California: New Levee to destroy 900 trees including ancient oaks
Sacramentans soon will understand just how massive the region’s
biggest modern levee project is as workers this week begin removing
900 trees to make way for construction along the Sacramento River.
About 800 of those trees are native oaks – mostly valley oaks –
including some more than 60 inches in diameter. They may come to
symbolize the tightrope that California walks between flood safety and
habitat protection.
The Garden Highway Community Association, however,
may seek a court injunction to stop the tree removal. Its president,
Doug Cummings, said SAFCA should not cut trees until it has the $90
million it needs to build the levee. The trees must go because they’re
in the footprint of a $619 million project to build giant new levees
encircling the Natomas Basin. The project was required by a 2006 U.S.
Army Corps ruling that existing levees don’t adequately protect the
basin’s 70,000 residents. The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
designed new levees up to 300 feet wider to accommodate another Army
Corps rule that forbids trees and structures on levees.
This “piggyback” levee design reinforces the existing levee from behind and
effectively moves the regulatory profile of the levee away from the
river, preserving thousands of trees and allowing more than 100 homes
along the water to remain in place. But because the new levee is so
wide, trees must fall on its inland side: 900 in this first phase,
stretching 4.5 miles south from the Natomas Cross Canal along Garden
Highway; then perhaps 2,000 more as work continues on the remaining 37
miles of Natomas levees. In effect, to preserve shade and habitat
along the water-side of the levee, SAFCA had to sacrifice it on the
other. “Obviously, it’s sad and it’s difficult for us,” said Ray
Tretheway, Sacramento city councilman, SAFCA board member and
executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
“On the other
hand, SAFCA is very progressive when it comes to public safety and
balancing that with vegetation on or near levees.” Cummings said this
means hundreds of mature oaks could be cut prematurely. “I’m very
opposed to taking any trees, especially when there’s no good reason to
do so at this point,” Cummings said. SAFCA aims to start building the
new levee in April, assuming a funding deal with the state is in place
by March 19 so it can hire a contractor. City and county officials on
SAFCA’s board are under pressure to build the project quickly. Until
the work is finished, a building moratorium has halted further
development in Natomas, and residents must purchase flood insurance.
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1575534.html
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