By Erin Klaesius
California Biodiversity Council

Springtime in the Sacramento Valley signals the start of a new season. It's a time for new beginnings and fresh, budding possibilities. On March 14 and 15, the California Biodiversity Council will gather in Chico to discuss the many challenges surrounding land management along the streams and tributaries flowing into the Sacramento River.

The two–day event begins with a local forum on Wednesday morning. Jane Dolan (Butte County Supervisor) will open the forum by reflecting on her years of service in the Sacramento Valley region. Local members of the planning committee chose to highlight this topic in order to disclose the many regional impacts of conservation–oriented land acquisitions and the subsequent long–term management plans. Denny Bungarz, a central player in these issues as well as a farmer, civil servant, and elected official, will moderate the local forum

At lunchtime, the group will head north to Deer Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River. The first stop includes a tour of a working cattle ranch with a permanent conservation easement adjacent to Deer Creek. The CBC bus will next journey downstream to erosion and restoration sites at Woodson Bridge on the Sacramento River. Later, meeting participants will be treated to a social hour and dinner at the renowned Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico. Cathy Kleinstecker (Sacramento River Discovery Center Director) will present the group with her reflections on the area to close the evening.

The Council meeting will reconvene on Thursday morning with a welcome and introductions by Resources Agency Secretary and CBC Chair, Mary Nichols. Supervisor Bungarz will provide a brief summary of the outcomes from the previous day's local forum. Dennis Bowker (Sacramento River Watershed Program Coordinator) will provide the audience with an overview of the physical and institutional systems that combine to make the Sacramento Valley so unique.

Next, Burt Bundy (Sacramento River Conservation Area Coordinator) will moderate a session titled, the Diversity of the Upper Watersheds of the Sacramento Valley. The panel will include local landowners, representatives from Resource Conservation Districts, and watershed conservancies who are all involved in various approaches to land and water management in the region.

The afternoon panel will discuss regulatory hurdles for implementing restoration projects. Speakers from a variety of backgrounds from local landowners to NRCS representatives will focus on permit barriers and creative steps to minimize their impacts. The discussion will also focus on suggestions that regulators can take to make the regulatory and permit processes more effective so that restoration projects can occur at the local level.

The local forum on Wednesday and both panels on Thursday include time for open discussion between the panelists, Biodiversity Council, and audience. If you would like more information on the conference or registration, please contact Erin Klaesius, CBC Communications Coordinator, at (916) 227-2661 or erin_klaesius@fire.ca.gov.