Brown would clear thicket of timber rules, Redding Record Searchlight Editorial, Thursday, May 17, 2012
More than any series of tax increases or spending cuts, what California really needs to resolve its perennial budget deficits is a growing economy. And one way to get business moving again is to lift the dead weight of regulations for which California has become notorious. Gov. Jerry Brown's release this week of his revised budget proposal held nothing but bad news when it comes to spending, but there was one small hint that the governor gets the need to streamline bureaucracy. And he wants to do it, believe it or not, for the timber industry, starting with a yearlong test in Redding.....
Jamestown fiber mill opens, Alexander MacLean, Sonora Union Democrat, May 14, 2012
A national wood shavings manufacturer has opened a new plant in Jamestown. American Wood Fibers, Inc. is a family-owned company based in Columbia, MD, that has opened 10 plants throughout the United States since being founded in 1966 by Frank Faehner. The company specializes in producing wood flour — a fine sawdust used in wood putty and composite building materials — and other wood by-product. It is the nation’s largest manufacturer of wood shavings products, such as bedding for pets or livestock......
Officials confident despite fewer wildland fire resources, BRIAN ROKOS, The Press-Enterprise, May 12, 2012
State and federal firefighting agencies had fewer resources this year when they entered a wildfire season marked by drier-than-normal brush. But officials said Friday that they are confident they can adequately protect Inland lives and property. A February report from the U.S. Forest Service, citing a changing climate, said that the fire season in the West is, on average, 78 days longer than it was in the mid-1980s. After a statewide snowpack of only 50 percent of normal this winter, about 20 percent of the state, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties, is in severe drought, said Tom Rolinksi, a Cal Fire meteorologist.....
Humane Society calls for reform of Wildlife Services after Bee series, Tom Knudson, Sacramento Bee, MAY. 12, 2012
The nation's largest animal protection organization, the Humane Society of the United States, is calling for reform of the federal government's wildlife damage control program. Citing recent stories in The Bee, the society's president, Wayne Pacelle, has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to investigate Wildlife Services, the agency in charge of the killing, and ban its use of poison for predator control......
Dry winter portends busy California wildfire season, Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, May 12, 2012
There have already been more than 800 wildfires in California this year - nearly triple the number for this time last year - prompting state fire officials this week to warn residents to prepare for what could be an infernal summer. A shortage of rain and snow has left the state unusually dry, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Such dry conditions have led in the past to some of the state's worst fire seasons, which is one reason why Gov. Jerry Brown declared this week Wildfire Awareness Week......
Is California's environmental regulatory system obsolete?, Charles Calderon, Capitol Weekly, May 11, 2012
California’s economy has taken its fair share of hits over the last few years, and it appears the road to economic recovery continues to be an uphill battle. California ranked 34th in real GDP growth in 2011, and we continue to have one of the worst unemployment rates (10.9 percent) in the country. The reasons are complex and multi-faceted, but one thing is clear. Our environmental regulatory system is obsolete, duplicative and burdensome in many areas, which is hurting our business community’s ability to thrive and compete in a global marketplace. ....
Activists Oppose State Consolidation of Water Regulators, Three San Diego environmental groups say Gov. Brown's plan would weaken oversight. Imperial Beach Patch, May 8, 2012
Three San Diego-based environmental organizations oppose a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown to consolidate state regional water quality control boards in Southern California. Under the proposal, which could be considered Wednesday by the state Senate Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation, the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board would be dissolved. Some of its responsibilities would be picked up by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Nine regional boards across California regulate and enforce water quality standards. They've been in place for 40 years.....
Steelhead trout lose out when water is low in wine country, Sarah Yang, UC Berkeley News Center | May 7, 2012,
BERKELEY — The competition between farmers and fish for precious water in California is intensifying in wine country, suggests a new study by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley. The findings, published in the May issue of the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, link higher death rates for threatened juvenile steelhead trout with low water levels in the summer and the amount of vineyard acreage upstream......