LAKEPORT, Calif. — A judge on Tuesday put off the sentencing of a former Lakeport business owner facing prison for possession of child pornography.
Judge Shanda Harry continued the sentencing hearing of Jeffery Scott Cramer, 60, to April, said District Attorney Susan Krones.
Two weeks ago, when Cramer’s sentencing hearing had been set to take place, Harry rejected a plea agreement Krones’ office had reached with Cramer, who was arrested in May 2020 as the result of a Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Investigators said Cramer, who formerly owned Main Street Bicycles, had uploaded child pornography through social media accounts.
The District Attorney’s Office offered a plea agreement to Cramer that had him entering a no contest plea to felony possession of child pornography in exchange for dismissing a charge of bringing obscene materials that depict a minor in a sex act into the state.
The agreement would allow him to serve no prison time but instead to do up to two years of probation, along with lifetime registration as a sex offender.
Among her reasons, Harry said Cramer didn’t just have child pornography in his possession, but that he created “tribute videos” of himself masturbating to the images and then uploaded them to pornography sites.
“This was not a passive exploration of pictures,” Harry said at the time.
Cramer’s attorney, Jane Gaskell of Santa Rosa, asked for more time, explaining that the plea was based on Cramer receiving probation, not prison time.
In response, Harry continued the hearing until Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, the decision was made to continue the hearing again until 3 p.m. April 4 in Harry’s courtroom.
Krones said Harry wanted to update the information in the probation report that advises her on the sentence. The defense also asked for that report to be updated.
The defense indicated on Tuesday that Cramer will not withdraw his plea, Krones said.
Krones said Cramer is still looking at a prison sentence, as Harry had indicated at the previous hearing.
She said it’s likely to be a two-year sentence, “but obviously we will not know until the sentencing.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Yuba Community College District is seeking applications from community members who wish to serve as an appointed member of the board of trustees until the next regularly scheduled election for governing board members, which is November 2022.
Trustee Bill Roderick of Lake County has resigned, and so the district is seeking to fill his seat for the remainder of this year.
Trustee Area 7 covers a portion of southern Lake County and the Northshore, as well as Colusa and Glenn counties.
The Yuba Community College District Board is responsible for the performance of Woodland Community College and Yuba College, which serve 13,000 students and provide vital educational services for the communities in the region.
Woodland Community College includes the Lake County Campus in Clearlake.
The board is seeking candidates who have the ability and time to fulfill the responsibilities of being a member of the board, which include:
• Participate fully in the work of the board, which includes attending all board meetings and key college events, studying and discussing policy issues, and participating in trustee education programs. • Be knowledgeable about the communities served by the District and be willing to act on behalf and for the benefit of those communities. • Be committed to community colleges and their missions; understand educational, social, and economic policy issues. • Engage in balancing the needs of many diverse groups; be able to contribute and build consensus. • Contribute to effective board functioning and support the authority of the board as a whole.
A person is eligible to be a member of the governing board if they are:
• At least 18 years of age; • A California citizen and registered voter; • Resident of the community college district and trustee area from which elected; and • Not disqualified by other laws to hold public office.
The board of trustees meets the second Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. Regularly scheduled monthly board meetings are held at the YCCD District Office in Yuba City.
Applications are due no later than March 10, 2022.
The board will consider candidates and make the provisional appointment on March 28, 2022.
Please contact the chancellor’s office at 530-741-6972 to indicate an interest or suggest a possible candidate for the position.
More information and application materials are available via email request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on the web at https://www.yccd.edu/board/provisional-trustee-appointment/.
Editor’s note: The district updated the date for consideration of the candidates to March 28.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors is set to receive an update from the Community Development director on her department’s operations and consider rules requiring masking in county facilities.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting ID is 989 6315 9874, pass code 133186. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,98963159874#,,,,*133186#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
At 9:30 a.m., Community Development Director Mary Darby will give an update on her department’s operations.
Her update will include the latest on Ordinance No. 3107, an urgency ordinance the board enacted in July to impose a temporary moratorium on the issuance of early activation permits for land use projects within the unincorporated county.
Also on Tuesday, in an untimed discussion, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier will ask for the board to reconsider an urgency ordinance that remains in effect requiring everyone, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, to wear face coverings in county facilities. The state is lifting some of its masking rules as of Wednesday.
In another untimed item, the board will consider renegotiating certain provisions of an agreement approved on Sept. 28, 2021, with RCHDC regarding an affordable housing project on Collier Avenue in Nice, and also discuss an audit for financial activity regarding a loan and loan forgiveness for the project.
The board also will consider a cost sharing agreement for phase two of the Lake County Recreation Center Feasibility Study. That also is an untimed item.
In other business, the board will present a proclamation at 9:06 a.m. designating the month of February 2022 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and will follow up with another proclamation at 9:10 a.m. designating the month of February 2022 Black History Month and celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve application for Prepare California Jump Start Grant.
5.2: Adopt proclamation designating the month of February 2022 Black History Month.
5.3: Adopt proclamation designating the month of February 2022 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in Lake County.
5.4: Approve Board of Supervisors meeting minutes for Jan. 25, 2022.
5.5: Approve authorization of destruction of records by the Registrar of Voters Office under Government Code section 26202.
5.6: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between county of Lake Health Services and Lake County Office of Education for fiscal year 2021-2022 for a contract maximum of $88,650, and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
5.7: Adopt resolution to amend the budget for FY 2021-2022 by appropriating unanticipated revenue for Public Health Services and authorize the Health Services director to sign necessary documents to secure these funds.
5.8: Approve Accela subscription annual license renewals from March 1, 2022, through Feb. 28, 2023, in the amount of $31,483.66, and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.9: Authorize the IT director to issue a purchase order to Berkeley Communications in the amount of $47,737.95 for a network attached storage system and professional services.
