Quote of Note

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."
      John Muir, naturalist, writer, conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club

Index - October 2006

Bush Says EPA Immune From Protections for Federal Whisteblowers
California Wilderness Passes Congress
Center for Law in the Public Interests Spins Off City Project
Clean Air for Ports Bill Vetoed
Clean Money, Proposition 89
Global Warming, Energy & Air Committee
Hike to See Wild Plants of Ballona
Hunter's Hunting Bill Attached to Defense Appropriation Bill
Mono Lake Victory
Mr. Bush's Second Crusade
Park Service to Emphasize Conservation Over Recreation
Poochigian's Anti-Environment Record
Proposition 84 - Yes!
Proposition 90: The Taxpayer Trap
Re-Enchanting the City IV Conference, October 21
Roadless Rule Reinstated
San Gabriel River Conference III
Trail Access in Los Angeles and Orange Counties
Wayburn Turns 100

Resolution Passed by ExComm (September 24, 2006)
     Sierra Club Sponsorship of the San Gabriel River Conference III

Useful Information
Chapter Conservation Committees Calendar
Chapter Conservation Management Committee
Chapter Conservation Grants Committee
Chapter Conservation Committee Draft Agenda
Orange County Conservation Committee Draft Agenda

Proposition 90 – The Taxpayer Trap
Threats to Undermine Land Use Planning and Environmental Protection

This November, Californians will vote on one of the most significant measures affecting environmental law to ever reach the ballot. Wealthy, out of state backers of this misleading and dangerous measure want voters to believe Proposition 90 is about “eminent domain reform.” But the impacts of the measure will be much more far-reaching and would effectively abolish our ability to pass or enforce basic laws that protect our coastline, open space, farmland, air and water quality, and other natural resources and will cost taxpayers billions of dollars in lawsuits to fund payouts to a few developers.

Impacts of Proposition 90 on Environmental Protection

If Proposition 90 passes, virtually any actions taken to protect the environment could result in landowners, who simply have to claim the law “damages” their property value, demanding huge payments from all taxpayers through state and local governments. In many cases to avoid bankruptcy, local governments will have no choice but to allow the environmentally destructive actions.

The scope of environmental regulations that could trigger compensation under the measure is virtually limitless. Some examples include:

Impacts of Proposition 90 on California Taxpayers

This proposition contains a hidden provision, not mentioned by its proponents, that allows virtually anyone to sue claiming a new law or regulation has impacted the value of their property or business — no matter how far-fetched the claim — and taxpayers will be on the hook to pay the bill. This could result in thousands of lawsuits costing taxpayers millions of dollars just in litigation costs.A similar but much less far-reaching measure was passed in Oregon in 2004 and has already resulted in 2,000 claims requesting $3.8 billion in compensation.

The proposition also redefines how compensation is calculated acquiring land for public infrastructure projects. These provisions will drive up the cost of infrastructure projects, cause delays, or even halt work on much-needed community projects. Taxpayers will have to pay much more or lose out on the congestion relief, road repairs, schools, utility services, flood protection and other planned and needed infrastructure projects.

Broad Coalition Opposing the Proposition

Sierra Club California has been working with a broad coalition of taxpayer, education, business, consumer, environmental, local government, and community groups all opposed to Proposition 90. The strong coalition of groups, concerned about the many negative impacts of this proposition, has committed to putting in the time and resources to educate California voters about the true impacts of Proposition 90. To help fight this measure, stay aware of updates on this campaign and other November election issues at www.sierraclubcalifornia.org.

Judge Reinstates Original Roadless Rule
Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director (September 20, 2006)

"Today marks a huge victory for America's last remaining wild forests and the millions of Americans who have spoken out in support of protecting these special places for future generations. These are increasingly scarce unspoiled places that provide some of the highest quality fish and wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies in the country.

"Today's ruling underscores the strong framework of the Roadless Rule, the basis of which was overwhelming scientific and economic evidence and public opinion in favor of protecting America's last wild forests.

"The Bush administration replaced the original rule with a policy that left wild forests across the country vulnerable to destructive oil and gas development, commercial logging and road building. The administration has already moved forward with timber sales in roadless areas in Alaska, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

"From policies that prioritize logging over community fire protection to proposals that sell-off National Forests, the Bush administration has worked to weaken or eliminate the core protections for America's wild forests. They have put the interests of the timber industry ahead of the clean water, recreational opportunities, economic benefits and wildlife habitat that these forests provide the country."

