Kern-Kaweah Chapter Conservation Issues
Ever since the epic battle of Mineral King, which the Sierra Club fought from the mid-60's until final success in 1978 when Mineral King was finally added to Sequoia National Park, the Kern-Kaweah Chapter has been in the forefront of some of the nation's largest public lands protection measures.
Our Chapter is proud to be the home of Sequoia-Kings-Canyon National Park, the Golden Trout Wilderness, and numerous wilderness areas established by the California Desert Protection Act. But our efforts are not over - we continue to fight for clean air, clean water, protection for our wild forests, and for solutions against sprawl.
REGIONAL ISSUES
Regional Conservation Issues
- Save Tejon Ranch
- California Futures Network
- Sierra Nevada Alliance
- Understanding the Mineral King Cabin Controversy
- Sierra Club Yosemite Committee
- Tule River Conservancy
- Highway Robbery - How A Loophole in an Outdated and Repealed Road Law Threatens Our National Parks, Monuments, and Other Special Places
- PG & E's Big Secret - Aa huge PG&E transmission project will likely soon impact the Sierra Nevada foothills from Kern County to Fresno County, where a large substation will be built either near Humphreys Station or in Watts Valley. If this project is built, it will change the Sierra forever.
Air Quality
Is Our Air Really Getting Better?
The local Building Industry Association (BIA) has issued a news release (www.biasjv.org) and launched a marketing campaign claiming that the Valley "has seen considerable improvements in air quality over the past decade" and that public perception that air quality has not improved is due to exaggerations by environmental activists. A look at the data shows otherwise. More...
Ag Air Exemption
A coalition of medical and environmental groups including the Sierra Club filed suit against EPA on February 4, 2002. The coalition contends that large agricultural operations should be required to file permits under a new program to monitor large sources of air emissions. Under the program, businesses that emit 25 tons or more of smog-producing compounds are required to file a permit.
Contribution of Bay Area Smog
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) filed suit on February 19, 2002, against the California Air Resources Control Board (CARB) for not requiring the Smog Check II program in the Bay Area. CARB's action follows EPA's acceptance of Bay Area vehicle emissions as reaching clean air goals, but ignored the smog drifting into the valley. According to the district, 9 to 27% of valley smog comes from the Bay Area. The Bay Area is the only major metropolitan area in California not under the Smog Check II program. But note: The San Joaquin Valley produces about 500 tons per day of Reactive Organic Gases (ROG) and 500 tons per day of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx). To attain Federal ozone standards we need to reduce each by 150 tons per day. Smog check II in Bay Area will only decrease NOx roughly 10 tons per day. See www.valleyair.org and www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=307 for more information.
Valley Air PM10 Plan
On February 21, 2002, the SJVAPCD pulled the Valley Air PM10 Plan (dust and soot). They did this because the EPA was poised to reject the 5-year old plan that would have potentially cost the area $2 billion in federal road funds. Under odd rules, EPA will allow the district to wait until early 2004 to turn in a new plan, effectively delaying once again efforts to improve our air quality.
Wilderness Campaigns
- Sequoia Wild Heritage Project
- California Wild Heritage Campaign
- California Wilderness Coalition
- Sierra Club California Wilderness
- Economic Values of Protecting Roadless Areas - by Dr. John B. Loomis, PhD., Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics at Colorado State University, including both national and California-specific data.
- Economic Benefits of Wilderness - by Dr. Thomas Michael Power, Professor and and chair of the University of Montana Department of Economics.
- Economic Benefits of Wilderness - by Dr. Pete Morton, resource economist of the Wilderness Society
- Pew Wilderness Center
- Sierra Club Wldlands Campaign
- The Wilderness Society
- Wilderness Information Network
Giant Sequoia National Monument
- President Clinton Proclaims Sequoia National Monument (includes photos and historical documents)
- Sequoia Task Force - Establishment of the Giant Sequoia National Monument does not by itself preserve the ecosystem. A management plan will be prepared, requiring eternal vigilance by those who wish to protect the Giant Sequoia and their associated forests and wildlife.
- Sequoia National Monument - Official Forest Service Website for its Management Plan process
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For questions about this website, contact Kern-Kaweah Chapter Webmaster, Harold Wood at: harold.wood@sierraclub.org
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