5.10: Authorize the county librarian to sign the grant agreement between the State Library and County Library for the Lake County Library Bookmobile project.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of February 2022 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in Lake County.
6.3, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of February 2022 Black History Month and Celebrating Martin Luther King's Birthday.
6.4, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of update on Urgency Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3107, enacted on July 27, 2021) imposing a temporary prohibition (moratorium) on the issuance of early activation permits for land use projects within the unincorporated area of the county of Lake, and Update on Community Development Department operations.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of review and reconsideration of Urgency Ordinance No. 3108 requiring all persons, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, wear face coverings in county facilities.
7.3; a) Discussion and possible renegotiations of certain provisions of agreement approved on Sept. 28, 2021, with RCHDC, and b) discussion and direction on audit for financial activity regarding loan and loan forgiveness regarding Collier Avenue project.
7.4: Consideration of the cost sharing agreement for phase two of the Lake County Recreation Center Feasibility Study.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1; Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(d)(4) — One potential case.
8.2: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Appointment of Public Health officer.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport Planning Commission is set to hold a special meeting on Wednesday during which it will elect its officers, discuss a proposal for a senior housing apartment complex and consider two applications for short-term rentals.
The commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. In accordance with updated guidelines from the state of California and revised Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards, persons who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are required to wear a face covering at this meeting.
To speak on an agenda item, access the meeting remotely here; the meeting ID is 986 6166 5155. To join by phone, dial 1-669-900-9128.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Please indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that are read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council before the meeting.
On Wednesday, the commission will hold its annual election of officers.
The commission also is set to consider approving a density bonus application from AMG and Associates for the Bevins Street Senior Apartments.
Community Development Director Jenni Byers’ report said the proposed project is a 40-unit senior rental apartment complex located on 3.1 acres at 447 Bevins St.
It will be located directly west of the Bella Vista senior housing complex, which AMG and Associates built, Byers reported.
Byers said the Bevins Street Senior Apartments will include a mix of 32 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units, a 1,000 square foot community building with a common kitchen, exercise room, laundry facility and business center, a community garden with raised planter beds, bocce ball court and a fenced dog park. It will target seniors earning up to 30 to 60% of the area median income for Lake County.
Also on the agenda are two applications for short-term rentals.
Tea Tree LLC is seeking a use permit and a categorical exemption to allow for a short-term rental at 1950 Lakeshore Blvd.
Amber Chatwin of LNR Services also is seeking a use permit and categorical exemption to allow for a short-term rental located at 600 Esplanade.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake Family Resource Center is raising awareness in February of dating violence and how it affects teenagers.
Congress declared the month of February to be National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in 2010.
National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, also known as TDVAM, has become a national effort to raise awareness and protect teens from dating abuse and violence.
The national theme for TDVAM 2022 is “Talk About It.”
“Talk About It” is a call to action for young people and those who support them to engage in meaningful conversations about healthy relationships and navigate what may be unhealthy or even abusive. The ultimate goal is to stop teen dating violence before it begins.
Teenagers have their own unique stories. When they share their own experiences, it empowers others to listen and continue conversations surrounding support, rights, respect and love.
Some great ideas to talk about for teens and adults are common abusive behaviors, including checking cellphones or emails without permission; constantly being ridiculed; displaying extreme jealousy or insecurities; having explosive temper; isolating one from family or friends; making false accusations; mood swings; physical harm in any way; possessiveness and telling one what to do.
Violent relationships in teens can have serious ramifications by putting victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.
Other possible signs include grades dropping, truancy, trouble at home, isolation from their friends, depression, unexplained injuries that might be passed off as running into a cabinet, lack of interest in activities that used to give them joy and feeling afraid to talk about anything that is going on in their life.
Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner each year.
One in three adolescents in the United States is a victim of physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse from a dating situation.
Young women between the ages of 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence — almost triple the national average.
Eighty-one percent of parents surveyed either believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.
Teen dating violence runs across race, gender and socioeconomic lines, and this dangerous epidemic can affect anyone.
Both males and females can be victims, and both males and females can be abusers.
Lake Family Resource Center encourages teens and parents to speak out, educate teens, be heard and be a part of bringing Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month to the forefront.
If you are or someone you know is in an abusive dating relationship, free and confidential help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the Community Crisis Hotline, at 888-485-7733.
Lake FRC provides a multitude of services to build family stability and strength. The agency supports Lake County residents in achieving stable, self-sufficient, and healthy families and communities. Call today at 707-279-0563 to find out more about what services they offer.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council this week will hear from a youth council, hold two public hearings, get an update on the Lakefront Park and consider renaming two areas at Westside Community Park.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. In accordance with updated guidelines from the state of California and revised Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards, persons who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are required to wear a face covering at this meeting.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the city clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
On Tuesday, the council will receive an update on the All Children Thrive Youth Governance Council.
The council also will hold two public hearings.
The first will relate to the preparation of an application for Community Development Block Grant funding.
The second public hearing is to adopt an ordinance adding chapter 12.30 and amending chapters 9.08 and 10.08 of the Lakeport Municipal Code related to skating and skateboarding in any skate park, parklands and the downtown district.
The new Lakefront Park will include a skate park, and Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Kelly Buendia’s written report to the council explained that the city needs to adopt an ordinance in compliance with Health and Safety Code Section 115800 which prohibits persons from riding a skateboard at a skateboard park without a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads.
“Last January, the passage of Senate Bill 1003 extended those requirements to persons using nonmotorized bicycles, scooters, inline skates, roller skates, or wheelchairs,” Buendia said.
In council business, the city manager will ask the council to adopt a resolution to oppose Initiative 21-0042A1, The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act.
The council also will get an update on the Lakefront Park project.
