/publications/publication.shtml?type=pgm01 or download now as a PDF: http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/publications/db/pics/1259108519_3536.f_pdf.pdf The Directory is a comprehensive listing of organizations that work on conservation issues in the Sierra Nevada. The directory was prepared to assist Sierra organizations, agencies, interested public and the media with locating and contacting conservation organizations in the region. It can also be used as an informational resource for those interested in learning more about the kind of conservation work being undertaken throughout the Sierra Nevada. If your organization is missing from the Directory and you’d like to be included – we’re happy to add you! Please email Patricia at the Sierra Nevada Alliance: [email protected] for a Directory template. 2. The 2009-2010 Ski Area Environmental Scorecard is here! The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition released its annual environmental report card for ski resorts in the intermountain west on December 1. As one of four members of the Coalitions’ Steering Committee – the Sierra Nevada Alliance helped with publicity for resorts in California and Nevada. We were pleased to get some great coverage this year. The original press release is below. Check the following sites for other articles: 1) Reno Gazette Journal: Tahoe resorts get good grades for protecting environment http://www.rgj.com/article/20091201/NEWS/912010363 2) Tahoe Daily Tribune: Tahoe area resorts hold steady on annual environmental report card 3) http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20091202/NEWS/912029994/1063&parentprofile=10 63 4) Tahoeticker.com: Grades schmades http://www.tahoeticker.com/Outdoors/Grades-schmades 5) Associate Press: Good environmental grades for most Tahoe ski runs. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hpudcP2KzOcIplQCHl_71VjgSKzgD9CBD TG02 6) The Ski Channel: Squaw Valley scores top environmental ranking of 83 U.S. ski resorts. http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20091203/Squaw-Valley-scores-top- environmental-ranking-of-83-US-ski-resorts California Resorts Receive High Marks For Watershed, Habitat Protection; Poor Performance On Energy California leads resorts in the intermountain west for high environmental scores http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/programs/program.shtml?type=pgm05 The 9th annual release of the Ski Area Citizens Environmental Report Card showed strong scores from many resorts around the west for watershed and habitat protection. Of the 83 resorts evaluated 60 scored a ‘B’ or better for their watershed protection policies and 57 resorts scored a ‘B’ or better for their habitat protection policies. For those highest scoring resorts this meant little or no disturbance of sensitive watershed or habitat areas, and no documented water quality violations. California/Nevada resorts were consistent with this trend with 16 of the 20 CA/NV resorts evaluated scoring a ‘B’ or better for their watershed protection policies and 17 out of 20 scoring a ‘B’ or better for their habitat protection policies. To view each resort’s score and to see resort performance in each of the four categories, visit: www.skiareacitizens.com. In contrast, many of these same resorts did not achieve as high a grade for addressing climate change, or for their environmental policies and practices. More than 50% of the western ski areas evaluated received a D or an F in these two categories. California and Nevada resorts as a whole faired only slightly better than western resorts as a whole, with 8 of 20 CA/NV resorts scoring a ‘D’ or worse in the climate change category and 9 failing with respect to their environmental policies and practices. “We’re happy to see California ski resorts are not trampling meadows and wetlands or bulldozing into sensitive wildlands this year,” said Patricia Hickson, Program Associate with the Sierra Nevada Alliance, a member organization of the Ski Area Citizens Coalition. “We were disappointed however that ski resorts were not excelling in reducing greenhouse gases. California and Nevada ski areas should be more motivated than any other industry given we could lose 90% of the Sierra snowpack this century from climate change.” “Some resorts that scored points for buying renewable energy credits last year lost those points this year because they discontinued the program”, said Paul Joyce, Research Director for the Ski Area Citizens Coalition. “In some cases it sounded like a cost cutting measure. Ski resorts will likely be one of the most impacted industries by climate change. As such, resorts should be a leader in showcasing awareness and conscious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Many resorts lost points in the climate change portion of the report card because of unsubstantial use of biodiesel as fuel for diesel vehicles or other equipment. Resorts also lost points for not purchasing alternative energy off-sets, such as energy credits from wind, solar and geothermal sources. Such energy credits help to off-set greenhouse gas emissions created in powering ski lifts and other resort operations. Very few resorts in the west generate renewable energy on site. The Ski Area Citizens Coalition (SACC) is endorsed by more than 20 conservation organizations in the west. The SACC steering committee consists of Colorado Wild, the Sierra Nevada Alliance, Friends of the Inyo and Under the Sleeping Buffalo Research Center (UTSB). The Ski Area Environmental Scorecard (now Report Card) has been published consecutively since 2000. The report card analyzes resorts in five regions of the west, CA/NV, CO/NM, ID/MT/WY, OR/WA, and UT/AZ. This year, for the first time, the coalition grouped the suite of criteria with which the ski resorts were evaluated into four categories – providing a more descriptive picture of the work being done to address environmental impacts. Ski resorts are graded by a suite of 35 criteria such as: preservation of sensitive lands within the ski resort areas, actions related to water conservation and quality, and demonstrated commitment to green programs such as recycling and alternative energy use. More detailed information about the grading criteria that make up each category can be found on-line at www.skiareacitizens.com. The Coalition hopes skiers and riders use the Report Card to let their favorite resorts know they care about their environmental practices – whether it’s giving the resort accolades for their protection of sensitive habitat, or calling them out for inefficient use of water or energy. Overall, of the 83 ski areas evaluated across the west, none completely failed, 15 received Ds and 15 areas received As. In California/Nevada only two resorts scored a ‘D’ making the CA/NV region the highest ranking for environmental performance among all ski areas across the intermountain west. Squaw Valley was the highest ranking resort among all the 83 resorts evaluated. Alpine Meadows followed closely behind, ranking as the fifth highest scoring resort for environmental performance. “Though there are some outliers, as a whole we’re happy to see that resorts appear to be taking their environmental performance and practices more seriously,” said Ryan Bidwell, Executive Director of Colorado Wild. “That speaks well for future of the industry.” Grouping scoring criteria into the four categories highlighted significant differences in resort performance from region to region and resort to resort. While overall averages demonstrate general trends, the new format of the report card also shows that even with scores improving across the spectrum, more than half of resorts still receive a ‘D’ or an ‘F’ in at least one category.