CP&DR

After 3 Decades, Environmentalists Continue to Win CEQA Cases

Oct 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 10 Oct 1999

Citizens and organizations with gripes about proposed developments are continuing to win more big lawsuits based on the California Environmental Quality Act than they are losing. According to a CP&DR analysis, petitioners — who these days range from environmentalists to public agencies in dispute with other public agencies — have won 14 of 25 significant, published CEQA cases since 1996. And that record appears to be just fine with the state Supreme Court, which shows no interest in CEQA these ...

Species Flys In Face of Continued Development

Sep 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

Ever since the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly was listed as an endangered species in 1993, it has been a poster child for opponents of the federal Endangered Species Act. Now, the fly is the latest endangered species to take center stage in the continually urbanizing Inland Empire. Other controversial endangered species, such as the Quino Checkerspot Butterfly and the gnatcatcher, can at least win support for aesthetic reasons. But a fly? Few people are easily convinced of the redeeming value...

TMDLs: The Revolution is at Hand

Aug 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 08 Aug 1999

The next big thing in water quality management — measuring specific pollutants in bodies of water and setting limits for those pollutants — is likely to impact land use and planning, but the exact ramifications remain unclear. After years of delay, federal and state agencies are developing definitions to show how much pollution can be allowed in a water body before it becomes polluted. These definitions are known as total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs. Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Wat...

Santa Margarita Watershed Planners Learn Lessons

Jul 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 07 Jul 1999

Rare Habitat, Sprawl-Threat Pose Challenges to UC Merced

Jun 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 06 Jun 1999, William Fulton

Vice President Al Gore has promised to speed environmental review of the proposed University of California campus near Merced. Ironically, the likely "Smart Growth" candidate for president in 2000 has sided with a project proposed on rangeland outside Merced's earlier-adopted urban growth boundaries which contains habitat for endangered species. The campus and "university community" would rise on the western edge of a large vernal pool grassland, which is home to fairy shrimp — a federally listed enda...

Regulators Cast a Huge Net For Rare Butterfly

May 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 05 May 1999

The Quino Checkerspot Butterfly is the latest endangered species to cause confusion and controversy in Southern California, joining such famed animals as the Stephens kangaroo rat, the California gnatcatcher and the Delhi sands flower loving fly. The butterfly was at first thought to live only in a few regions of Riverside and San Diego counties, where colonies have been found. But the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a map in January showing potential Quino Checkerspot habitat in parts o...

Stable Funding Sources Elude Several State Land Conservancies

Apr 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

Money problems for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy earlier this year have highlighted a need among most of the state's six land conservancies to find a long-term funding source to carry out their mission of acquiring, restoring and preserving open space. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which acquires land throughout Los Angeles County and in southeastern Ventura County, announced it had run out of money to even pay administrative costs as of June 30. A state Assembly budget subcommitte...

North Natomas HCP

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Environment Watch, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

North Natomas A lawsuit challenging a habitat conservation plan for Sacramento's North Natomas area has been filed in federal court by a group of environmentalists. A popular tool promoted by the Clinton administration, HCPs are intended to end disputes with landowners over plants and animals covered by the Endangered Species Act. Under the Natomas HCP, an acre of land is to be preserved for every two acres developed in the area, a few miles north of downtown Sacramento along Interstat...

Lockyer Indicates He Will Take Active Role in Green Issues

Mar 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The state's new Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, ran for that office as a friend of the environment, and early indications are that he intends to have a high profile on environmental issues. Lockyer mentioned protection of natural resources in his inaugural speech, and, in one of his first official acts, announced greater involvement by his department in a lawsuit to ban personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis, from Lake Tahoe. Since then, the Democrat from Alameda County has requested more money to beef...

Placer County Undertakes Habitat Conservation PLan

Feb 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999

A pro-active approach to preserving open space and create a Natural Communities Conservation Plan is taking shape in Placer County in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Members of the county's planning staff are working with the Sierra Business Council to design a countywide program that may serve as a model for other urbanizing counties in the Sierra. The program, known as the Placer Legacy, seeks to set up an NCCP before the county is forced to do so by a legal challenge or a government agency, and also...

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