LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Funds from the Lake County Wine Alliance will be used to improve collections at the Lake County Library.
The Friends of the Lake County Library was one of the fortunate groups to be granted funds from the Lake County Wine Alliance on Dec. 12.
As a result, President Debbie Zacharisen was able to present County Librarian Christopher Veach with a check for $8,000 at the Jan. 25 meeting of the Friends.
The funds are earmarked for large type books and children’s materials, including audiobooks. These items will be distributed to all four of the branches of the county library system.
The library itself is supported by local property taxes but these don’t always stretch far enough to provide everything needed to support the public.
The goal of the Friends of the Library is to provide financial donations that help support the programming at the library and help add books and other materials to the library collection.
The Friends also provide support for the exceptional clubs and programs put on by the library.
Examples include the ever popular children’s programs like story time and lego club and programming for the community like the Summer Reading Program and the current Winter Reading Challenge.
Also happening now is the very exciting Big Read with its amazing line-up of programs all designed around the book, “Postcolonial Love Poem” by Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Diaz.
The support provided by the Friends is made possible with the book sales at each of the branches, membership dues, financial donations and the pursuit of grant funds.
Additional support is always needed. The group asks community members to please consider becoming a member by asking for an application at your local branch or visiting their website at https://www.friendsofthelakecountylibrary.org.
Active members are always needed as well. There are monthly business meetings on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. in the children’s room at the Lakeport branch and all are welcome.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Sunrise Special Services Foundation announced that it is opening an emergency warming shelter.
The shelter will be located at 1111 Whalen Drive in Lakeport, the site of the former juvenile hall that was operated until last summer as a shelter.
At its Jan. 24 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved a $153,600 contract with the Sunrise Special Services Foundation to run the warming shelter for three months.
Annie Barnes, the grant’s administrator and the founder of Sunrise Special Services Foundation, told Lake County News that Yvonne Cox is the shelter’s on-site director.
The foundation said the warming shelter is a 35-bed adult congregate shelter, designed to provide warm and safe shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Lake County.
The hours of operation are 4 p.m. to 8 a.m., seven days a week.
The shelter is scheduled to officially open its doors on Feb. 14 and will host an opening ceremony from 10 a.m. and noon. The event will be a celebration of the new shelter and an opportunity to learn more about the foundation’s mission and the services it will offer.
The foundation said the shelter will offer a range of essential services to help people get back on their feet.
It will provide a warm and welcoming space for people in need of shelter, offering access to basic necessities such as dinner, shower, bed, breakfast and bag lunch.
The foundation said the shelter’s dedicated staff will provide supportive and compassionate care for each individual who enters the doors.
They are currently hiring for several positions, and are seeking people who are passionate about helping others and who want to make a difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness.
In addition, they are seeking community volunteers and partners who are interested in supporting their mission.
For more information on job opportunities and how to apply, or general information about the shelter, visit the foundation's website or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For donations, volunteer positions and questions please contact Yvonne Cox at 707-349-5022.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Following a confusing process that included a determination to waive state environmental quality act rules that ensure public input, the Board of Supervisors has cleared the last hurdles for an affordable housing project to be built in Nice that will serve Behavioral Health clients and low-income families.
The supervisors, sitting as the Lake County Housing Commission, unanimously gave the final financial approvals for the Collier Avenue Affording Housing Project during a special meeting on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 13.
Ukiah-based Rural Communities Housing Development Corp., or RCHDC, is the developer and owner of the 3.3-acre parcel at 6853 Collier Ave. in Nice where the project will be built.
It will be owned by Collier Avenue Associates LP, formed in October by RCHDC, which county staff said is meant to maximize the use of federal low income housing tax credits, one of the sources of funding for the project.
RCHDC, which also built and operated a similar but smaller 10-unit facility on Bevins Court in Lakeport, will be responsible for property management, while Behavioral Health will work with its clients who live in the complex, said Scott Abbott of Behavioral Health.
“This has been very messy,” Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said during the meeting, explaining that the messiness was, in part, a result of the impacts of the 2008 recession and the state’s ending of redevelopment in 2012, which resulted in some money being pulled back. “I hope that we can learn something from this.”
The project will consist of 40 units, with one unit for an on-site manager and the rest a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments to be devoted to specific populations.
Half of the units will be set aside for Lake County Behavioral Health clients who meet the definition of mental disorder — which includes, under state code, bipolar, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, major affective disorders or other severely disabling mental disorders — as well as substance use disorder or those at risk of homelessness.
Another 10 units will be served by Redwood Coast Regional Center clients and the remaining 10 will be set aside for low income or very low income households.
Behavioral Health Services Director Todd Metcalf, who did not appear at the meeting, submitted a written report that stated that the documents “represent the final step in executing the Collier Avenue Housing project, prior to breaking ground.”
If the project gets the final approval needed from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, RCHDC could break ground by the end of March or the start of April, said Behavioral Health Deputy Director Elise Jones.
Jones said the construction is financed through a $14,965,665 million construction loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank; the Lake County Housing Commission, which is contributing $976,094 in Mental Health Services Act funds, $473,050.13 from the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention, $602,469 from the Permanent Local Housing Allocation, along with public construction/permanent funds and non-recourse loans; $550,000 from the Department of Developmental Services and Redwood Coast Regional Center; and a $585,000 loan from the Tri Counties Bank Affordable Housing Program.
“There is inherent risk in any construction project,” Jones told the board, adding, “We need to be very cautious and considerate about that risk and make an informed decision.”