Background on Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Today's Decision:

The Roadless Rule, designed to protect 58 million acres of roadless wild forests in 39 states, was the result of the most extensive public comment process in history, spanning three years and 600 public meetings. During the rulemaking, the Clinton administration received a record-breaking one million public comments in support of protecting wild forests. To date, the Forest Service has received more than 4 million comments from the American people.

Blocking the Roadless Rule was one of the new administration's first decisions upon taking office, followed shortly by a refusal to defend the rule in court. In the spring of 2005 the administration officially repealed the original rule and replaced it with a process whereby governors must petition the federal government for forest protections in their states. Governors had until November of this year to announce their petitions.

In the public comment period for the Bush administration policy, the majority of the 1.8 million comments were opposed to the change.

Today's decision reinstates the original Roadless Rule and finds that the Bush administration violated the law when it adopted their petition process. The ruling injoins the Forest Service from taking any action contrary to the Roadless Rule.

The Sierra Club was one of the many environmental groups represented by Earthjustice in this lawsuit. For a copy of the judge's ruling, please call (415) 977-5619 or email annie.strickler@sierraclub.org http://www.sierraclub.org/forests/roadless/

Poochigian's Anti-Environment Record
by Bill Magavern
Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Senator Chuck Poochigian's record of opposing virtually every significant environmental bill makes him unfit to hold the office of Attorney General, as shown by a Sierra Club California analysis. The environmental group has endorsed Jerry Brown for Attorney General.

Californians count on our Attorney General to enforce important laws safeguarding our air, water and wild places, How could we rely on Chuck Poochigian to protect our environment when his voting record shows that he sides with the polluters rather than the people?

During the years 2003-2005, Poochigian voted against the pro-environment position on every single one of the 25 most important votes on the Senate floor. Poochigian opposed taking experimental pesticides out of schools, recycling electronic wastes, cleaning up our water, and reducing air pollution. While Poochigian recently claimed that the list was skewed to make certain candidates look bad, the truth is that all legislators were rated on the exact same votes, those votes that showed most clearly who is willing to side with the interests of public health and the environment. The report cards are posted at www.sierraclubcalifornia.org.

Poochigian's extreme opposition to sensible safeguards for our air, water and resources is demonstrated by the fact that he opposed all six of the most important environmental bills that were signed into law in 2004 and 2005 by the man who heads the Republican ticket, Governor Schwarzenegger. Those bills included AB 2683 (smog), SB 391 (pesticides) and SB 1334 (oak preservation) in 2004, and AB 405 (school pesticides), AB 1328 (Cache Creek preservation), and AB 1415 (mercury reduction) in 2005. Poochigian continued his "just say no" approach to environmental protection in 2006, when he opposed the Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, which the Governor has promised to sign, along with other key measures.

With one out of every six children in his own district suffering from asthma, Poochigian opposed Senator Dean Florez' measures to clean up the air in the Central Valley, (SB 700 and SB 705, both enacted in 2003.)

Chuck Poochigian's environmental record might place him in the mainstream at the Bush White House, but he is way out of touch with the people of California, who want a cop on the beat to protect us from polluters. Jerry Brown, on the other hand, has shown a commitment to clean energy, coastal preservation, and conserving our resources — that's why he is the environmental choice for Attorney General.

Mr. Bush's Second Crusade
Rachel's Democracy & Health News #872, September 14, 2006. Rachel's introduction: The President is relentlessly dismantling the scientific capabilities of US Environmental Protection Agency — a plan with "long-term consequences," says the agency's chief financial officer.
by Peter Montague

At an airport the other day, every six minutes like clockwork an authoritative voice emanated from on high, reminding us that the global terror threat stands at "orange alert." As we waited like sheep to be searched for hair gel and lanolin, some of us were led away and body-searched behind the screen while the rest of us averted our eyes and packed closer together, trying to blend in.