Public Works Superintendent Ron Ladd will ask the council to adopt a resolution naming the new playground structure to be located at Westside Park’s phase two the “Lakeport Lions Legacy Playground” and to adopt a resolution naming the new sports amenity, also to be located in the park’s phase two, the Futsol Pitch “In Memory of Marla Ruzicka.”
On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; minutes of the council’s regular meeting on Feb. 1; the Jan. 28 warrant register; and adoption of the proposed resolution adopting a records retention schedule, and authorizing destruction of certain city records and rescinding Resolution No. 2799 (2021).
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The Newsom Administration announced Tuesday that six California sites have been identified and leases have been signed to allow for the storage of shipping containers on state property to help alleviate congestion at California ports.
The effort is the result of Executive Order N-19-21, which aims to strengthen the resilience of California’s and the nation’s supply chains.
“California has taken swift action to keep goods moving at the state’s ports, leveraging our strategic partnerships to develop multifaceted solutions, including securing additional storage space for thousands of shipping containers,” said Gov. Newsom. “These efforts are a vital investment to help meet the needs of not only Californians, but our entire nation, and we’ll continue advancing innovative solutions to address this global challenge.”
Chunker, the national warehouse marketplace, has leased the six sites from the state Department of General Services for one year, with an option for a second year. The sites include three armories (in Lancaster, Palmdale, and Stockton), a former prison site (Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy), and two fairground sites (San Joaquin County and Antelope Valley Fairgrounds). Chunker will coordinate between California ports, shipping/trucking companies, and cargo owners to help move containers and free up needed space elsewhere.
“The unprecedented challenges we face to resolve supply chain issues require action, and today’s announcement is just one of the many ways the Administration is working to ease congestion to help keep goods moving,” said Yolanda Richardson, Secretary of California’s Government Operations Agency.
Department of General Services Director Ana M. Lasso said her department is continuing to build on partnerships to ease supply chain issues.
“California is on top of prioritizing the storage needs that have slowed distribution at ports on our coast,” she said.
Since the Governor signed Executive Order N-19-21 in October, notable actions have included:
A strategic partnership between the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation for up to $5 billion in loan financing to advance a comprehensive, statewide portfolio of freight, goods movement and supply chain resiliency projects.
Issuing temporary permits allowing trucks to carry increased loads on state highway and interstate routes between the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and other statewide ports to expedite transport of international commerce between ports and distribution centers. Doubling the Department of Motor Vehicles’ capacity to conduct commercial driving tests to address the national shortage of workers in the industry.
Securing a 22-acre pop-up site, in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, located at the Port of Oakland to assist agricultural exporters in storing products and getting them onto containers. This site is expected to be operational on March 1.
“The ongoing supply chain crisis requires an all hands-on-deck approach, as we work with our partners to meet the needs of California’s families and businesses,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. “By creating additional storage space for shipping containers, we can relieve some of the congestion at our ports, keep our imports and exports flowing and strengthen our economy.”
In addition, the Governor’s California Blueprint proposes $2.3 billion for supply chain investments next fiscal year, including $1.2 billion for port, freight, and goods movement infrastructure and $1.2 billion for other related areas such as workforce training and zero-emission vehicle equipment and infrastructure related to the supply chain.
This funding would improve supply chain resiliency and be used to leverage federal funding.
The state also worked with the Biden-Harris administration to implement a new 24/7 environment across the supply chain, to improve collaboration, and to explore policies to remove obstacles and improve the movement of goods.
“Container storage is a major component of the congestion at the ports as well as a part of the nationwide supply chain crisis,” said Brad Wright, CEO of Chunker. “We are thrilled to partner with Governor Newsom and the state of California to create a solution that will have a major impact on the problem. Having access to the state property will allow us to store 20,000 containers or more, which will free up a significant amount of space at the ports.”
More U.S. adults are now reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder than before the pandemic, according to a comparison of recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s experimental Household Pulse Survey, or HPS, and data from the National Center for Health Statistics from 2019.
Even so, the data also show that the share of adults reporting these symptoms is lower now than it was a year ago. However, frontline workers working outside the home are more likely to be experiencing these symptoms than all other workers.
The most recent data show that unvaccinated adults in surveyed househods reported experiencing these symptoms at a higher rate than adults who are vaccinated.
Concern over mental health
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been concern that hardships associated with the pandemic could exacerbate mental health problems in the United States.
A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report stated that the “… effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis — such as increased social isolation, stress, and unemployment — have intensified concerns about the number of people in the U.S. affected by …mental health …disorders.”
In order to provide measures of self-reported mental health symptoms, the HPS includes questions about anxiety and depression developed with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Two questions asked respondents if they had experienced symptoms of anxiety recently and if so, how often.
The questions offered the following choices that carry a certain value: not at all (0), several days (1), more than half the days (2), and nearly every day (3).
If a respondent’s answers to the two anxiety questions totaled “3” or higher, they were categorized as reporting symptoms of anxiety disorder. The same methodology was applied to two questions about depression to determine symptoms of depressive disorder.
These categories are in line with benchmarks developed by the NCHS for 2019. In HPS data collected in January 2021, respondents were asked if they’d experienced these symptoms “during the last 7 days”. In HPS data collected after August 2021, the period was expanded to “during the last 2 weeks”.
Reported symptoms of anxiety and depression during the pandemic
HPS data show that reports of symptoms of anxiety and depression are higher during the pandemic than they were pre-pandemic but that reports of these symptoms have declined over the past year.
Data from the HPS collected in January of 2021 showed that 41% of adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder at that time.
That was higher than the NCHS data that showed 11% of adults reported experiencing these symptoms in 2019.
The most recent HPS data, however, showed a significant decline in the prevalence of reports of these symptoms from a year ago: In the first half of January 2022, 32% of all adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in the previous two weeks.
Where you work makes a difference
HPS data show that in January of 2022, individuals who worked at home were less likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder than those who worked in-person in the last week, 30% vs 34%, respectively.