During the discussion, Jones said the project “cannot be used for anything other than low income and permanent supportive housing.”
She said the county was up against a timeline to submit the project’s loan documents to HCD for final approval. HCD can take up to 60 days, putting the approval as late as March 17.
If the project fails to close by March 27, Jones said it will result in the rescission of tax credits, which are the primary source of funding.
Jones said construction is anticipated to start in late March or the beginning of April and continue through midsummer, with units to be leased beginning in mid-August.
Merritt Community Capital, which is the project’s tax credit investor and the limited partner of the borrower, will have a role in monitoring as will JP Morgan Chase Bank, Jones said.
She added, “The inherent risk in any construction project is something we can closely monitor,” noting the County Administrative Office also will have an oversight role.
In addition, Jones said HCD and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee are the two main state agencies that will monitor compliance.
During the board’s meeting and ahead of the final approval, it was determined that a delegation of county employees and two board members — Sabatier and Board Chair Jessica Pyska — will offer project oversight, along with Behavioral Health staff. County Administrative Officer Susan Parker said a consultant the county has retained will conduct grant monitoring.
District 3 Supervisor EJ Crandell, in whose district the project is located, said that Nice is within the Western Region Town Hall and that, in future, that group should get a chance to consider such projects ahead of time.
He said he had gotten a lot of feedback from Nice residents about the project, and several had said they could not be at the special meeting.
A confusing path
Community concerns like those voiced to Crandell, other Lake County officials and to Lake County News arise from the fact that the project has followed a confusing and convoluted path.
During the Jan. 13 meeting, Sabatier — in pointing out how “messy” the project’s process has been, acknowledged that fact.
“The process has been difficult to track, and that’s from my perspective. From the public’s perspective, this can’t even be possible to even understand how we got here in the first place or what happened in the past. So I hope we use this as a learning moment,” Sabatier said.
The project has been in the works on and off going back to 2005, when the Lake County Redevelopment Agency entered into an owner participation agreement with RCHDC to develop a 50-unit affordable housing unit at the site, according to county records. That included the redevelopment agency issuing two “forgivable” loan notes to RCHDC for $1,248,000 to help fund the project.
However, the state’s dissolution of redevelopment in 2012 caused the project to stall, county officials reported, due to RCHDC’s challenges in finding additional funding, in part, due to the forgivable loans the Lake County Housing Authority held on the property.
In April 2021, the Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Lake County Housing Commission, considered a request from RCHDC to divest security and previous development interests in the property — in other words, to forgive the loans — and consider a new development agreement.
The board adopted a resolution confirming the prior transfer of the loans from the former Lake County Redevelopment Agency to the Lake County Housing Authority and directed then-County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson to draft a new agreement that would divest Lake County’s security interest and pre-existing development restrictions on the property.
That new agreement was brought back on Sept. 28, 2021, and the board approved it unanimously.
That was followed in 2022 by eight scheduled discussions of the project by the board.
On Feb. 8, 2022, the board discussed possible renegotiations of the September 2021 agreement as well as a possible audit of the financial activity regarding the loan and loan forgiveness. That was continued to Feb. 15, with no action taken but consensus to consider the item at a future date.
It was again agendized for March 1 but pulled and when it was placed on the March 8 agenda, no action was taken following a discussion.
County staff again scheduled it for April 5, it was pulled and continued to the April 12 meeting, at which time the first amendment to the 2021 agreement between the county and RCHDC to develop affordable housing at the site was approved.
At the same meeting, Sabatier’s request that an audit be conducted failed with the Housing Commission deadlocked with a 3-3 vote: Sabatier, Crandell and Commissioner Deborah Figueroa voted in favor of the audit but supervisors Jessica Pyska, Moke Simon and Tina Scott voted against it.
On April 19, the board went on to approve a memorandum of understanding between the county of Lake and RCHDC for the No Place Like Home Permanent Supportive Housing Project — another name for the Collier Avenue development.
That was followed on June 28 by the board’s approval of a resolution authorizing the application for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program for the project.
In early 2022 the project also was the focus of several meetings of the Countywide Oversight Board in 2022, which guides the “winding-down” process of the former redevelopment agencies for the cities and the county in the wake of the state’s ending of redevelopment a decade ago.
The Countywide Oversight Board was tasked with handling approvals connected with redevelopment investment in the project.
At those meetings, Sabatier and CIearlake City Manager Alan Flora — the latter an oversight board member — raised concerns about the process and financial issues.
For Flora, he questioned whether the oversight board had the authority to forgive a loan as it was being asked to do. When he had spoken to the state about similar actions for the city of Clearlake, he was told it couldn’t be done.
Project exempted from CEQA
Throughout the process, Lake County News was told by county officials that the project would be subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which would bring with it more public input on the plan.
However, around seven months ago, Community Development Department planning staff were asked to evaluate the project’s consistency with Assembly Bill 2162, which treats supportive housing as a “use by right” under certain circumstances, according to Association Planner Eric Porter.
As a result, then-Community Development Director Mary Darby exempted the project from CEQA review and from a discretionary use permit review, Porter said.
By deciding that only a ministerial — not a discretionary — review was necessary, Darby’s action meant that the community would have no say in the project going forward.
It was at around the same time, in July, that Darby — who took over as Community Development director in October 2021 — announced she was leaving her job in November. However, she ended up leaving abruptly in August and was succeeded by Mireya Turner.
With Metcalf’s memo anticipating groundbreaking as the next step, Turner confirmed to Lake County News that the project now is in the building permit review process.
