League of Women Voters Endorses Measure C

Endorses Measure C: Watershed and Oak Woodland Protection. 

The LWV Napa County endorses Measure C. Its position statement is as follows: The League has long supported actions that promote the health of our natural environment, with emphasis on conservation and high standards of water quality. Maintaining pristine streams, rivers, wetlands, and the watershed are of utmost importance in ensuring reliable water supplies into the future. Our analysis of Measure C is in keeping with LWVUS and LWVCA positions developed over years of study, and the LWVNC is proud to endorse this initiative. LWVNC has studied the opposition’s arguments and found them lacking in long-term visioning and factual substance.

CAN LOCALS IN NAPA STAVE OFF A TROUBLESOME MEGA-VINEYARD?

In California wine country, environmentalists and vintners have kept an uneasy peace. Corporate overreach and damage to the environment are threatening to fracture it.

Sophie Yeo for Pacific Standard, May 24, 2018

(Photo: Richard Price/Unsplash)

"Residents of Napa County are losing patience with the wine industry. At the heart of their frustration is Walt Ranch, a proposed 200-acre mega-vineyard that, if it goes ahead, will remove thousands of trees from the steep slopes of the valley. But this latest dispute is also part of a more deeply rooted anger over the corporate powers that have come to dominate this Californian Eden...

""It's an environmental project, but it's turned into a political one because there seems to be a lack of democratic process here in Napa County. If the rich and powerful control the government, then the citizens are being ignored, and that's what's happening here.""

Read the full article here

Measure C is for the many, not the few

Letter to the Editor by Richard Cannon, May 23, 2018

We elect officials like county Supervisors to protect our interests. In theory, this is how our system of government works.

In practice, however, we know this does not always happen. That is not to say that there are not elected individuals who put the interests of their constituents first and the interest of large campaign contributors second. But unfortunately money talks and its voice is often louder than that of the multitudes.

If you read the May 1 letter to the editor by Mike Hackett and Jim Wilson ("Time’s Up: To protect local water supplies, Napa County voters must approve Measure C"), you will know that three supervisors pledged their support for Measure C. Why did they do this? Because Measure C was a cooperative effort which included the Napa Valley Vintners.

That being the case, it was safe for supervisors to be supportive of Measure C. But that changed when some of the louder voices within the NVV protested. Now it was no longer safe for supervisors to support Measure C and they have become silent on the issue. But even their silence speaks.

We, the people, cannot really fault the supervisors. Supervisors are captives of the system which put them in power. So when money speaks, as it has in the campaign to defeat Measure C, voters need to speak with the only voice they have; the ballot.

Measure C is about protecting our water supply. The question voters will decide is who will have control of the watersheds that are responsible for the water that shows up in our creeks, streams, rivers, reservoirs and aquifers? Who will control our water supply? Will it be those who clearly own the land on which the watersheds exist? Or will it be those who will suffer irreplaceable loss if the water supply they depend on is damaged because watersheds are destroyed?

Will the few gain while the many lose?

It really is a David-and-Goliath battle. And we cannot depend on the supervisors to supply the stones for our sling. We have to do that with our votes.

As you consider your vote on Measure C, remember the NVV were involved in drafting the measure as it now appears on your ballot. They even shared the cost of legal counsel during the drafting process.

Consider also that the written statements submitted for inclusion in the voter pamphlet by the “No on C” folks had to be changed because they admitted in court that many of their statements were false and misleading. Some of those false and misleading statements now appear on “No on C” campaign literature and signs.

Who will win this battle? The Goliath of big money and special interest? Or will we, the people, send a message to both big money and silent representatives elected to protect the interest of the many?

Vote 'yes' on C: speak now to the silence of those elected to protect your interests.

Richard A. Cannon

Napa

The simple being made confusing

Letter to the Editor, Joanne Yates, May 23

Measure C is simple; its opponents have made it confusing.

Measure C protects the only natural water system we have left in the county that filters our water, stores it, and recharges the aquifers. That system is the “watershed”, which are wooded hillsides divided by ridges directing the flow of water into the ground and to streams.

That water is groundwater, and right now about 70 percent of it is being used by agricultural development.

There are no woodlands left on the valley floor to act as a filter, collector, and recharger for the aquifers because the majority of land has been clear cut and planted in vineyards. The rest is urban development. That is why an abundant, dependable supply of groundwater is critical to the county’s municipalities and vineyards/wineries.

The only land left for ag development is the county’s hillsides. Corporate winery interests know that and are working diligently to develop plans for extensive vineyards on land that was never meant for grapes. After all, if Hall Winery could get permission to clear-cut the oak woodlands on Walt Ranch, then why not the next wealthy ag-industry conglomerate that wants a part of Napa County?

