Commentary: City lacks resources to manage ecosystem

The city of Elk Grove wants to expand its borders into the Cosumnes River-Deer Creek floodplain.

The decision is in the hands of the Local Agency Formation Commission. Last month, more than 100 residents of Wilton, south of the river, told LAFCO's executive director that the proposed expansion is a bad idea. Why? Because many people feel that Elk Grove has already grown too quickly and that it has neither the experience nor the resources to manage a fragile ecosystem like the Cosumnes River corridor.

Point in fact, Elk Grove still relies on hired hands rather than its own staff members to carry out its day-to-day business and to plan its long-term future.

Fortunately, LAFCO's job has been made easy. While Elk Grove has spent the last eight years becoming the region's second-largest city, Sacramento County has been working on a habitat conservation plan. The county has been taking stock of its environmental resources, including the Cosumnes River corridor, and developing strategies for preserving and managing these resources.

Technically, Elk Grove's request to LAFCO is for an expansion of the city's sphere of influence. The next step for LAFCO is to prepare an environmental impact report analyzing the potential effects of such an expansion.

The residents of Wilton, along with the many organizations, including the Nature Conservancy and Cosumnes Research Group (a consortium of 15 organizations including UC Davis), believe the EIR needs to recognize that the river deserves special protection.

Here's why:

The Cosumnes River watershed – It includes 1,300 square miles and the only undammed river on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The natural hydrologic regime and the link between the river and the floodplain supports a fertile breeding ground for all types of flora and fauna. What happens in the watershed affects what happens in the river, that is a decline in the quality of the water or the habitat will adversely affect the populations of fish and wildlife.

Floodplains – The Cosumnes River stands out as one of those places where significant floodplains are still linked to the river.

Cosumnes River riparian buffer – This buffer provides a critically important continuous corridor from the mountains to the Delta due to the fact that, thankfully, less than 5 percent of the watershed is urbanized.

Fish – Fall-run chinook salmon still spawn in the Cosumnes. Groundwater overdraft associated with development (turning on the tap) is a key factor in their decline from 5,000 salmon to 500 in the past 20 years. Experts say the river could support a run of up to 70,000.

Regionally, the current train of thought is directly opposite to the mind-set of Elk Grove. A recent Bee article ("Levee work aims to ease Yuba's fears," A1, May 27) refers to flood control in the Feather River. "The project will move the Feather River levee up to a half-mile farther from the river's edge … . It will also open up about 1,600 acres along the river, restoring a riparian habitat that is in precious short supply throughout California."

A more recent Bee article ("Project is blocked," G1, Elk Grove section, June 5) illustrates the Elk Grove City Council's disconnect from its own citizenry in regard to the use of open space. In this article, one finds Elk Grove residents suing the city, showing "… a lot of frustration among citizens about how the City Council handled growth and the environmental review of growth during the boom period of the housing market."

The floodplain is much too valuable to our region to trust a city whose best friends, it appears, are developers, real estate brokers and bulldozers. Based on Elk Grove's track record from July 1, 2000, to the present, do you trust the city of Elk Grove to do the right thing?

About the writer:

• Bill Kutzer is a Wilton resident and spokesman for the Wilton Action Group.