The survey also shows that among in-person workers, there was a difference in the likelihood of reporting these symptoms.
The HPS identifies 17 in-person job settings that are often considered “frontline” workplaces in terms of risk of COVID-19. These include medical settings, first responders, K-12 schools, food manufacturing, and food retail, among others.
“Frontline” workers were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders. For in-person workers in one of these frontline workplaces, about 35% reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, but for all other in-person workers, the share that reported these symptoms was about 31%.
In fact, in-person workers in non-frontline jobs were no more likely to report symptoms than people who worked at home.
Vaccination status also matters
Increased vaccination may help explain why anxiety and depression have declined over time.
In January of 2021, 33% of vaccinated adults were experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression but 42% of unvaccinated adults experienced those symptoms. However, a very small share of adults had been vaccinated at that time.
The CDC’s COVID data tracker shows that on January 10, 2021, just over 10 million adults in the United States had received at least one shot.
Over the course of 2021, COVID-19 vaccines became more available. By January 20, 2022, the CDC tracker shows that 225 million adults had received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19.
The share of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression in January continued to be lower for adults who had received at least one shot than for unvaccinated adults.
While the share of vaccinated adults reporting these symptoms remained constant year to year, the share of the unvaccinated reporting anxiety or depression declined.
That could be because the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations have changed. In 2021, the unvaccinated included people who wanted the vaccine but could not get it.
In January 2021, the HPS data show that there were 173 million unvaccinated adults who said they would get a vaccine when available. By January 2022, only 37 million remained unvaccinated and 24 million of them reported they probably or definitely would not get a vaccine.
"Vaccinated" here refers to adults who have received at least one dose of any COVID vaccine, and "unvaccinated" refers to adults who have not received any.
About the Household Pulse Survey
The HPS is designed to provide near real-time data on how the pandemic is affecting Americans’ lives. Information on the methodology and reliability of these estimates can be found in the source and accuracy statements for each data release.
Data users interested in state-level sample sizes, the number of respondents, weighted response rates and occupied housing unit coverage ratios can consult the quality measures file available at the same location.
The latest data analyzed for this story were collected from December 29, 2021-January 10, 2022, during week 41 of the survey. The Census Bureau sent invitations to 1,044,701 households and received a total of 74,995 responses, for a weighted response rate of 7.2%.
Data collected from January 6-18, 2021, during week 22, are also referenced. In that data cycle, the Census Bureau sent invitations to 1,037,972 households, and received a total of 68,348 responses, yielding a weighted response rate of 6.4%.
Daniel J. Perez-Lopez is a survey statistician in the Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division.
At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, most students were about four to five months behind where they should have been in math and reading, according to a July 2021 report by McKinsey and Co., a global management consulting firm.
When the researchers looked at the data from fall 2021, though, they found students attending majority-white schools are catching up. But students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds – including those attending majority-Black or low-income schools – are falling further behind. As a result, students attending majority-Black schools are now estimated to be a full year behind those attending majority-white schools.
Differences also can vary by grade level. High schools have been closed more total days than elementary schools. According to a recent news report, 2021 graduation rates dipped across the country, and some education leaders fear future graduating classes may be hit even harder. Schools have scrambled to provide options such as credit recovery to boost graduation rates, leaving concerns about the quality of learning.
College and university leaders have been preparing for first-year students with less knowledge, weaker study habits and more difficulty concentrating than new college arrivals in past years.
When schools resumed in fall 2021, large numbers of children in the U.S. had lost a primary caregiver over the previous year to COVID-19. A colleague and I raised concerns about the anxiety and grief those students would likely feel.
In addition, 28% of all parents of children in grades K-12 are “very concerned” or “extremely concerned” about their child’s mental health and social and emotional well-being. That’s down from a high of 35% in spring 2021, but is still 7 percentage points higher than before the pandemic. Parents of Black and Hispanic students are 5 percentage points more likely to be worried than parents of white students.
Schools and organizations have focused resources on supporting students’ social, emotional and mental health. The U.S. Department of Education, for example, recommends, based on research, that teachers integrate lessons around compassion and courage into classroom activities, and that schools establish wellness teams to help students.
States have said they plan to address these needs with federal funds meant to help schools respond to the pandemic. In Connecticut, for example, school districts will hire additional mental health support staff, offer social-emotional programs and partner with local agencies to increase access to supports.
3. Behavioral habits
The return to in-person learning has been accompanied by school leaders’ reports of increasing student misbehavior and threats of violence. These increases were more likely to be reported in larger districts and where most students had engaged in remote or hybrid learning – rather than in-person instruction – during the prior school year.
Viral social media “challenges” – like memes on TikTok suggesting students “smack a staff member” or skip school on a particular day – certainly aren’t helping educators provide safe and supportive environments.
Meanwhile, news reports show students are missing more school than they were before the pandemic, with more kids out for more than 15 days of a school year. Given links between chronic absenteeism and increased high school dropout rates, researchers warn this increase in missed school could lead between 1.7 million and 3.3 million students in eighth through 12th grade to not graduate on time.
Schools can be a primary place for children to access physical activity and healthy food. Amid school closures, researchers are exploring the effects of losing out on these benefits. During lockdowns in Italy, children with obesity engaged in less physical activity, slept and used screens more and increased their consumption of potato chips and sugary drinks.
In the U.S., 1 in 4 families with school-age children don’t have reliable access to food. Abrupt school closures cut off more than 30 million children from free and reduced-price lunches and breakfasts delivered at school.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees school food programs, provided waivers to let schools provide meals in ways that fit their students’ needs. In Connecticut, for example, researchers found that letting families know about wider availability and pickup sites for to-go school meals boosted the number of students who received food during the pandemic.