Turner told Lake County News in a Jan. 20 email that as a result of Darby’s decision on ministerial review, “The project went straight to building permit review. Since it is ministerial rather than discretionary, there are no public hearings to hold. It is processed just like any other building permit.”
Bill Collins, Lake County’s chief building official, told Lake County News in a Jan. 20 email that at that point RCHDC was working on a response to comments submitted and a plan check on the project as part of the process of getting the permit issued.
No definite date was given for completion of the permit as additional reviews may be needed, Turner said.
Turner said any community complaints can be directed to RCHDC, Community Development — who will have a technician track them and distribute them to the appropriate division staff — and Supervisor Crandell.
However, Turner pointed out, “complaints from the public will not change the building permit review process. Again, this process is ministerial, not discretionary. The proposed land use is no longer up for review.”
Following the board’s discussion of the project in June, it didn’t come back to county leadership until the supervisors’ first meeting of the year on Jan. 10.
At that point, Sabatier — who had been a part of last year’s oversight meetings — asked for more time to discuss it, which led to the special meeting on Jan. 13.
Sabatier said he had been glad to get a second day to discuss the project. While he understood the urgency, he had concerns about monitoring and the potential for the county to have to pay back $2 million in loans if the project didn’t go forward as planned.
In the future, he hoped that on projects “we can get the full picture from the very beginning rather than piecemealing.” He added that he wasn’t the greatest fan of the project but didn’t think he had a choice but to approve it moving forward.
To date, only one community meeting on the project has been held and that occurred in 2019, and was hosted by the county.
And in response to the Jan. 13 board meeting, the project was discussed at a North Shore Business Association meeting.
In an April 22, 2022, email, Ryan LaRue, RCHDC’s chief executive officer, told Lake County News that “additional stakeholder engagement is planned for this summer if our next funding milestones are achieved.”
However, last month, LaRue acknowledged that additional outreach didn’t happen.
“The funding milestones were pushed back so we did not hold a meeting during the summer. Our Property Management team will be coordinating a community meeting. We are also in the preliminary stages of planning a groundbreaking ceremony in April in partnership with Lake County Behavioral Health,” LaRue said in a Jan. 26 email.
He also noted that there are no more county approvals needed.
In a follow-up email, Lake County News asked if the community meeting would take place ahead of the groundbreaking.
“Yes, that is the plan,” LaRue said.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to note that Sabatier is not a County Oversight Board member.
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.
This astounding figure translates to an overall drop in average living years from 71.8 years in 2019 to 65.2 by the end of 2021.
Although the pandemic is a major reason for this decline, it’s not the whole story. Even before COVID-19 emerged, life expectancy for Indigenous men was already five years lower than for non-Hispanic white men in the United States.
Growing up in remote rural Alaska as a member of the Koyukon Athabascan tribe, I heard stories of how infectious diseases like flu, smallpox and tuberculosis threatened our survival. My cultural group descends from three families that survived the 1918 flu pandemic.
This history inspired me to become a traditional healer. Along with my training in Western medicine, I have also studied plant-based medicine and earth-based science, which was taught to me by my elders – practitioners who passed down thousands of years of accumulated knowledge to me.
Through both my medical and traditional practices, I have learned there are many reasons for the decline in life expectancy and the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes. But this gap – if the government and the medical system will act – can be narrowed.
There are many reasons for these disparities. For starters: Native Americans have the highest poverty rate among all minority groups, perhaps as high as 25%.
The result is that there are fewer physicians, nurses and therapists seeing Indigenous patients, particularly those who live in rural areas. Those providing care have fewer technologies available to them, such as MRI and ultrasound machines, to help diagnose and treat disease earlier. Such shortages mean less access to either primary or emergency care, which contributes to lower life expectancy.
It’s clear that Indigenous communities need new or upgraded hospitals and clinics, more and better diagnostic technology, more specialty services in dental care, obstetrics, pediatrics and oncology, and more alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs.
The recent increases in funding are certainly a step in the right direction. But the factors contributing to the shorter lives of Native Americans started generations ago, and they are still reverberating among the youngest of us today.
Both from a professional standpoint – as well as one that is very personal to me and my ancestors – more work in this area cannot come soon enough.
Tribes from across the state gathered Tuesday for the first-ever Missing and Murdered Indigenous Day of Action at the California State Capitol to advocate for tribally proposed solutions that address the crisis of violence against California’s Native Americans.
Proposed solutions to address the crisis surrounding Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, or MMIP, included two bills introduced earlier this year by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) and regional funding for Northern, Central and Southern California tribes, which have long been excluded from many state and federal programs.
“California tribes have united to combat the MMIP crisis, which has weighed heavy on the hearts of every Native person in the state for far too long. The time for action is now,” said Joseph L. James, Yurok Tribe chairman. “We are asking the state legislature to support a series of solutions that will help us prevent MMIP cases and keep our children safe.”
“The devastating issue of MMIP has caused untold tragedy that often becomes long lingering ripples of grief and further tragedy,” Ramos said. “We can reduce the number of cases through greater collaboration by law enforcement, tribal communities, mental health and other service providers to ensure that victims and their loved ones receive the support and attention they need to overcome these acts of violence.”
Ramos added, “This issue remains a priority for me and others in the Native American Legislative Caucus; we want California at the forefront in confronting this issue.”
The Ramos legislation builds on previous measures authored by the lawmaker.
The first bill, AB 44, takes the first steps to create parity between tribal law enforcement and other peace officers in the state. Qualified tribal police officers would be able to enforce state laws within their jurisdictions, adding to California’s overall safety network and reducing jurisdictional confusion between local and tribal law enforcement officers.
