County stuggles to protect its native oaks

By Phillip Gomez

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Posted: Friday, November 16, 2007 10:38 AM CST

Mick Stockard. Enterprise photo by Phillip Gomez

California does have a law protecting oak trees, called the Oak Woodlands Conservation Act, passed by the Legislature in 2004 and taking effect in 2005, requiring cities and counties to assess their oak resources and adopt management plans in order to ensure healthy watersheds, clean air and water and wildlife habitat.

The Twenty-four well-funded opponents reportedly fought against the bill in the two-year process it took to bring protection to the oak ecosystem. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established the Sierra Nevada Conservancy in conjunction with the effort to conserve oaks over the 25-million-acre range of woodland, from the Oregon border to Kern County, where old-growth blue oaks cover the Sierra's lower west slope.

The act requires cities and towns to list existing threats to oak woodlands in their areas and to state the trees’ regenerative status vis-a-vis urban growth trends. Likewise, the plan must recognize the economic value of oak woodlands in support of agriculture, where compatible with oak woodland conservation.

For the complete story, see Friday’s print edition of the Calaveras Enterprise or our e-Edition.

Comment (1 comment(s))

Steve Daus, PhD, RPF No. 2524 wrote on Nov 27, 2007 8:23 AM:

" Unbelievable! An illiterate byline and unchecked facts all in the same article!! And you put this out with no shame at all?? The Oak Woodlands Conservation Act was actually passed in 2001 and was the initial law, and subsequent set of regulations, dealing with oak woodlands. Mr. Gomez is confusing this with Senator Keuhl's SB 1334. Please, you have a responsibility to your reading public to do a far better job as a source of information about the world in which they live. "

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