It was near the anniversary of September 11, so the Commander-in-Chief was making the rounds to lay wreaths and provide reassurances, and the total-immersion airport TV offered up a cavalcade of frightening images suggesting that we may never be safe again until we track down every last enemy of freedom and interrogate them creatively. We particularly marvel at the newest unauthorized US practice of locking suspects in cages measuring four feet by four feet by 20 inches so they can neither sit nor stand for a week at a time, as reported by the New York Times June 17. And we were amazed to learn recently that Guantanamo is now 25% powered by wind energy, so that if we poke electric cables into the eyes of Muslim prisoners, as has been recently alleged, perhaps some of us can at least feel good about ourselves for using alternative energy.

These reported interrogation techniques, if true, seem certain to prolong the Global War on Terror — which the President some time ago had already declared to be a war without end — by creating the next generation of implacable foes who will then need to be resisted with mighty swords, restrained, and themselves creatively interrogated far into the future. Perhaps it's best to look at it as a sustained jobs program, not really different from the Cold War but with a creative Texas twist.

From our airport experience you could only conclude that we've got a big job ahead — the CIA has now identified people who hate freedom in 80 countries, and no doubt some of these will become good candidates for creative interrogation — so we'd best get to it and stay focused, was the message. Mr. Bush wants to be remembered as a wartime President, and there's little doubt he'll get his wish. Extraordinary renditions of this President's creative innovations will no doubt be recounted forever-after to wide-eyed children in Texas Sunday schools.

Meanwhile all across the country, out of sight of the TV monitors, the Commander-in-Chief has a second crusade under way, striking a blow against godless science. He is working hard to go down in history as the President who finally had the guts to eliminate — or at least cripple — science within the federal agency that President Nixon set up to protect God's creation, our US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a series of decisions during his two terms in office, the Commander has steadily diminished and discredited the scientific bona fides of EPA. This can only mean that the agency is growing less able to do its job of protecting us and the rest of Creation from corporate marauders. As anyone knows who has read the two-part series we ran last month, destruction of the natural environment has reached full orange alert — the loss of species alone has now reached apocalyptic proportions — so diminishing government's scientific capability can only accelerate us toward ecological collapse. Clearly, many of the President's supporters relish the thought because to them it foretells the Second Coming of Christ. And who knows? They may be right. In some versions of the Good Book it is written that "Blood will flow like mighty rivers" when Jesus returns to Earth to personally exterminate vast hordes of humanity. This would include the 1.6 billion Christians who have not been "born again" and have not taken Jesus as their personal savior; 1.3 billion Muslims; 900 million Hindus; 850 million secularists, atheists and agnostics; 360 million Buddhists; 245 million indigenous people; 225 million believers in various traditional Chinese religions; 23 million Sikhs; 14 million Jews; 6 million Bahais; 5 million Jainists; 4 million Shintos; 3 million followers of Cao Dai; 2.4 million Tenrikyos; 1 million neopagans; 800,000 Unitarian Universalists; 700,000 Rastafarians; 600,000 Scientologists; and 150,000 Zoroastrians.

It is written that, on the day He returns to Earth, the Prince of Peace is planning to personally slaughter every one of these 5.5 billion infidels and then dispatch their souls to hell where they will suffer unspeakable tortures for the rest of eternity — this according to the President's most faithful followers and ardent supporters who are working hard to impose these religious values on the rest of us. Among some of these plain folk, perhaps, the torture of a few luckless Muslims at Guantanamo or high in the heavens aboard a CIA-chartered jet pales to insignificance when compared to Jesus's glorious final solution for cleansing the Earth. But I digress.

Just a few days ago, the whistle-blower group representing federal scientists, managers and workers, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), leaked a memo from Lyons Gray, chief financial officer (CFO) of EPA. The memo tells all EPA higher-ups that the 2008 budget will include substantial new "disinvestments" in EPA's scientific capabilities — disinvestments that are expected to have "long-term consequences" for the agency, Mr. Gray's memo said. Those consequences will be Mr. Bush's second legacy.

Here are a few of the changes that the agency has undergone while the Global War on Terror has deflected our attention:

** Closure of scientific laboratories and research centers. By 2011, the agency's staff of 2000 scientists will have been cut 20%. During that same 5-year period, 9000 new chemicals will have entered commercial channels almost entirely untested for health or environmental effects.

** The executive director of PEER, Jeff Ruch, summarized the plan this way: "The Bush administration is trying to spin this lobotomy as a diet plan for a trimmer, shapelier EPA," Ruch added. "In fact, it is a plan to cut and run from historic standards of environmental protection under the guise of deficit management."