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Time will tell if the costs of school closings will be worth the benefits. These early indicators show that decisions are not as simple as reducing the physical health risks of COVID-19. A full assessment would consider the effects across all aspects of child well-being, including how diverse populations are affected.
Connection, collaboration and positive interaction are fundamental to healthy childhood growth and development. Working together, schools, families and communities can assess and address every child’s needs to reduce the lasting effects of school closings.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council this week will consider extending a consulting agreement relating to development of the former Pearce Field airport property as a commercial center and discuss taking action against a voter initiative that is expected to have damaging effects on local governments.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
On Thursday, the council will consider amending the consulting agreement between the city and Margetich/Sutter Equities for services related to the development at the city’s former airport property.
Staff is asking for an additional 60 days on the contract, through April 30, at a cost of $10,000 per month.
City Manager Alan Flora’s written report to the council explains, “The agreement creates a partnership that will hopefully lead toward a master development agreement of the entire property, but at this time focuses on determining retail interests and coordinating project planning efforts.”
He said the intent is to execute a purchase and sale agreement or option agreement by April 30.
“Based on the history of lack of action from developers on this site/project the City is taking a bit of a phased approach to determine ability, interest, and determination from a development partner. This type of agreement allows us to develop a relationship and trust prior to tying up the land. We are pleased with how things are progressing and recommend the Council authorize extending the agreement another 60-days, through April 30th,” Flora wrote.
In other business, the council will discuss possible action regarding Voter Initiative No. 21-0042A1, the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, which would amend the State Constitution to change the rules for how the state and local governments can impose taxes, fees and other charges, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the measure “would lower annual state and local revenues, potentially substantially lower, depending on future actions of the Legislature, local governing bodies, voters, and the courts.”
The city staff report said the initiative is backed by major corporations and would have “far-reaching and yet undefined impacts to how local government, including the City of Clearlake functions,” including imperiling infrastructure funding measures and would make it difficult for the city to charge development fees.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider selling a vacant parcel at 3578 Redwood St. for $8,000, meet one of February’s adoptable dogs, and present proclamations declaring February as Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrants; continuation of the declaration of local emergency Issued on Aug. 23, 2021, and ratified by council action on Sept. 16, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Aug. 18, 2021, and ratified by council action on Aug. 19, 2021; continuation of declaration of local emergency Issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action on March 19, 2020; continuation of authorization to Implement and utilize teleconference accessibility to conduct public meetings pursuant to Assembly Bill 361; and minutes of the January 2022 meetings.
After the public portion of the meeting, the council will meet in closed session to discuss litigation against the county of Lake and Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen and a case involving Alondra Rodriguez’s suit against the city.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office is opening its new office to the public this week.
On Monday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m., Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez and her team of five staffers will be open for business at a new location — 325 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
Many local residents will recognize this space as, “The old PG&E building.”
They are leaving behind the 800-square-foot space on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse — just a block away — for the new location, which Valadez said is about 2,000 square feet.
“We’ll have more room to work,” Valadez said.
She said the Auditor-Controller’s Office is set to expand into the space that formerly housed the Elections Office.
In July, the Board of Supervisors approved a lease for the space that runs through July 31, 2031, as Lake County News has reported. The lease rate is $2,200 per month for the first five years, after which increases can take place based on the Consumer Price Index.
Those that previously paid their PG&E bill at 325 N. Forbes will observe many modifications have been made to the space.
Renovations were managed by the outstanding Buildings and Grounds team from the county’s Public Services Department.
In addition, county Information Technology staff worked to ensure data infrastructure was secure, and would provide for continuous information availability.
Each step of the remodel was guided by a two-pronged focus: providing the best available customer service for Lake County’s voters while responsibly investing public funds, the county reported.
“Our office seeks to ensure every Lake County Resident is aware of their opportunities to vote, and provide for free, fair and transparent elections. This new office location will help us accomplish that,” said Valadez.
“During recent election cycles, particularly in light of COVID-19 precautions, it has been difficult to provide adequate space for people seeking to observe key public elections processes,” Valadez continued. “The configuration of this new office is purpose-built, and we believe it will enhance public confidence in the diligent work our staff undertake every day.”
She added, “We are excited to continue providing the highest quality service.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
I see and hear a great many things about wetland restoration. Can you tell me why so much importance is put on restoring wetlands and how it's done?
Thanks!
-Wondering about Wetlands from Witter Springs
Dear Wondering,
Thanks for this question! You are right that “wetland restoration” is a popular term right now and you probably are reading and hearing about it all over, especially in Lake County. Sometimes wetlands get overshadowed and are underappreciated in comparison to lakes, reservoirs, streams, and creeks. However, wetlands play one of the most important roles in both aquatic ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems.
Wetlands represent zones of transition between typical terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic habitats such as lakes and seas. These zones of transition are called ecotones. One reason why wetlands are overshadowed and underappreciated is because they are difficult to work with and live in. They are not always aquatic and not always dry. They are not as easy to categorize as lakes, streams and oceans.
More recently, the true importance of wetlands has become fully realized. Did you know that wetlands are one of the only ecosystem categories protected by the U.S. government? It’s true. Protection is regulated both indirectly and directly by the Clean Water Act. Wetlands are protected globally too. In 1971, the Ramsar Convention resulted in a treaty establishing the protection of important wetlands across the globe.
Defining and recognizing a wetland
The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as, “ a wide variety of natural and human-made habitat types ranging from rivers to coral reefs… Wetlands include swamps, marshes, billabongs, lakes, salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, coral reefs, fens, peat bogs, or bodies of water - whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary.
Water within these areas can be static or flowing; fresh, brackish or saline; and can include inland rivers and coastal or marine water to a depth of six meters at low tide. There are even underground wetlands.”
Think about this definition. Does it describe anywhere in Lake County you can think of?