AB 44 would also allow tribal law enforcement and tribal courts access to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, CLETS. The computer network contains FBI and DMV-administered databases, criminal histories and many other essential records. Thirteen states and the federal government already grant tribal law enforcement officers authority to enforce state or federal law if the officers meet the respective governments’ qualifications.
Ramos’ second bill, AB 273, would require counties and courts to notify tribes, key family members and attorneys when a child is missing from their foster care placement. It would also require a judicial hearing when a child or non-minor dependent in foster care is missing, to ensure the child is located and returned to a safe and appropriate environment. Native children in the foster care system are disproportionately more at risk of becoming MMIP victims.
Tribal leaders also called for an historic investment of $200 million to build programs and services that prevent girls, women and people from becoming missing or murdered and meet pressing needs in tribal communities. The proposal will bolster tribally led response plans, law enforcement and public health programs.
In the US, California ranks in the top 10 in terms of the quantity of MMIP cases that occur in the state on an annual basis.
The Golden State also has 110 federally recognized tribes and the largest Native American population of any state in the country.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Town Hall will meet this week to discuss new Cal Fire mapping and to hold annual elections.
MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Middletown Community Meeting Room/Library at 21256 Washington St., Middletown. The meeting is open to the public.
To join the meeting via Zoom click on this link; the meeting ID is 659 964 1209. Call in at 669-900-6833.
At 7:05 p.m., guest speaker Paul Duncan, division chief for the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, will discuss the new fire hazard severity zones for Lake County.
The discussion will include impacts to Lake County, the public comment period and frequently asked questions. There also will be a question and answer period.
At 7:45 p.m., MATH will discuss several items of business, among them the review of the bylaws and Rosenberg's Rules of Order.
MATH also will host its annual election of the board officers.
The MATH Board includes Chair Monica Rosenthal, Vice Chair Ken Gonzalez, Secretary Todd Fiora, Rosemary Córdova and Bill Waite.
MATH — established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 — is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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 new year started off on a very warm note across the U.S., with the nation seeing its sixth-warmest January on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, or NCEI.
The month was also plagued by a series of atmospheric rivers that brought historic rainfall and snow to the West, as numerous tornadoes struck other parts of the country.
Below are highlights from NOAA’s U.S. climate report for January 2023:
Climate by the numbers
January 2023
The average January temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 35.2 degrees F (5.1 degrees above average), ranking as the sixth-warmest January on record.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont each had their warmest Januaries on record. Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania saw their second-warmest Januaries on record, with 17 additional states experiencing a top-10 warmest January.
The nation’s average precipitation across the contiguous U.S was 2.85 inches (0.54 of an inch above average), ranking among the wettest third of Januaries on record.
Nebraska saw its third-wettest January on record, with Massachusetts ranking fourth wettest and Rhode Island ranking seventh. Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Utah each had a top-10 wettest January on record.
Other notable climate events
Atmospheric rivers dropped record rain and snow: A series of nine atmospheric rivers from late December into mid-January dumped a record amount of rain and mountain snow across parts of the western U.S., hitting California particularly hard and causing significant damage to the region, including power outages. The weeks-long deluge resulted in at least 21 deaths and prompted more than 1,400 rescues throughout the state. The San Francisco Bay area experienced its wettest three-week period in 161 years.
A busy month for tornadoes: January was notable for several weather systems that brought severe thunderstorms and an unusually high number of tornadoes to portions of the U.S.. More than 100 tornadoes were confirmed, marking the third time since 1950 where 100 tornadoes occurred during January.
• Jan. 2-4: A tornado outbreak occurred across portions of the southern Plains, Southeast and Illinois, where 61 tornadoes were confirmed by NOAA’s National Weather Service. The storms also brought severe thunderstorms, hail and significant damage to the region.
• Jan. 12: Severe storms and tornadoes swept through parts of the Midwest and Southeast. This outbreak included 69 confirmed tornadoes, including two EF-3 tornadoes.
• Jan. 16: Two tornadoes were confirmed in Iowa – the state’s first instances of January tornadoes since 1967.
Drought conditions improved overall: According to the January 31 U.S. Drought Monitor, about 42.7% of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, down about 3.6% from the beginning of January.
Drought conditions expanded or intensified across portions of the southern Plains, the Florida Peninsula and parts of the Rockies, Pacific Northwest, Midwest and Hawaii.
Drought conditions improved across large parts of the West and Midwest, and portions of the Plains, Great Lakes, Southeast, Northeast and Puerto Rico.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — An early Tuesday morning traffic stop by Lakeport Police officers resulted in an arrest and the seizure of an amount of fentanyl large enough to kill tens of thousands of people.
The Lakeport Police Department said its officers conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation near the intersection of S. Main Street and Highway 175 at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday.
The officers contacted the vehicle’s driver, James Biocca of Healdsburg, conducted a Department of Motor Vehicles records check on him and determined that his driver’s license had multiple suspensions on file with good service.
Officers arrested Biocca and subsequent to his arrest located suspected fentanyl and drug paraphernalia on his person.
The officers then searched Biocca’s vehicle and located additional drug paraphernalia as well as a total of approximately 3.48 ounces — or 98.8 grams — of suspected fentanyl and 21.3 grams of methamphetamine, all of which were packaged in varying amounts. They also located additional baggies and a scale inside the vehicle.
