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Chosen watchers descend on region; Sierra Nevada Conservancy board meets in Calaveras

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 4, 2008 at 7:35 am

From Stockton’s Record:

This is where water comes from, but not much political power. And that’s why California’s Sierra Nevada Conservancy exists and is meeting this week in the midst of the vast Sierra Nevada Region.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger formed the Sierra Nevada Conservancy in 2004 as a way to protect “the environmental, economic and social well-being” of the region. Schwarzenegger and other leaders figured it was in the interest of the larger state to set up a special body to look after the region.

That’s because almost two-thirds of the state’s drinking and irrigation water comes from these mountains, even though they only make up about 25 percent of the state’s land and are home to only 1.5 percent of the state’s population. In other words, state officials don’t want uncontrolled wildfires, leaking septic tanks and poorly planned development in the mountains to degrade the water the rest of the state drinks.

And that gives Mother Lode counties including Calaveras a chance to leverage a little more political power and money out of Sacramento. Calaveras County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Wilensky, for example, is on the Sierra Nevada Conservancy board and has used his experience to build relationships with Sacramento power brokers. Today, he and state Sen. Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto, will make a joint presentation on future funding for the conservancy.

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

December 4, 2008 · Filed Under Lake Tahoe & the Sierra's, Northern California

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