PEER is not the only group aware of the destruction of scientific capacity at EPA.

** In April, EPA's own Science Advisory Board — a panel of outside reviewers of EPA's scientific work — concluded that EPA is no longer funding a credible public health research program.

** A Government Accountability Office study also released in April concluded that EPA lacks safeguards to "evaluate or manage potential conflicts of interest" in corporate research agreements.

** PEER noted in October, 2005 that the American Chemistry Council (ACC, formerly the Chemical Manufacturer's Association) is now EPA's main research partner. PEER noted that, "A classic example of recent EPA/corporate joint ventures is the 2004 agreement reached with the ACC to fund the now-canceled CHEERS experiment in which parents would have received payments and gifts in return for spraying pesticides and other chemicals in the rooms primarily occupied by their infant children." EPA and ACC were surprised at public opposition to testing pesticides on children, since testing drugs on children without informed consent is a booming business.

PEER also noted that, "In internal agency surveys, EPA scientists maintain that corporations are influencing the agency's research agenda through financial inducements. As one EPA scientist wrote, 'Many of us in the labs feel like we work for contracts.'"

In March of this year PEER executive director Jeff Ruch testified before Congress that, "There appears to be a deliberate policy of marginalizing EPA science on issue after issue, so that the agency is becoming increasingly irrelevant to emerging environmental threats," Ruch testified, pointing to internal surveys showing a growing pessimism by agency scientists about the direction of EPA. "EPA's public health research agenda has been neutered," he testified.

Unfortunately, EPA has placed its own scientists under a gag order, so they cannot tell their own story.

Last month, PEER pointed out that EPA's own Office of Inspector General — an internal investigative arm within EPA itself — recently reported that:

** "EPA does not have the data to support its positions on the state of the environment or to measure the success of its programs";

** "EPA's information systems have incomplete and untimely data"; and

** EPA lacks a "clear identification and prioritization of the most important scientific questions to be addressed."

"Right now, EPA is flying blind," concluded PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the agency is spending millions on a public relations campaign to burnish the "corporate image" of its science program even as it cuts research support. "EPA scientists describe a deliberate attempt by its current leaders to 'dumb down' the agency and marginalize research so it cannot be applied to any topic of controversy," he said.

Ruch pointed out that

** Investment in EPA science has steadily decreased to the point where the chair of EPA's Scientific Advisory Board believes that the agency no longer fields a coherent scientific research program;

** Suppression of politically inconvenient scientific findings and rewrites of technical reports for non-scientific reasons have become commonplace.

** EPA is slashing its network of technical research libraries.

This last point is important because it undercuts EPA's ability to enforce the laws Congress has told it to enforce.

Late last month,: PEER leaked an internal EPA memo saying:

** Prosecution of polluters by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "will be compromised" due to the loss of "timely, correct and accessible" information from the agency's closure of its network of technical libraries. EPA enforcement staff currently rely upon the libraries to obtain technical information to support pollution prosecutions and to track the business histories of regulated industries.

The memo, prepared in mid-August by the enforcement arm of EPA, cited the Office of Enforcement and Compliance (OECA), agency staff detailed concerns about the effects of EPA's plans to close many of its libraries, box up the collections and eliminate or sharply reduce library services. Each year, EPA's libraries handle more than 134,000 research requests from its own scientific and enforcement staff. The memo states:

"If OECA is involved in a civil or criminal litigation and the judge asks for documentation, we can currently rely upon a library to locate the information and have it produced to a court house in a timely manner. Under the cuts called for in the plan, timeliness for such services is not addressed."

"Cutting $2 million in library services in an EPA budget totaling nearly $8 billion is the epitome of a penny wise-pound foolish economy," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "From research to regulation to enforcement, EPA is an information-dependent operation which needs libraries and librarians to function properly," he said.

But who needs EPA anyway? The states and tribes do.

According to the memo by EPA CFO Lyons Gray, leaked by PEER just a few days ago, the EPA's 2008 budget preparations include reducing the "regulatory burden" on state and tribes and reducing federal oversight of state and tribal regulatory agencies.

The assumption is that state environmental agencies can run their own show better without EPA setting basic standards of performance. But it plainly isn't so.