Based on the items discovered during the search, Biocca was booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transport of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics for sale, transportation of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is considered to be enough to cause an overdose and kill someone.
Based on this data, the Lakeport Police Department said the amount of fentanyl seized as a result of this one traffic stop could have killed up to 49,400 people.
The Lakeport Police Department encourages those who are addicted to dangerous drugs, like fentanyl, to reach out and seek rehabilitative treatment.
The police department currently is partnered with the Lake Family Resource Center and has a crisis responder who can link those in need with life-changing services.
If this is something that you would like more information on, please contact the Lakeport Police Department by calling 707-263-5491, emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or by sending the agency on Facebook.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, or AMIA, has announced that registration is now open for the special twice-monthly “Senior Days” events to be held at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park during March through June.
The events are offered free to Lake County seniors.
Seniors may register for one event, or for as many as they wish, by visiting www.andersonmarsh.org.
Each day includes transportation to the park from the Clearlake Senior Center and two entertaining programs. A free lunch is also included.
Programs range from getting up close and personal with live hawks, learning about what is going on with Clear Lake, the history and culture of the Indigenous people of Anderson Marsh, the history of the European immigrants and tours of the park and the historic Anderson Ranch House.
Those who wish to drive themselves to the park may do so, with free parking offered at the park for those attending the programs.
“The idea of this project is to make it easy for seniors to feel welcomed at the park, to have some fun outdoors and to learn about Anderson Marsh State Historic Park,” said Henry Bornstein, one of the AMIA event coordinators. “The park is an important part of what Lake County has to offer its residents and may have been overlooked by seniors who may not have felt comfortable visiting the park on their own.”
“The special programs will be educational, but will also be fun,” stated Roberta Lyons, AMIA president. “We encourage all Lake County seniors to visit our website at www.andersonmarsh.org, take a look at the different programs and register to attend the ones that interest them.”
The “Senior Days” programs are made possible by a grant from the California State Parks Foundation.
AMIA is a nonprofit association cooperating with State Parks to support and promote educational and interpretive activities at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park. The Clearlake Senior Center is located at 3245 Bowers Road in Clearlake.
For information about Anderson Marsh State Historic Park or AMIA, please visit www.andersonmarsh.org or contact AMIA at either This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-995-2658.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — After two meetings and nine hours of hearings and public testimony, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening voted unanimously to declare an emergency in an effort to save the Clear Lake hitch — a fish at the heart of Pomo culture — from extinction.
The board’s proclamation of a local emergency, which can be read in its entirety below, cites drought and habitat loss as factors in the potential extinction of the hitch, known to the Pomo as the chi.
The hitch is a native minnow that lives up to seven years, spawns in creeks and then makes its way to Clear Lake.
Supervisor Moke Simon, a member of the Middletown Rancheria, fished for them with his family and tribe growing up, and on Tuesday recalled seeing the creeks run black with the fish.
However,on Tuesday and on Jan. 24 — the meeting when the matter was first discussed — testimony from scientists and tribal members pointed out that the hitch’s numbers are in free fall.
On Tuesday afternoon, as prelude to the board continuing its discussion of the emergency proclamation, it heard a presentation from Fred Feyrer of the U.S. Geological Survey’s California Water Science Center.
Feyrer and his team started monitoring the hitch’s population in 2017 at the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They come to the lake every summer and conduct sampling with nets during the last two weeks of June, looking for fish one year old and older. The whole effort operates on a shoestring budget, he explained during the presentation.
Since the monitoring started, Feyrer said they’ve seen a major decline in fish numbers. In 2017 and 2018, they caught up to 70 fish at a time as the hitch is a schooling fish. By 2022, they caught only six.
“The population is not doing well,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what’s causing this population decline.”
However, Feyrer said it seems to be a “recruitment failure,” due to no new babies being born into the hitch population, but they don’t know what’s causing that failure. With hitch living five to seven years, he said it’s analogous to no human babies being born for 50 or 60 years.
“There’s a lot of concern that the fish does not have a lot of time left on the landscape if conditions and the situation does not change,” Feyrer said.
Feyrer cited work by the University of California, Davis, that shows that a primary driver of problems for all fish in Clear Lake is dissolved oxygen in the water, which leads to fish kills. The last large one on Clear Lake occurred in 2017.
He said the geological diversity of the watershed of the lake translates into unique chemical signatures for the streams and drainages. Those chemical signatures, in turn, are recorded naturally in the ear bones of fish.
Scientists can analyze the chemical composition of those signatures, take on an “ecological CSI” role and reconstruct where the fish have lived and which streams they were born in. As a result, Feyrer said they know the hitch uses the entire watershed.
Feyrer said the hitch are spawning in shallow water which can lead to their eggs being exposed to the elements, getting stranded and becoming desiccated so they don’t survive.
But perhaps the most alarming information Feyrer shared is that the Clear Lake fish community — a combination of native and nonnative fish — as a whole is in decline.
Along with hitch, the native tule perch, as well as introduced fish such as the largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and channel catfish, are all in dramatic decline, Feyrer said.
What’s particularly striking about the situation, Feyrer said, is that this is a suite of fish with very different life histories and reproductive processes.
“There’s something going on in the lake. We don't know what it is,” he said.
He said scientists don’t yet have the information and data to understand what the factors are that are causing this across-the-board decline.
“There’s no silver bullet. There’s no smoking gun. It’s not one particular factor,” but a combination of factors, Feyrer said.
A working group of numerous agencies is now developing a hypothesis about what is driving decline and exploring specific research avenues, Feyrer said.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier asked Feyrer if the situation is unique to Clear Lake or if similar issues are happening elsewhere.