The water that creates wetlands comes from a variety of sources, such as precipitation, runoff from the surrounding landscape, nearby streams or lakes, and even seepage from the ground itself, from ground water or springs. The many sources of water into a wetland make it difficult to distinguish a wetland solely based on the presence of standing water.
That explains why in 1987, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) created a wetland delineation manual that included field-based indicators such as soils, vegetation, and hydrology. The process of wetland delineation is simply being able to draw a line or border around a wetland, so that protections can be implemented when building or land alteration is to take place.
It is confusing however, for a wetland to be delineated as a wetland when in fact it does not necessarily contain standing water. A wetland might in fact never be covered in standing water, but it’s plant’s roots and surrounding soils may be effectively wet, frequently wet or soaked for a given amount of time, even without visible, standing surface water.
Wetlands are susceptible to events that can have negative impacts for both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Flooding can bring in water, but also excess nutrients, sediments, contaminants and even sometimes invasive species. Wave energy and flood pulses can uproot plants and flush out needed nutrients or smaller, sensitive organisms, seeds, and propagules. Wetlands are variable, and this makes it difficult for most organisms to live among a wetland. The constant change in conditions, from inundation and flooding, to prolonged dry periods, can pose challenges and unique environments to organisms.
Therefore wetlands need our protection, because the organisms and vegetation that is found living - thriving - in wetlands is accustomed to that highly variable environment, and not many other places outside of a wetland.
Importance of wetlands
I already mentioned the importance for protecting wetlands due to the flora and fauna that are found in that ecosystem. However, wetlands serve other important roles that have local, regional and even global benefits.
The majority of wetlands are by nature “wet.” Therefore most of the material that flows or falls into a wetland is submerged in water or wet soils and other vegetation. This submergence slows decompositional processes. This is mostly due to the continued aquatic state of a wetland, where oxygen is limited, slowing down the metabolic processes that occur during decomposition. Basically this means that materials, mostly carbon-containing organic materials, can remain “trapped” in wetlands for very, very long periods of time. Sometimes for a millenia.
If combating climate change is of interest and a priority for you, then conservation, restoration, and recreation of wetlands would be at the top of your list. This is because wetlands are a huge carbon sink - meaning they store large amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, the wetlands within the continental US can hold at least 3.2 billion metric tons of C02 or equivalent. This equates to about half of the US’s net total greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2019 alone.
Wetlands can store carbon in several ways, the main one being through aquatic vegetation production. Plants take in C02, and release oxygen. Wetlands contain dense and abundant vegetation. The plants take in C02 from the atmosphere and use the carbon to grow- the structure of plant cell walls is mostly made of polysaccharides (i.e. cellulose), which is majorly made up of carbon atoms (and some oxygens and hydrogens of course!).
Even when the plants die, the tissue degrades, but those long polysaccharide chains fall away into the rest of the wetland, being broken down and consumed by organisms such as insects, fungus, and bacteria. The basic building blocks of this decomposition process remain within the wetland environment - feeding other plants and organisms.
If a living thriving wetland can store carbon, then the deconstruction and draining of wetlands, say for the conversion into agriculture lands or development, can release that carbon. And the impact is more drastic than that initial release. If a wetland is destroyed, future carbon storage is no longer occurring, and that benefit can be lost forever. Unless the wetland can be restored anew.
In addition to the carbon storage capabilities of wetlands, there are some economic benefits to wetlands. For example, along coastlines and shorelines, the presence of a healthy wetland can serve as a buffer, or safety line, against storm surges and floods, which are more frequent now thanks to climate change. Buffer strips of natural shorelines (mini wetlands) can reduce shoreline erosion and structure damage during large wave events, and prevent scour that can undermine the integrity of sea walls, shoreline structures, and docks.
Wetland plants and organisms, and mostly microorganisms, can serve as filters for excess nutrients and pollutants. Wetlands around Clear Lake for example, reduce shoreline and stream inflow erosion, and the physical and chemical processes in wetlands filter out troublesome nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, which are the major food source to algae and the sometimes toxic cyanobacteria.
Clear Lake is estimated to have lost about 85% of her shoreline wetlands, including the large northern wetland of Robinson Lake (now located within the current Middle Creek Marsh Restoration Project boundary). Prior to shoreline development and wetland conversion, Clear Lake, although a very productive lake from hundreds of thousands of years of inputs, probably had a more robust wetland filter surrounding her shores. This wetland buffer was essential in mediating large storm influxes, floods, and drought events, as well as providing a vital food source for the lake’s biodiverse plant, animal - and human -communities.
How do we save our wetlands?
Once we learn how important wetlands are, and how many acres have been destroyed, displaced, or altered, the next question, as you pointed out Wittier Springs, is how we can save and restore wetlands.
Before we jump into methods to save wetlands, let’s talk about one more important thing that wetlands provide and an example of that concept being regionally utilized to restore wetland environments.
Wetlands are a hotbed of biodiversity. Wetlands provide habitat and breeding grounds for a wide variety of wildlife, from fish, to birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Wetlands provide vital food sources, such as plants, seeds, algae, zooplankton, and invertebrates — not just within the wetland itself, but these resources “leak” out into adjoining streams and lakes, providing a stable and nutritious food source for the majority of aquatic and some terrestrial organisms.
This concept is being used in floodplain wetland recreation within the Central Valley to save the Chinook Salmon. Historic floodplain areas, long having been cut-off from rivers, converted and used for agriculture, are now being re-flooded, and used as “temporary wetlands” to create the valuable food sources that flush downstream to juvenile and growing salmonids.
This program is vast, but one of the major proponents and contributors is Trout California, with a program called Fish Food on Floodplain Farm Fields (See? I am not the only one who uses alliteration as a fun way to learn and embrace aquatic science!). This Fish Food program has one major goal: to harness the benefit of wetlands to help solve the salmon population decline problem in the Sacramento Valley in California.