Take New Jersey. New Jersey is the wealthiest state in the Union. It has a well-educated population who regularly tell pollsters they care about the environment only slightly less than they care about jobs. If any state should be able to field a group of environmental professionals to clamp down on — or at the very least, keep track of — the corporate polluters, it would be New Jersey. Yet after 35 years of effort, this remains the most polluted state in the Union and the state Department of Environmental Protection was revealed last month to be near total paralysis, if not complete collapse.

Mono Lake Victory
EPA Abandons Effort to Eliminate Air Quality Standards at Mono Lake
by Mike Prather

Thanks to Mono Lake supporters, the EPA heard loud and clear that the severe air pollution problem at Mono Lake must remain subject to federal regulations. EPA heard our concerns for Mono Lake, and they listened.

Today, September 21, EPA announced that they would make no changes to the standards that apply at Mono Lake!

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed to change the nation's clean air standards — and leave Mono Lake in the dust!

The EPA was considering eliminating regulatory standards for windblown dust — just the kind that comes off the exposed bed of Mono Lake.

The EPA also considered abandoning the relevant "PM10 particulate" regulations in rural areas across the country, including the Mono Basin.

Tremendous controversy and public outcry forced EPA to abandon those proposals. In the final regulations, the EPA left the Mono Lake standards unchanged!

Re-Enchanting the City IV Conference, October 21

You are invited to attend the Re-Enchanting the City IV Conference on Saturday. October 21, 2006. Well-known experts will explain why Wildlife Corridors, the animal paths used to traverse wild and urban habitat areas, are critical to maintaining genetic diversity and healthy animal populations. Speakers include Dr. Ray Sauvajot of the National Park Service giving an update on the three remaining Mountain Lion cubs in the West Valley, and Ron Kozinski, Director of the Cal-Trans Environmental Division, who will address the difficult interface between major highways and the animals who need to "cross the road." Come to learn how we can all collaborate to make a difference. Speak with animal rehabilitators, Native American storytellers, and Grizzly Bear photographers. Attendees who stay to participate in afternoon workshops will have lunch provided. There is no fee. You can sign up now at: http://www.gmrnet.com/ESTFSignup.html

Dr. Rosemarie White, 818-769-1521, Chair, Angeles Chapter, Wildlife and Endangered Species Committee

Vote Yes for Clean Money, Proposition 89
by Bill Magavern, Senior Representative, Sierra Club California, and
Trent Lange, Vice President, California Clean Money Campaign

With political corruption scandals bursting out everywhere from San Diego to Texas to Washington DC, Californians now have a real opportunity to turn the tables on polluters and developers by weakening the dominance of big money campaign contributors. Proposition 89, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, is the best hope in years for a fundamental change that would finally give the environment a more level playing field in Sacramento.

You know the problem: Environmentalists are frequently up against developers and corporations that contribute millions of dollars to political campaigns. Environmentally-friendly candidates often can't get elected because they don't have enough money to compete against corporate-backed candidates.

In Sacramento, good environmental bills are often killed by legislators or a governor that have received large campaign contributions from the polluters or developers we're fighting — sometimes the very same day they kill our bills.

Clean Money public funding of election campaigns would drain the swamp of corruption by providing competitive amounts of public campaign funds to candidates who voluntarily limit their campaign spending and show a broad base of support.

Arizona and Maine, where Clean Money systems have been operating for six years, have proven it works. Clean Money candidates now hold nearly 80% of the legislature in Maine and 10 out of 11 statewide offices in Arizona, including the governor's office. Voter turnout and participation has increased significantly as confidence in government has risen.

Not surprisingly, legislators elected with Clean Money in Arizona and Maine have much better environmental voting records than legislators elected with private money. Legislators in Maine who used Clean Money scored nearly twice as high on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard as those who did not.

We need the same reform in California. If we want clean air and clean water, we have to have Clean Money. That's why Sierra Club California strongly endorses Prop 89.

Bush Says No EPA Whistleblower Protections

Citing an unpublished opinion from the Attorney General's Office of Legal Counsel, the Bush administration has declared that federal employees may no longer pursue whistleblower claims and protections under the Clean Water Act. As of now, EPA employees will have almost no protection from retaliation if they come forward with information about water pollution enforcement breakdowns, cleanup failures, or the deceptive presentation of scientific findings. Approximately 170,000 employees are affected by this ruling.

