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Governor Signs Wild & Scenic Bill To Protect Cache Creek California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation on October 6, 2005 adding 31 miles of Cache Creek in Yolo and Lake Counties to the California Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The Governor signed it with several other environmental bills, noting that “Protecting our environment and preserving California's natural beauty for future generations is a top priority for my administration.” Cache Creek Wild, the Sierra Club Yolano Group, Friends of the River and other conservation organizations applauded the Governor's signature on what turned out to be one of the most important environmental bills in 2005 session of the California Legislature. Assemblymember Wolk deserves thanks for introducing the bill, meeting with all concerned parties to address key issues, and for persevering against unreasonable opposition to fulfill her promise to protect Cache Creek. Bob Schneider of Cache Creek Wild stated, “We are ecstatic. State wide recognition for the wild and scenic values of Cache Creek is truly awesome. My thanks go out to the many volunteers that worked on this campaign and to the political leadership shown by Assemblymember Wolk and others that made this happen.” Introduced by Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis) in February 2005, the Cache Creek Wild & Scenic River bill (AB 1328) weathered an often stormy legislative process to achieve bi-partisan support in the California Legislature. The key to its passage was tremendous public support. The bill was ultimately endorsed by the Lake and Yolo County Boards of Supervisors, the cities of West Sacramento and Davis, the Woodland Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Times, the Woodland Daily Democrat, Whitewater Adventures, numerous local businesses, dozens of scientists and university professors, and a long list of conservation and recreation organizations. Amendments adopted in the Assembly to address water rights issues eliminated the opposition of the City of Woodland, the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and the Association of California Water Agencies. But Assemblymember Doug La Malfa and a handful of anti-environmental Republicans in the Assembly, along with the Yolo and California Farm Bureaus, continued to oppose the bill. Despite the opposition, AB 1328 garnered bi-partisan support in both the Assembly and the Senate. All other Legislators who represent portions of Cache Creek supported the bill, including Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden), Senator Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), and Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka). Notable Republican supporters of the bill included Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) and Assemblymembers Tom Harmon (R-Huntington Beach) and Keith Richman (R-Northridge). The California Chapter of Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP) also endorsed the bill. In their support letter to the Governor, REP noted that Republican Senator Peter Behr and Republican Governor Ronald Reagan established the original California Wild & Scenic Rivers System in 1972. Cache Creek is perhaps best known as one of the most popular recreational streams near Sacramento and the Bay Area. It offers a class II whitewater experience for kayaks and small rafts, as well as an opportunity for locals to camp, picnic, wade, fish, and generally escape the Sacramento Valley's summer heat. A series of Yolo County parks line the lower portion of the designated segment, while the upper segment flows through federal lands proposed for wilderness designation in legislation currently pending in Congress. The rich habitat along the creek supports some of the largest populations of bald eagle and tule elk in the state, along with more than 150 songbirds. The oak woodlands, savanna, and chaparral through which the creek flows, contrasts sharply with dramatic sedimentary rock formations that have been upended and folded by tectonic movement. No dam building plans were active on Cache Creek, but former versions of the California Water Plan had identified numerous potential dam sites on the creek. Although many AB 1328 opponents professed to be uninterested in building dams on the creek, others indicated a desire to retain the option to build future dams. Designation as a California Wild & Scenic River ensures that no dams will be built on the 31 miles of the creek added to the system. Designation will not affect the operation of upstream and downstream water projects, private property and farming along the creek, mercury pollution remediation, or the management of non-native vegetation all issues originally raised by the bill's opponents. Write to these key supporters of AB 1328 and thank them for supporting the Cache Creek Wild & Scenic River designation (all addresses are State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814):
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