But here’s the hitch: if the woodlands are cut down and the watershed areas can no longer filter, store, and recharge the aquifers, then where do we get our water?

Measure C protects the property rights of all those who choose to farm their land responsibly. Measure C protects everyone’s right to clean water. If that’s what you want for your family, your grandkids, and for agriculture, vote yes. If you want to support corporate profiteers, then vote no.

I urge you to join your neighbors and do the right thing. Vote 'yes' on C.

By the way, Sierra Club endorses Measure C and just announced its endorsement for Cio Perez as supervisor.

Joanne Yates

St. Helena

Divisive referendum seeks to limit vineyard growth in storied Napa Valley

BY MIKE DUNNE, for the Sacramento Bee, May 23, 2018

AP Photo/Eric Risberg

"If it passes, the initiative will impose a series of environmental standards – wider buffers along streams, limits on the falling of oak trees, the replacement of removed oaks on a 3:1 ratio – aimed at safeguarding woodlands on the sloping watershed rising from the valley floor.

“The valley floor is planted out. The only place left to put in additional vineyards is the hillsides,” says Mike Hackett, a former military and commercial pilot turned environmentalist instrumental in qualifying Measure C for the ballot.

The hillsides that bracket the valley, however, are the source for two-thirds of the water that recharges reservoirs and wells that help sustain the valley’s several small towns as well as its sprawling vineyards, Hackett says. In short, the measure is needed to control development on the hills to help assure the quantity and quality of runoff, he argues.

"...in the end one has to make a choice: either you self-regulate or allow individuals to have their own way and destroy the culture you are trying to save.”"

Read the full article here

DWR Releases Draft Prioritization of Groundwater Basins Under SGMA

Post from Maven's Notebook, May 18, 2018

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released a draft prioritization of groundwater basins as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The 2018 SGMA Basin Prioritization is scheduled to be finalized by fall 2018 after a public comment period that starts today and runs through July 18.

SGMA requires local agencies throughout the state to sustainably manage groundwater basins. Under the act, DWR is required to prioritize groundwater basins and direct high- and medium-priority basins to meet a timeline of targets on the path to sustainability. The 2018 SGMA Basin Prioritization released today is a reassessment of the 2016 update of Bulletin 118 Basin Boundaries.

“Sustainably managing groundwater is a critical component of California’s efforts to build a more resilient and reliable water system,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The Department of Water Resources is committed to working with Groundwater Sustainability Agencies throughout the state to bring basins into sustainability. This prioritization is crucial to that work. We must plan ahead so this vital resource is available for Californians today and in years to come.”

Read more here at The Maven's Notebook

For more information visit the basin prioritization website at https://www.water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Basin-Prioritization

 

Measure C: Preserve Napa Valley oaks, protect our water

Opinion, San Francisco Chronicle, May 22, 2018

Photo: Craig Lee / The Chronicle 2006

Napa County is facing a heated election over a grassroots citizen’s initiative. Measure C, the Watershed and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative, would protect long-term water supplies for agriculture, including vineyards, as well as for residents, by capping the number of oak trees that can be removed without a permit from the county’s agricultural watershed zone. Ensuring a stable water supply benefits the wine industry directly, which is why some of the region’s most prominent winemakers enthusiastically support Measure C.

Water is a finite resource, and there is no life — or wine — without it. Napa County is on the brink of a water crisis, whether Measure C’s opponents are willing to admit it or not.

On May 18, the California Department of Water Resources released its draft prioritization of groundwater basins in need of oversight, and the Napa River basin was identified as a high priority. This analysis comes after Napa County provided misleading information to regulators that overstated the stability of local groundwater supplies by cherry-picking data. State regulators didn’t buy it.

Napa County’s water supplies need protections now, not after we’ve planted more wine grapes than we can irrigate. Unfortunately, county leaders are more dedicated to the wants of the wine industry than the needs of the community. Because county leaders will not take action to protect our water, we turned to the initiative process.

After years of seeing Napa County officials skew land-use decisions to favor deep-pocketed wine industry interests, we launched this campaign to protect our hillside watershed lands. Measure C’s proponents partnered with the board of a wine industry trade group, Napa Valley Vintners, to negotiate the language now before voters. This measure is a reasonable compromise that allows for a limited amount of additional clearing of oak trees in exchange for tightened regulations. These regulations — things like increased buffer zones around streams and wetlands — are based on current science that is referenced in many of Napa County’s own planning documents.

Napa Valley Vintners helped to cover legal costs associated with its drafting and met with members of the Board of Supervisors with us to support its passage. Unfortunately, a vocal opposition from the Napa Valley Vintners’ membership pressured the group to abandon its support.