“The simple answer is, no,” said Feyrer. While he doesn’t do a lot of work in other lakes, he said what is happening seems to be unique to Clear Lake itself.
Feyrer also noted, “It’s definitely not just a water issue,” explaining that there have been both wet and dry years since the monitoring started in 2017.
Sarah Ryan, environmental director for the Big Valley Pomo, said this was the first time the tribes had heard there were problems with the other fish in the lake.
“Why are we just hearing that now?” asked Ryan, who called it “really shocking.”
Chris McCloud, a Big Valley Tribal Council member and treasurer, pointed out that the hitch was listed as a species of special interest in 1980, then the state listed the hitch as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
McCloud said there has been 43 years of discussion, but still nothing is being done. She wanted to know what could be done today.
Lake County Water Resources Director Scott De Leon said that, since 2015, his department has applied for more than $9 million in state grants for projects that would have had positive impacts on hitch habitat. Yet none have been selected for funding.
“The county is certainly trying. We will continue to try,” De Leon said.
Patricia Franklin, a Scotts Valley Pomo tribal member who is a basket weaver, said she recently surveyed tribal elders about basket making materials but that the hitch’s importance came up in the conversations.
“I know that something needs to be done right away. We can't wait. We can’t wait. If we wait, this might be the last year,” Franklin said.
Board reaches agreement on final emergency proclamation
With those grim details in mind, the board then moved into consideration of the emergency proclamation itself.
Sabatier questioned where climate change fit into the situation, explaining that he felt it was missing from some of the information provided.
Simon said they knew the lake was sick, which is why they had asked Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for help.
“We need to come together to save this species in the best way that we can,” Simon said.
During public comment, much of the concern the supervisors heard revolved around the sixth request in the proclamation, which asked the State Water Resources Control Board “to take regulatory steps such as issuing information orders or adopting emergency regulations in order to assure the continued viability of the Clear Lake hitch and other aquatic species upon receipt of stream-specific emergency flow recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or other fisheries agency.”
Rebecca Harper, executive director of the Lake County Farm Bureau, said the group supported the emergency proclamation without a call to the State Water Board for regulations. She said farmers planned to take voluntary actions.
At various points, Sabatier and Board Chair Jessica Pyska were directly criticized by public speakers who took their questions about the proclamation to mean they didn’t support it.
The situation was such that toward the end of public comment, business owner Toni Scully apologized to the board for the personal attacks on its members.
Scully also objected to the request to the water board, and said the agricultural community stood ready to help collect data necessary in the effort to save the hitch.
“We all want to protect the hitch. We respect the tribes. We respect your traditions and the desire and the necessity that’s part of our quality of life here to preserve that,” said Scully, adding that agriculture is also a part of Lake County’s quality of life.
She said that ag wanted to be at the table and not on the menu.
“If you want something fast to happen, I hope you don’t depend on the state to do it,” Scully said.
Sabatier also was concerned about the call to the state for regulations. “The state, I just don't trust.”
County Counsel Anita Grant provided a reworked version of that request to the State Water Resources Control Board that, rather than asking for regulatory steps, instead requested that the agency work directly with county stakeholders to consider regulations to ensure the hitch’s survival.
The board approved of the reworked language and reached consensus to make that change to the proclamation.
Supervisor EJ Crandell said he had been OK with the previous language because he doesn’t think the state is listening. “I just really don’t think the state’s going to do anything.”
Supervisor Michael Green, who along with Crandell authored and presented the proclamation, moved to approve it, with Simon seconding and the board voting unanimously to approve it.
After the vote, despite the previous criticism, the board received a round of applause.
Pyska said after the vote that it had been a little bit of a messy process — but that’s democracy.
The full text of the emergency proclamation is below.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF LAKE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PROCLAMATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY DUE TO PERSISTENT
DROUGHT, HABITAT LOSS AND POTENTIAL EXTINCTION OF CLEAR LAKE HITCH
RESOLUTION NO. 2023 – ____
WHEREAS, on May 6, 2021, the Lake County sheriff, in his capacity as the Director of Emergency Services for the County of Lake, proclaimed a local emergency due to drought conditions, with said proclamation being renewed most recently on Jan. 10, 2023; and
WHEREAS, on March 28, 2022, Gov. Newsom issued Executive Order No. 7-77, to provide guidance on emergency drought relief. The executive order (EO) states that “the ongoing drought will have significant, immediate impacts on communities with vulnerable water supplies, farms that rely on irrigation to grow food and fiber, and fish and wildlife that rely on stream flows and cool water”; and
WHEREAS, the Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), a fish species endemic to Clear Lake, has been a primary food and cultural resource for indigenous Pomo peoples for thousands of years in the lands and watersheds now encompassed by Lake County and nearby counties, and remains central to the health, food security and well-being of sovereign tribal nations within Lake County; and
WHEREAS, in August 2014, the California Fish and Game Commission determined the Clear Lake hitch to be “threatened” under the California Endangered Species Act (“CESA”) and subsequently adopted regulations to improve hitch habitat and water quality in 2016; and
WHEREAS, in 2017 the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake was established under the California Natural Resources Agency (pursuant to Assembly Bill 707) to develop strategies to help restore Clear Lake and revitalize local economies dependent on the health of the lake; and
WHEREAS, on Dec. 3, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published in the Federal Register its adopted findings that the proposed listing of the Clear Lake hitch under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) was “not warranted at this time”; and
WHEREAS, on Aug. 17, 2021, the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”), an environmental advocacy organization, filed suit in the Northern District of California against USFWS and the U.S. Department of the Interior, claiming the agency’s “not warranted” decision was unlawful; and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 2022, the USFWS agreed, in a stipulated settlement agreement and order signed by the Hon. Richard Seeborg, Chief U.S. District Court Judge, to conduct additional analysis and submit, on or before Jan. 12, 2025, a new “12-month finding” as to whether the listing of the Clear Lake hitch as “threatened” or “endangered” is now warranted under the federal ESA; and
WHEREAS, on Oct. 12, 2022, the California Fish and Game Commission directed President Samantha Murray to send a letter to USFWS Director Martha Williams seeking emergency listing for the hitch. Murray’s letter, dated Nov. 3, 2022, requests Williams to implement “immediate, emergency protections to Clear Lake hitch to secure an adequate level of 2023 spring spawning for the species”; and
WHEREAS, on Dec. 5, 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity and four sovereign tribal governments located within Lake County – Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and Robinson Rancheria Citizens Business Council – announced they also have requested emergency listing of the Clear Lake hitch by USFWS; and