 The EPA is no help at all. The agency is taking the position that its employees have no protections of any kind regarding any environmental statute.

 This turnabout occurred because an EPA employee reported problems with contracts for toxic cleanups. She was rewarded $225,000 in punitive damages after she filed a retaliation suit, but the Department of Labor overturned the court's decision.

The White House is claiming sovereign immunity for the EPA.

Trail Access in Los Angeles and Orange Counties
by Dean Wallraff

The new Conservation Legal Committee has some lawyer-members who are interested in helping us preserve access to local hiking trails in LA and Orange Counties. Ask all outings leaders to report back to me or Kent Schwitkis anytime they see a trailhead being blocked that has previously been accessible. Developers sometimes block access through new housing projects, or homeowners block access through gated communities on private land. We would like to keep trail access open as much as possible and can do this only if we're informed of access restrictions soon after they come about.

Park Service to Emphasize Conservation over Recreation

Signaling the end of a yearlong debate over its management philosophy, the National Park Service has announced its decision to adopt a new guiding policy, which will value conservation of natural and cultural resources over recreation when the two conflict. The decision came as a surprise from the generally conservative, industry-friendly Department of the Interior under Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

The new policy rejects proposals that would have paved the way for jet-skiing, snowmobiling, off-road vehicle recreation, and other motorized park use. Development such as mining and the construction of cell-phone towers in parks will remain difficult. The new rules also restore the ability of the Park Service to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency to act when parks are ecologically threatened.

The policy makes a few concessions to the recreation industry, including ensuring that "gateway" communities such as West Yellowstone, MT — close neighbors to large national parks that draw tens of thousands of visitors every year — have a role in park managers' decision-making.

 Andrea Keller, spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the new regulations "reinforce the agency's commitment to protect park resources such as air quality, and ensure that visitors this year and for generations to come will be welcomed to our parks and offered a memorable, inspiring experience."

A Century of Conservation: Dr. Wayburn Turns 100

Dr. Edgar Wayburn, perhaps the most successful defender of America's natural heritage and Honorary President of the Sierra Club, turns 100 this week. He played a central role in the establishment of Redwoods National Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and in the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Over his lifetime Dr. Wayburn has saved over 100 million acres of American wilderness. As his hundredth birthday nears, we honor Dr. Wayburn for his work to protect and preserve our wild places for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

Center for Law in the Public Interest Spins Off City Project
Votes to Close the Center for Law in the Public Interest

The Board of Trustees of the Center for Law in the Public Interest has elected to wind down and dissolve the Center for Law in the Public Interest (CLIPI) after a remarkable 35-year history of carrying out a commitment to social justice. The Board further endorsed a spin-off of The City Project to Community Partners to carry on the proud legacy of social change through law.

"We have won landmark victories over the years in civil rights, health, environmental quality and equality, affordable housing, employment discrimination, First Amendment rights, criminal justice, and consumer protection," according to Carlyle Hall, a founder of the Center and Chairman of the Board. "In our very first case, the Century Freeway litigation, for example, we creatively combined environmental and civil rights claims to provide transit for all, promote cleaner air, and provide quality jobs and affordable housing for people of color displaced by the construction of the Freeway."

"The City Project has worked successfully to green the Los Angeles River with healthy parks, schools, and communities for the past six years at CLIPI," according to Robert García, CLIPI's Executive Director and Director of The City Project there. "This work is deeply rooted in CLIPI's tradition of seeking equal justice, democracy, and livability for all. We look forward to carrying on this work with Community Partners."

The City Project's work has recently received the LA River Award from the City of Los Angeles and awards from the Southern California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Board, and the Cultural Landscape Foundation for extensively publishing research and findings on urban parks and their benefits for the LA River, improving the quality of life in Southern California and beyond, improving water quality and restoring habitat through the greening of the Los Angeles River, and setting a national model for the urban park movement.

"We all wish Robert García and his team the best in continuing The City Project. He has done a tremendous job over the past six years creating parks and schools in the most underserved communities in Los Angeles," according to Carlyle Hall.

Traditionally, the Center, one of the first public interest firms in the country, relied primarily on litigation to achieve results, and awards of attorneys' fees to support its work. It set a model that other public interest firms adopted and extended to other fields. In light of the increasing difficulty in relying on litigation and fee awards in public interest cases, the Board concluded that it was time to dissolve the Center.