This temporary wetland re-creation was so successful in the Sacramento Valley, that the California Department of Water Resources re-created it in the Delta to boost food sources for Delta smelt. That research is ongoing, but so far results indicate that this strategy does provide additional food sources for fish and this innovative strategy might go a long way to save the smelt and other vulnerable fish species living in estuarine systems. If you want to learn more about that project, you can visit this peer-reviewed published, open-access article by Frantzich et al. (2021).
So how can all this help the wetlands around Clear Lake? Well, while Clear Lake doesn’t have salmon, there are several other important native fish species that depend on robust wetland ecosystems to provide vital food resources, shelter, refuge, and safe breeding grounds.
For example, one species is the Clear Lake Hitch, an endemic minnow species found only in Clear Lake. You can learn more about the Hitch in my previous column from January 16, 2021. You can find that article, and a very useful video, here.
Hitch numbers are declining, significantly, in the Clear Lake ecosystem. The exact answer to why that is is mostly unknown at this time. Although based on conversations with biologists from California Department of Fish and Wildlife and United States Geological Survey, lack of available and suitable habitat and food sources in the streams, shorelines, and wetlands of Clear Lake, is the most likely culprit.
Therefore, the restoration of wetlands around Clear Lake will have multiple benefits, to people, animals, and fish, including the state-threatened Hitch.
Generally, wetlands restoration projects take a long time and are complicated. Usually , but not always, the area of land containing a beneficial wetland, or the location best suited for wetland restoration, is owned by a private company or individual. Usually, the first step is acquisition, purchase or transfer of the private property into a conservation easement.
A conservation easement, according to the National Conservation Easement Database, is defined as a voluntary, legal agreement that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Also known as a conservation restriction or conservation agreement, a conservation easement is one option to protect a property for future generations.
Usually an public agency or non-profit organization, that purchases the easement, is responsible for managing the land for net ecosystem benefit, meaning restoring it to it’s maximum environmental purpose or value. This could include removing structures and buildings, removing invasive species or non-native vegetation and animals, planting native plants, modifying previously hydromodified water channels or shorelines.
About five years ago, I worked for a non-profit in Southern California, and our job as field scientists and technicians every day was basically to plant, monitor, water, and remove invasive weeds from the land that we had acquired. All of these activities were essential in restoring the landscape to its native state.
Properties under conservation easements do not necessarily have to be accessible or usable by the public, although many are because that is an important way to get further community support, funding, volunteer in-kind labor, and community involvement for future projects that improve the easement.
Conservation easements or agreements do come with some rules. They can never be developed, and while the original owner(s) do still have some access and use rights, their activities are restricted to those deemed to cause minimal or low impact. Excluded activities might include grazing, growing crops, water pumping or drilling, camping, off-road vehicle use, commercial use, or tourism use.
Not all restoration properties are conservation easements. Some may be gifted as donations, or purchased outright as part of a larger project.
Once a property is purchased, or made into a conservation easement, the next step is conducting full inventories and accounting of the property. Some questions a restoration or project manager might ask would be: What is there? What do we need to keep? What needs to be removed? What physical modifications need to be made to create the space into the benefit it was intended for?
For wetlands, this usually means removing physical barriers that disconnected the historic wetland space from the desired connecting water bodies, such as creeks, streams, lakes, estuaries, or oceans. Next will be a determination if the site needs simplified conservation and management, or larger, more complicated restoration.
Conservation or management could include some vegetation or animal management like hunting, trapping, re-introductions and maintenance of native or keystone species. Usually all wetland projects involve some level of invasive species management and control, and this effort never really stops, as invasives are stubborn, are hard to get rid of, and can constantly be reintroduced into space and outcompete native species communities.
More complicated restoration work could include sediment removal or earthmoving, such as the demolition of structures, removal or destruction of levees, dikes, or berns. Some wetland restorations require the removal or dismantling of a weir, channel, or dam, to allow water to flow back into the historic wetland area, or allow the area to reflood during the storm season.
Usually every step of conservation and restoration involves additional funding and expensive expertise. Agencies and non-profits usually acquire needed funding for each step, and leverage the completed steps and progress to acquire additional funds and resources. A significantly large portion of the funds that provide for wetland acquisition and restoration comes from state and federal governments in the form of grants, with some contributions from the private sector, foundations, or individual donations.
The rationale for wetland conservation and restoration investment coincides with the idea, correctly being, that the restored wetland will provide a comprehensive benefit to all people, plants, and animals, now and into the future.
Wetland restoration efforts Around Clear Lake
There are current efforts to restore wetland spaces around the shorelines and streams of Clear Lake. Some projects are fairly small (less than an acre) and some are relatively large (40 acres or more!). Some projects don’t look like much but they are vital to the retention and preservation of wetlands within the shoreline of the Lake.
I list a few of the projects below, however there are many more that I don’t cover in this list. In reality, every wetland project deserves it’s own dedicated Lady of the Lake column, and they might be covered individually, and in more detail, later in the year, so keep an eye out!
Where applicable, I provide project websites or contact information, just in case you, or someone you know, wants to help support, or be involved in these beneficial wetland restoration efforts.
1. The Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project. This project will restore the former Robinson Lake and Middle Creek Wetland and is organized by the Lake County Watershed Protection District with partners and funds from the US Army Corps, Department of Water Resources, County of Lake, Middle Creek Restoration Coalition, Robinson Rancheria, and Blue Ribbon Committee for the Restoration of Clear Lake.
According to the project website, this project will eliminate “flood risk to 18 residential structures, numerous outbuildings and approximately 1,650 acres of agricultural land and will restore damaged habitat and the water quality of the Clear Lake watershed. Reconnection of this large, previously reclaimed area, as a functional wetland is anticipated to have a significant effect on the watershed health and the water quality of Clear Lake”
The 1,650 acres of restored wetlands will create valuable space for wetland plants and dependent animals to flourish and provide valuable habitat and food resources for fish and animals living among the adjacent streams and Clear Lake.