WHEREAS, on Dec. 8, 2022, an emergency, intergovernmental summit was held at Big Valley Rancheria to help facilitate communications between sovereign tribal governments and their environmental protection agencies and analogous state, local and federal environmental agencies; and
WHEREAS, a proposed “Conservation Strategy for the Clear Lake Hitch” and implementation agreement has been drafted by an intergovernmental task force, but the draft strategy has not been presented to potential signatories, including Lake County, for review, public input or adoption; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the important and ongoing efforts of sovereign tribal governments and environmental protection agencies, the Blue Ribbon Commission for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and California Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Water Resources Control Board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Lake County Water Resources and Public Works, many Lake County residents and interested parties, including agricultural and sport fishing interests, are not fully informed of the critical importance of the 2023 hitch spawning season, nor of the potentially significant voluntary and/or regulatory actions that may be proposed or implemented; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code § 8630 empowers the Board of Supervisors to proclaim the existence of a local emergency when the County is threatened or likely to be threatened by conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property that are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of this County; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors hereby finds that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property presently exist in Lake County, caused by rapidly decreasing populations of Clear Lake hitch that could potentially result in extinction for the species; possible permanent loss of food security and cultural resources for indigenous Pomo peoples and sovereign nations within Lake County; potentially significant impacts upon agricultural, mining, recreational and tourism activities to the extent they may impact hitch habitat in Clear Lake and its tributaries; and potentially serious economic impacts should the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant the pending requests for emergency ESA listing; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors does find that the aforesaid conditions and the breadth of the peril the county and its residents face as a result require the proclamation of a local emergency and that local resources are unable to cope with the effects of the significant danger.
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake hereby declares the existence of a local emergency and said emergency shall be deemed to continue until its termination is declared by the Board of Supervisors.
BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED that this Proclamation is issued pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act, Government Code §§ 8550, et seq. and proclaimed and ordered that during the existence of said local emergency, the powers, function, and duties of the emergency organization of Lake County shall be those prescribed by state and local law and County resolutions, as approved by the Board of Supervisors.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HEREBY MAKES THE FOLLOWING REQUESTS:
1. That the California governor proclaim a state of emergency in Lake County due to persistent drought and habitat loss such that the potential extinction of the Clear Lake hitch appears to be imminent unless immediate and direct action is taken, and local resources are inadequate to cope with the emergency;
2. That the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) provide emergency funding and resources adequate to protect the Clear Lake hitch while its court-ordered review process is under way, and to promptly disclose any legal or financial constraints which would limit such emergency support;
3. That USFWS, among its other emergency actions, prioritize and expedite completion of the draft Clear Lake Hitch Strategy in coordination and cooperation with other government agencies and native sovereign nations and timely circulate the strategy for signatures and implementation;
4. That the chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake convene a meeting as soon as practical to consider the status of the Clear Lake hitch and threats to its 2023 spawning run, accept public testimony, and review and recommend hitch-related projects, activities and funding to the Office of the Governor, California Legislature and California Natural Resources Agency;
5. That the State Water Resources Control Board immediately order and direct enhanced compliance and enforcement activities to stop illegal water diversions affecting Clear Lake and its tributaries; and to enforce the adopted orders of the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program and Cannabis Cultivation Waste Discharge Regulatory Program to ensure they are protective of Clear Lake hitch habitats as applied;
6. That the State Water Resources Control Board work directly with county stakeholders to consider the promulgation of regulations to assure the continued viability of the Clear Lake hitch and other aquatic species upon receipt of watershed specific emergency flow recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or other fisheries agency;
7. That the California Fish and Game Commission or California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as may be appropriate, take reasonable steps to consider whether emergency regulations or amendments to sport fishing regulations are needed to reduce predation of Clear Lake hitch by carp and other non-native predatory fish; to consider whether establishment of one or more chi fish hatcheries or refuges within the County of Lake is feasible and warranted; to review and recommend short-term habitat improvement strategies and projects; and for the Fish and Game Commission to schedule and conduct at least one meeting within the County of Lake to accept public testimony regarding any chi-related actions;
8. That the Ukiah field office manager of the Bureau of Land Management take reasonable and prudent steps to identify and mitigate erosion and sediment transport attributed to fire, flood, off-highway vehicle use, abandoned mine locations, and any other conditions that may adversely affect Clear Lake hitch migration and survival within and downstream of BLM-managed lands and waterways, including Cache Creek Wilderness and North and South Cow Mountain Recreation areas;
9. That the forest supervisor of the Mendocino National Forest take reasonable and prudent steps to identify and mitigate erosion and sediment transport attributed to fire, flood, off-highway vehicle use, abandoned mine locations, and any other conditions that may adversely affect Clear Lake hitch migration and survival within and downstream of U.S. Forest Service-managed lands and waterways;
10. That the Lake County Water Resources Department develop and implement a plan to release water during the spring of 2023 from the Adobe Creek and/or Highland Springs reservoirs to supplement instream flows to the extent feasible during the hitch spawning season, including but not limited to coldweather events during which groundwater pumping occurs for agricultural crop protection; and submit a mid-year budget request authorizing reimbursement for unanticipated costs for chi-related projects and programs, such funding being contingent upon review and approval by the Board of Supervisors.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HEREBY ORDERS that a copy of this proclamation be provided to the Office of the California Governor; state director of the Office of Emergency Services; president of the State Water Resources Control Board; president of the California Fish and Game Commission; director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake; secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency; Ukiah field office manager of the Bureau of Land Management; forest supervisor of the Mendocino National Forest; director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior; and chair of each native sovereign nation within the County of Lake.
