Lake County >> One of the simplest ways to protect the lake and prevent further damage is to preserve the Big Valley Wetlands, at least according to the Lake County Land Trust. It’s a project the group has been heading for the past six years.
“It would be irresponsible not to protect the wetlands,” said Catherine Koehler, executive director of the Lake County Land Trust, an organization that is currently working on the Big Valley Wetlands Protection Project. “We all know what increased nutrient oil does to Clear Lake … The entire county complains of increased frequencies of algae bloom.”
The Land Trust has managed to raise $125,000 in matching funds for the purchase of the wetlands on the Big Valley shoreline, currently owned by George Melo. The amount is for a 31-acre parcel on Clipper Lane. While the Land Trust hasn’t acquired the property yet, Koehler says that they have an agreement with the owner and it’s just a matter of time until the plot finally goes into escrow.
“It’s probably going to take several months because it’s a long process,” she said. Thankfully, Melo has been patient with the fundraising operation.
To help argue for the protection of the wetlands, the Land Trust got together with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to create a document that helps support their efforts. “What it is is basically an assessment of why the wetlands are worth protecting,” explained Koehler. “It basically goes through discussing the value to Lake County on why these wetlands should be protected.”
The project started as a concept six years ago. Since then, the Land Trust has been working with the CDFW to get the Big Valley Wetlands Protection Project underway. The CDFW and the Land Trust worked together to determine whether the wetlands were a high enough priority for protection and they felt that the land was of enough ecological value to work towards preserving. According to Koehler, the wetlands were on the list of the top three ecological places in the county to protect.
Since 2012, the Land Trust has received $1,000 and above from 30 various donors and the Pitzer Family Foundation provided a $25,000 matching grant challenge earlier this year. “When the first property became available because the landowner was interested in selling it … we advertised to the public, to the newspaper as well as to social media .. that we were needing the funds towards the purchase of it,” Koehler said.
But all of this fundraising is still not enough to purchase the parcel. Now, the CDFW and the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) are working with the Land Trust to co-fund the purchase of the wetlands.
Once acquired, the Lake County Land Trust will have taken a major step in protecting the ever-important wetlands. “First of all, by having acquired them we take them out of having development occur in them … that is the main thing to do because that is the mission of the land trust,” Koehler explained. “The land trust does not develop its properties.”
With the most important concern — protecting the wetlands from being developed — out of the way, the Land Trust is then planning on undertaking some smaller efforts to help the land remain healthy and make sure it stays out of harm’s way. “On top of that we will do things like plant some valley oaks in the uplands to try and restore some of the native plant community,” said Koehler. They’re also planning to organize some wild life viewing for community members, in a manner that won’t cause damage to the land.
“It’s not so much to protect them but to make sure that they won’t get damaged … wetlands are very self maintaining,” Koehler said. “The main thing is to make sure that they are simply protected from damage.”
Protecting the Big Valley Wetlands is an important endeavor for the community and just as importantly, the environment. “Clear Lake is missing over 70 percent of the wetlands that it used to have,” Koehler said. To grow, wetlands use up much of the nutrients in the soil, but when the wetlands aren’t around, all of those nutrients consequently end up in the lake. As a result, the water quality has been steadily degrading.
“If you don’t have the wetlands you don’t have the natural water cleaning happening,” explained Koehler. “It’s very important from an ecological standpoint.”
Preserving the land will help prevent further decline of the water quality, and there is even hope that the Land Trust can mend some of the damage. “If we can engage the community in being more active in responding to the wetlands … we can reverse the damage,” Koehler said.
Aside from the ecological benefits, keeping the wetlands in pristine condition will allow for the abundant wildlife to flourish. “It’s just absolutely teeming with wildlife,” she said. “It’s an absolutely beautiful place from an aesthetic standpoint.”
As the Land Trust continues to raise money for the project, they must accumulate the funds to match any grants that they receive. This means that their fundraising is far from over. They continue to reach out to the public for help with a project that is bound to benefit the lake, the environment and the community.
“It’s been really great working with a community where quite a few of the citizens really understand … [the importance of] persevering the natural land. It’s part of the landscape that they live in,” expressed Koehler. “We really look forward to this project moving forward and having more landowners talk to us about how they can get involved in preserving parts of their land that they love.”
“We hope to make a lot of progress in this wetland area, to make sure that it gives clean water and wildlife viewing for generations to come.”
If interested in making a donation or pledging a parcel of land, contact Koehler at lclt@lakecountylandtrust.org or call (707) 262-0707. For more information on the Lake County Land Trust, visit their website at www.lakecountylandtrust.org.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