This project has monthly meetings open to the public. If you would like to participate or be informed of activities and progress with this committee, please visit the project website here.
2. The Lake County Land Trust Wright Property Acquisition and Wetland Reconnection Project. In 2019, the Lake County Land Trust (LCLT) received a grant from the California Prop 1 Wildlife Conservation Board and along with many generous donations from the Lake County community and citizens, the LCLT was able to purchase the 200-acre parcel located in the south Lakeport area within the Big Valley Wetlands Project zone.
This purchase, and the promise of wetland protection, is great news for Clear Lake. The Wright Property is really the epitome of a prime ecotone wetland habitat, connecting the aquatic zone, and it’s inhabitants, to terrestrial ecosystems.
According to the LCLT Wright Property Easement webpage, “The Wright Wetland Preserve is as close to the original, natural shoreline as you can get. It's also home to black-tailed deer, California quail, wild turkey, raptors, waterfowl such as white pelicans, black bass, catfish, otter, mink, as well as habitats that support special status species including Clear Lake hitch and western pond turtle. Habitats found on this property range from lake to freshwater marsh, and from pasture to valley oak woodland.”
The next phase of this project involves removing a levee-berm that has been in place for about 50 years. Once this berm is removed, 32 acres of prime, historic wetland habitat can be reconnected to Clear Lake and the rest of the Big Valley Wetlands shoreline.
To learn more about this wetland project and become involved with or donate to the Lake County Land Trust, visit their website here.
3. A great example of a wetland re-creation is the Tule Lake Easement Project organized and funded by Natural Resource Conservation Service or NRCS. Tule Lake is located on Scott’s Creek and highway 20, and situated between North Lakeport and Upper Lake.
This historic wetland originally took in waters from Scott’s Creek and created a vibrant and valuable wetland marsh area, surrounded by tules and other wetland vegetation, eventually allowing the water to merge into Middle Creek and out into Clear Lake through Rodman Slough.
In the early 1900’s, in order to make suitable land for growing green beans and to graze cattle, Tule Lake was drained. Later on, towards the middle of the century, levee development to the south of tule Lake, funneled Scott’s Creek straight into Middle Creek.
This channelization slowed down the flow of Scott’s Creek, causing increased flooding upstream and pushing nutrients and sediments directly into Clear Lake instead of providing an opportunity for them to slow down, settle and filter out into Tule Lake, like they had been able to for thousands of years before the conversion. The conversion of Tule Lake from a wetland might have significantly contributed to the start of degraded water quality in Clear Lake.
Luckily in 2013, a majority of the parcels of Tule Lake were purchased as part of a Conservation Easement agreement between the private landowners, the NRCS, and the US Department of Agriculture. This effort included the removal of all agriculture and grazing from the Tule Lake parcels and the re-connection of Scott’s Creek to Tule Lake through the demolition of some of the levee system along the south side of Tule Lake.
This project is still ongoing, especially in the re-establishment of tules in and around tule Lake. If you want to be involved in future volunteer efforts to replant and restore tules in Tule Lake, you can contact the local NRCS office, in Lakeport, at 707-263-4180.
4. Clark’s Island Invasive Removal and Tule Restoration Project. This project is relatively small (~1 acre) but very important for the communities in the Clear Lake Keys and Oak’s Arms of Clear Lake. This project is being organized by the County of Lake Water Resources Department and project partners and funders from County of Lake Public Services, County of Lake Department of Agriculture, the Tribal EcoResotration Alliance (TERA), Big Valley Rancheria, and Robinson Rancheria.
One of the sources of nutrients into the Oak’s Arm of Clear Lake is from the Clearlake Keys, a man-made system of channels and subdivided homes built over a converted marsh wetland in the 1960’s.
Before the subdivision was built, the marsh wetland located in the cove now covered by Clear Lake Keys, probably served to filter nutrients and sediments coming down from the Schindler Creek, from High Valley, atop the presiding hill above the Keys. This historic marsh wetland also probably provided habitat and food for Clear Lake fish, waterfowl, and animals.
The benefits of this wetland were erased when the sub division was constructed, and now the channels are susceptible to sedimentation and nutrient enrichment. Invasive plants like Creeping Water Primrose, native to South America, find the calm waters of the nutrient-rich keys a prime habitat and have grown in large abundance and thick densities throughout some of the keys.
There are lots of negative impacts from Primrose, including some public health associations with West Nile Mosquito prevalence. To learn more about Primrose, I refer you to a previous column from August 2021 “Called Peeved about Primrose.”
In 2021, The County of Lake Water Resources Department and TERA experimented with some removal techniques for primrose in the Clark’s island area of the Keys. Taking advantage of the low water levels and exposed, dry ground, the County and TERA tried out methods of manual removal, self-mulching, weed-whacking, and solarization, to control the primrose. Some methods worked better then others, but in December 2021, enough of the primrose had successfully been removed that tule replanting was possible.
This project will continue for the next few years, with ongoing primrose management and maintenance of the newly planted tules, to encourage them to establish into a health tule bed that can provide wetland benefit to the Clark’s Island area and the greater Clear Lake Keys and Oak’s Arm area of Clear Lake.
If you want to learn more about this project, or be involved, please contact Water Resources at 707-263-2344 or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sincerely,
Lady of the Lake
Angela De Palma-Dow is a limnologist (limnology = study of fresh inland waters) who lives and works in Lake County. Born in Northern California, she has a Master of Science from Michigan State University. She is a Certified Lake Manager from the North American Lake Management Society, or NALMS, and she is the current president/chair of the California chapter of the Society for Freshwater Science. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..