The City Project has pioneered the use of diverse strategies to achieve social change through law, including community empowerment, coalition building, multidisciplinary research and analyses, communications campaigns, policy and legal advocacy outside the courts, creatively engaging opponents to find common ground, and litigation within the context of a broader campaign.

"Robert García and The City Project are nationally recognized leaders in developing a new urban greening agenda that puts children and families first, and includes the needs of the Latino community in ways that no one else has," according to Lydia Camarillo, a CLIPI Board Member since 2001. "This work will continue to gain in stature in light of the National Latino Congreso held in Los Angeles September 6-10, 2006, which emphasized a new Latino environmental agenda that draws in significant part on the pioneering work of Robert and The City Project."

"Community Partners strengthens Southern California's supply of community building ideas, innovations, leaders, and social entrepreneurs," according to Paul Vandeventer, President of Community Partners. "We look forward to having The City Project join our team."

The Center opened its doors on December 1, 1971, with support from the Ford Foundation and individual supporters including Warren Christopher and Richard Riordan. Carlyle Hall, Brent Rushforth, John Phillips, and Ric Sutherland were associates at O'Melveny & Meyers who left the firm to start the Center. The Century Freeway was CLIPI's very first case. In California's "most important" environmental case, the state Supreme Court upheld CLIPI's position requiring environmental impact reports for private as well as public projects. The Center also saved Watts Towers, a public art masterpiece. CLIPI championed equal treatment for women and people of color under the Blake consent decree against the LAPD, and in private-sector jobs. The Sundance litigation led to more humane treatment of public intoxication, dropping arrests from 50,000 to less than 300 per year. CLIPI exposed and blocked bribes by U.S. corporations to foreign governments and Watergate "hush money." The Center created affordable housing by challenging exclusionary land use plans. Orange County, for example, at first agreed to invest $7.7 million for affordable housing, then voluntarily invested $56 million because resulting public benefits were so great. CLIPI helped preserve and restore key wetland habitat in the 250-acre Ballona Wetlands. The Center championed the "consumer trust fund" in class action cases — the resulting California Consumer Protection Foundation led to a $3 billion charitable endowment.

"I want to thank each of the trustees, present and former, for all of the time, effort and resources that they have contributed to CLIPI over the years. CLIPI's reputation for delivering the highest quality legal services on behalf of the under-represented is due in no small measure to the Board's efforts," according to Carlyle Hall. CLIPI expects to wind up its affairs over the next few months and to fulfill all its obligations to clients, foundations and financial supporters, and creditors. The spin-off to Community Partners is subject to the Center and Community Partners entering a definitive agreement for the transaction, and satisfaction of regulatory compliance requirements.

San Gabriel River Conference III

Urban rivers, while currently neglected and degraded, can become valuable resources through revitalization efforts. The Sierra Club has worked with our allies to envision and realize improvements along the San Gabriel River. While much work remains, tremendous progress has been made in all reaches of the River.

Join us for the San Gabriel River Conference III on Friday, November 3 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Duarte Community Center, 1600 Huntington Drive, Duarte.

The conference will showcase improvement and advocacy from the mountains to the ocean, by the Sierra Club, Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, Central Basin Municipal Water District, and County Sanitation Districts and others. Featured projects include the Emerald Necklace, Los Cerritos Wetlands, El Encanto (Azusa), the Duck Farm (Bassett) and the San Gabriel River Discovery Center (South El Monte). In addition, special topics, such as health benefits, vector control considerations, safety and security, will also be discussed.

For more information or to register, please RSVP to Jennifer Robinson at Jennifer.Robinson@sierraclub.org or (213)387-4287 x204.

SB 927, Clean Air for Ports Bill, Vetoed
by Bill Magavern

On Sepember 22, 2006, the governor acted on the first of Sierra Club CA's highest-priority bills, and the news is not good. He also vetoed 2 other bills we have supported actively and consistently, AB 2444 (Klehs), and AB 2838 (Pavley). Both would have authorized small increases in vehicle fees to pay for environmental mitigation. Evidently, he will be using his radio address tomorrow to brag about these vetoes. Clearly, the governor's allegiance to reflexive anti-fee ideology has trumped his ostensible commitments to clean air and clean water

Global Warming, Energy & Air Quality Committee

Thursday, October 12, 7 - 9 pm
Chapter offices, 3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 300
Park under building off Mariposa, better yet, take the Red Line or Rapid Bus to Wilshire & Normandie & walk East 1 block
Conference call access: (866) 501-6174, Conference Code: 1000400#
Call Jim Stewart cell (213) 820-4345 first if you want participate via Conference call.

