Agreement includes pilot project to repopulate burrowing owls across San Diego County; comes in response to lawsuit filed over destruction of burrowing owls near airport

January 23, 2017 (San Diego) -- An agreement announced today between conservation and environmental justice groups and private developers will protect imperiled burrowing owls, increase renewable solar energy and conserve wildlife habitat to offset impacts from the redevelopment of San Diego’s Brown Field Municipal Airport. The airport — located near the Mexico border in Otay Mesa — will be redeveloped with new commercial and aviation facilities and include on-site solar energy to reduce energy consumption.

The agreement follows a lawsuit filed against the City of San Diego in 2013 by environmental groups to protect burrowing owls at the airport and protect their habitat.  Coalition for a Safe Environment's executive director Jesse Marquez stated at the time, "On one of our visits we discovered that the owl burrows had been poisoned to eliminate the owls in order to avoid having to relocate them. We must do everything possible to protect these owls from becoming extinct in San Diego."

By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

“In stark terms, hundreds of millions of people will die - and countless species become extinct - because of eight more years of US inaction.” – Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD

January 22, 2017 (San Diego) – One of the world’s top climate scientists is speaking out to denounce President Donald Trump’s energy plan and warn of its dire consequences for humanity.   Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD  from Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego actually measures the ice cores in Antaractica and Greenland.

“This is sad, and tragic,” Jeffrey Severinghaus, PhD, told East County Magazine after we sent him a copy of the energy plan posted at Whitehouse.gov by the Trump administration and informed him that climate change has been removed from the issues page at the White House website, along with all data on climate science previously posted there. 

Severinghaus warns bluntly, “We as a species cannot afford four more years—or eight, of delay on climate action. The stakes are simply too high.”

By Miriam Raftery

January 17, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – In a confirmation hearing today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Representative Ryan Zinke, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior testified, “I want to be clear about this:  I am absolutely against the transfer or sale of public lands.”

By Logan Pollard, California News Service

January 16, 2017 (Oakland) -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day has deep significance for many Americans this year with the fulfillment of what some thought an impossible dream: a black president serving two terms in office. Now, the Obama administration's last days have been marked by grand gestures - including a call for public lands agencies to be more inclusive in hiring practices and community outreach.

Dam upgrades slated to begin at Lake Morena in 2018, but there’s no guarantee water levels will ever be restored

By Miriam Raftery

January 12, 2017 (Lake Morena) --  Even after heavy rainfalls doused our region,  three East County Reservoirs remain at very low levels.  As of January 9^th, Lake Morena is at  just 2.1 percent of capacity, Barrett Lake is att 5.5 percent, and Sutherland 7.3 percent of capacity, according to the City of San Diego.

These are the only local reservoirs not connected to the State Water Project system of canals and aqueducts, thus they are solely dependent on rainfall  which has not been enough to replenish large quantities pumped out by the City of San Diego to meet its thirst for water.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo 1:  White Abalone, by Geographer, Wikimedia Commons

Photo 2:  Black Abalone, by James St. John, Wikimedia Commons

January 2, 2017 (San Diego) – The National Marine Fisheries Service is asking for public help to save black and white abalone from disappearing forever along the coast of California and Baja Mexico—the only places in the world where they are found.

By Miriam Raftery

January 1, 2017 (McCain Valley) – Road widening in anticipation of construction of the Tule Wind energy project in McCain Valley begins Tuesday, January 3^rd.  A public notice  has been issued cautioning users of McCain Valley Road, Lake Canyon Campground, Cottonwood Campground and the Off Highway Vehicle Area about temporary closures and traffic delays.

By Miriam Raftery

December 20, 2016 (Los Angeles) – California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris and the Coastal Commission have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior that seeks to prevent fracking, acidizing and other risky well treatments on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf off the state’s coastline.

By Miriam Raftery

Next up: Alpine General Plan amendments to be considered in 2017

December 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County)—By a  4 to 1 vote with Supervisor Dave Roberts opposed,  San Diego Supervisors on Wednesday voted to approve a Forest Conservation Initiative Lands General Plan Amendment, along with community plan amendments, rezoning and  certification of a supplemental environmental review. The action paves the way for development of parcels  in the Alpine and Descanso areas that were formerly protected under the Forest Conservation Initiative passed by voters, but that has since expired due to a sunset provision in 2010.

Travis Lyon, chair of the Alpine Community Planning Group, reports that the Supervisors “took all the recommendations ACPG made at the last meeting.” 

Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation,  said after the hearing, “The bottom line is that the County has moved to do away with what the voters – two thirds of them—wanted in 1993 to protect our local Forest."

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Eagle killed at a Danish wind farm; courtesy Save the Eagles

December 15, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Wind energy companies will be immune from prosecution for up to 30 years, even if their wind turbines kill or injure up to 4,200 bald or golden eagles, under a new rule finalized this week by the Obama administration.

Part III in our series on the Ocotillo wind turbine collapse

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Jim Pelley

December  11, 2016 (Ocotillo) – State Senator Ben Hueso (D-40^th district) wants to know why a massive wind turbine collapsed on November 21^st  in Ocotillo on public land—and what will be done to prevent future such disasters.

In a letter to Beth O’Brien,  Pattern Energy’s manager of external affairs,  Senator Hueso notes that this is the third serious incident that has occurred at the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facilitiy since it opened approximately four years ago.  Prior problems include a wind turbine that burst into flames and another that hurled a multi-ton blade onto a public trail.

He indicated that residents have contacted him with concerns and asked him to look into the matter.  East County Magazine also contacted the Senator to ask what steps will be taken to protect public safety.

East County News Service

December 5, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - The Forest Conservation Initiative Lands General Plan Amendment (GPA) is scheduled for the December 14, 2016 San Diego County Board of Supervisors hearing agenda.  The purpose of this hearing is for the Board of Supervisors to receive and consider the County of San Diego Department of Planning & Development Services report on the GPA and certification of the Final Supplemental Impact Report prepared for the GPA. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 29, 2016 (Campo)- If you’ve got a hankering to own a 2,160 acre cattle ranch,  you may want to mosey on out to rural Campo and saddle up to see the Star Ranch.  The large property is on the market—and the owner is willing to consider offers on any of nine parcels separately or together. (View offering proposal).

A 455-unit housing development has been proposed on the site, drawing opposition from some neighbors concerned about impacts on groundwater supplies, traffic and loss of rural character.  Now the owner has put the site on the market-- and  is giving neighbors the first opportunity to purchase all or part of the sprawling rural property.

East County News Service

November 24, 2016 (San Diego) -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is expanding its initiative to assist private forestland owners in addressing tree mortality and other drought-related damage to improve forest health.  NRCS will provide financial assistance for landowners with dead and dying conifer forest trees in certain counties, including San Diego County.