For years, the growth of large, corporate wineries has shifted the balance of power in Napa County to favor outside interests. The ongoing consolidation of what was once a valley of small wineries has led to an increasingly aggressive wine hospitality culture focused more on short-term profits than environmental sustainability or quality of life for residents.

Napa County’s hillside oak woodlands promote groundwater recharge, reduce flood risk, prevent erosion and siltation of waterways, and provide a buffer against drought. As we lose woodlands, we lose these protections.

Today, hillsides are clear cut to make room for grape vines. Event centers and tasting rooms are granted retroactive approvals — even when they defy local zoning regulations — and unfettered winery expansion is causing traffic congestion.

Everyone living or working in and around Napa County benefits, whether directly or indirectly, from a thriving wine industry. But ensuring the continued vitality of our local economy requires protecting our water supplies.

We urge every Napa Valley resident to vote “yes” on Measure C — for our water, for our future, for us all.

Mike Hackett and Jim Wilson are co-chairs of Napa County’s Yes on C campaign.

Related:

Battle for Napa Valley’s future: Proposed curb on vineyards divides county

Sierra Club is for Measure C

Letter to the Editor, as written and as published in the Yountville Sun

Sierra Club officially endorses Measure C.

As a body we decry misrepresentations made by its opponents.

Measure C is a sensible initiative requested by over 7,000 voters. It sets reasonable limits on destruction of oak woodlands in Ag, Watershed & Open Space zones of Napa County. Limits which will:

Protect shared watersheds for clear naturally filtered water supply,

Conserve multiple species habitats connected through wildlife corridors,

Sequester carbon through mature oak canopies and associated vegetation, and

Set upland buffers at waterway or woodland edges to ease climate change effects.

Sierra Club participates in the grass roots Yes on C campaign which respects community interests that care for the environment and seek limits on haphazard development in watershed hillsides through Measure C.

Two opponents of Measure C have signed election documents representing themselves as “Sierra Club Member” and “Former Sierra Club Board Member” to which we take strong exception as attempts to mislead voters in the face of approval by the Sierra Club at all levels to endorse Measure C.

More telling are the elected and appointed officials who have also signed to condone objectively false and misleading statements to Napa County voters. All of those who signed on the election documents were party to having in fact been ordered by Napa Superior Court Judge Stone to correct those statements and pay proponents’ legal costs by settlement.

Where is their credibility now?

Sierra Club has confidence in Napa County voters and calls upon our membership to join and vote yes on Measure C.

Diane Shepp, Chair of the Napa Group of the Sierra Club

Napa County’s choices for supervisor, Measure C

I am proud to have devoted almost 30 years of effort and energy as an advocate for land stewardship at the local, county and state levels as an affiliate and board member of the Napa County Farm Bureau.

But ironically, the organization recently endorsed my opponent Supervisor Diane Dillon for re-election.

The people who lead the Farm Bureau, a group that included me until I became a candidate for supervisor, are good people who care about the land. Unfortunately, some of them have placed a higher priority on the profits generated from over-planting rural areas with vineyards and building winery event centers.

This misguided priority has caused the Farm Bureau, and others, to pick candidates based on their position on Measure C. It's divided otherwise lifelong friends and it's too bad.

Some farmers like me believe Measure C is wise because it protects our hillsides and watersheds from corporate over-development of vineyards, and thereby protects Napa County’s major source of both drinking and irrigation water.

The simple truth is that vineyards (wonderful crops and vital to my own way of life) as water- and habitat-preserving crops are inferior to the natural hillside ecosystems that already exist.

Others argue that property owners won’t be able to make decisions about their own land.

What Measure C will do is ensure that property owners who wish to ignore their responsibility to protect our collective water supply will not be able to replace deep-rooted, complex and vital networks of trees (including oaks) with acres of shallow-rooted vineyards that would further deplete our aquifers.

Measure C is a proactive way to protect our natural resources from the irreversible harm being proposed by corporate winery developers. By preserving our hillsides and watersheds, we protect our water, air, wildlife, and the quality of life for everyone who lives in Napa County.

And it will preserve economic opportunity for smart, local agriculturists who farm sustainably and don’t need to rely on winery centers for event-generated dollars.

Concerned citizens put Measure C on the ballot in the first place because Supervisor Dillon has remained undecided or silent on too many of the projects that threaten Napa County’s limited resources.

She remains "neutral" on Measure C today. But in the minds of a few at the Farm Bureau, apparently a calculated neutrality based on the paranoia of unintended consequences is preferable to a realistic and reasoned position that Measure C will be a net benefit for farmers.

At least voters have clear distinctions they can evaluate before they cast their ballots.

Lucio “Cio” Perez

St. Helena