This proclamation was duly passed by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake at a regular meeting held on February 7, 2023, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: 5 NOES: 0
COUNTY OF LAKE Jessica Pyska CHAIR, Board of Supervisors
ATTEST: SUSAN PARKER Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ANITA L. GRANT County Counsel
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. — This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding two more community open houses on the recommended cleanup plan for the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site in Clearlake Oaks.
The first meeting, which will be for the whole community, will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, 15900 Moose Lodge Lane.
The second meeting, which will be tribe-focused, will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Konocti Vista Casino Resort, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport.
The EPA will provide information and updates related to the proposed plan and offer time for questions-and-answers, and an opportunity to submit official written comments.
For more information, visit the EPA’s website on the Superfund site.
For any other questions related to the proposed plan email Gavin Pauley, the site’s community involvement coordinator, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., call 415-535-3725 or 800-231-3075, or at 75 Hawthorne St. (Mail Code: OPA-2), San Francisco, CA 94105.
Philip Higuera, University of Montana; Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder; Maxwell Cook, University of Colorado Boulder, and Natasha Stavros, University of Colorado Boulder
It can be tempting to think that the recent wildfire disasters in communities across the West were unlucky, one-off events, but evidence is accumulating that points to a trend.
In a new study, we found a 246% increase in the number of homes and structures destroyed by wildfires in the contiguous Western U.S. between the past two decades, 1999-2009 and 2010-2020.
This trend is strongly influenced by major fires in 2017, 2018 and 2020, including destructive fires in Paradise and Santa Rosa, California, and in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. In fact, in nearly every Western state, more homes and buildings were destroyed by wildfire over the past decade than the decade before, revealing increasing vulnerability to wildfire disasters.
What explains the increasing home and structure loss?
As fire scientists, we have spent decades studying the causes and impacts of wildfires, in both the recent and more distant past. It’s clear that the current wildfire crisis in the Western U.S. has human fingerprints all over it. In our view, now more than ever, humanity needs to understand its role.
Wildfires are becoming more destructive
From 1999 to 2009, an average of 1.3 structures were destroyed for every 4 square miles burned (1,000 hectares, or 10 square kilometers). This average more than doubled to 3.4 during the following decade, 2010-2020.
Nearly every Western state lost more structures for every square mile burned, with the exception of New Mexico and Arizona.
But among wildfires that do burn homes or other structures, humans play a disproportionate role – 76% over the past two decades were started by unplanned human-related ignitions, including backyard burning, downed power lines and campfires. The area burned from human-related ignitions rose 51% between 1999-2009 and 2010-2020.
This is important because wildfires started by human activities or infrastructure have vastly different impacts and characteristics that can make them more destructive.
As a result, of all the wildfires that destroy structures in the West, human-caused events typically destroy over 10 times more structures for every square mile burned, compared to lighting-caused events.
The December 2021 Marshall Fire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings in the suburbs near Boulder, Colorado, fit this pattern to a T. Powerful winds sent the fire racing through neighborhoods and vegetation that was unusually dry for late December.
As human-caused climate change leaves vegetation more flammable later into each year, the consequences of accidental ignitions are magnified.
The amount of flammable vegetation has increased in many regions because of an absence of burning due to emphasizing fire suppression, preventing Indigenous fire stewardship and a fear of fire in any context, well exemplified by Smokey Bear. Putting out every fire quickly removes the positive, beneficial effects of fires in Western ecosystems, including clearing away hazardous fuels so future fires burn less intensely.
How to reduce risk of destructive wildfires
The good news is that people have the ability to affect change, now. Preventing wildfire disasters necessarily means minimizing unplanned human-related ignitions. And it requires more than Smokey Bear’s message that “only you can prevent forest fires.” Infrastructure, like downed power lines, has caused some of the deadliest wildfires in recent years.
Actions to reduce risk will vary, since how people live and how wildfires burn vary widely across the West.
States with large tracts of land with little development, like Idaho and Nevada, can accommodate widespread burning, largely from lighting ignition, with little structure loss.
Climate change remains the elephant in the room. Left unaddressed, warmer, drier conditions will exacerbate challenges of living with wildfires. And yet we can’t wait. Addressing climate change can be paired with reducing risks immediately to live more safely in an increasingly flammable West.