Draft Agenda:

1. Introductions
2. History and Mission of Committee - Jim Stewart
3. Report on California landmark Global Warming Legislation - Joel Levin
4. Report from California Energy Commission Climate Change Research Conference - Jim Stewart
5. Report on Sierra Club California and National Energy Policies/Programs
6. Potential Projects for Angeles Chapter
    a. Get more Cool Cities signed up - Jan Kidwell
    b. Support Green LA agenda for City of LA (see info below)
    c. Promote energy efficient green buildings
    d. Promote public awareness of global warming threat and solutions
    e. Others?

Green LA, formerly called the Los Angeles Working Group on the Environment (LAWGE), is a network of LA's environmental and community-based organizations, including the Angeles Chapter. The network has created an environmental agenda and is committed to working with the Mayor, the City's General Managers and other decision-makers to implement the recommendations in this document. Below are the top three recommendations in the Global Warming/Energy area:

Recommendation Description

City agencies become carbon neutral by 2007, inventory and report the climate change emissions for City agencies and set an aggressive timetable to stop adding to global warming by becoming carbon neutral, including early retirement of fossil-fuel generation.

Increase energy efficiency throughout the City. Complete comprehensive energy audits of all City buildings, departments and agencies by the end of 2007, and immediately begin implementing a plan that achieves the maximum load reductions in those facilities by 2013.

Integrate climate impact into city planning and development by expanding transit, pedestrian and bicycle corridors and addressing urban heat-island issues, we can improve the quality of life for all residents and sharply reduce energy use and climate impact.

Hike to See the Wild Plants of Ballona
Opportunities To Expand Our Natural Parks System

Learn the Multiple Benefits of Cleaning and Greening the Ballona Watershed from the Top of Mullholland to the Mouth of Ballona.

OCTOBER 10, 2006, Tuesday 11 am to 3 pm
Ballona Creek Watershed Greenway
Free Bus Tour & Nature Hike

Who should attend?

Elected officials, their deputies, environmental leaders from Neighborhood Councils and homeowners groups, artists and citizens desiring a greener LA and cleaner Santa Monica Bay.

The tour will leave from Culver Events, 11934 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles 90066, promptly at 11 am. We will provide a light lunch. We will visit the Ballona Bluffs and Wetlands, Augustus Hawkins Natural Park, Baldwin Hills State Park, and other points along the way.

Presenters will be:

Jessica Hall, Ballona Creek Watershed Coordinator; Jim Lamm, President of Ballona Creek Renaissance; Rex Frankel, president of Ballona Ecosystem Education Project, Jeanette Vosburg, coordinator of Ballona Network

To receive more details and make reservations for the Ballona Watershed Greenway Tour, email Jeanette@saveballona.org Space is limited so make your reservation now.

California Wilderness Passes Congress
by Carl Zichilla

With Senate passage on September 29 of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act (S 128/HR 233), Congress sends its first wilderness bill of the year to President Bush for his signature. The conservation measure will preserve more than 270,000 acres of wild land in northwest California, and gives wild and scenic status protection to 21 rivers across the state.

"On the eve of National Public Lands Day, Congress has given the American people an amazing and enduring gift — 273,000 acres of strikingly beautiful wild public land in northwest California as a legacy for future generations," said Jon Owen, government affairs representative with the Campaign for America's Wilderness. "These special places include the Golden State's spectacular King Range — the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower 48 states. The bill will forever protect rare coastal forests of Douglas fir and incense cedar, and preserve the habitat of steelhead trout, California brown pelican, bald eagles and Roosevelt elk."

Word is that the President could sign it as early as next week. Congratulations to the hundreds of activists who worked in local communities to make this happen! It bodes well for future designations elsewhere in the state as it shows we can move legislation even in the most adversarial situations. We worked hard for this, so let's celebrate it!

Hunter's Hunting Bill Attached to Defense Appropriation Bill
by Carl Zichella

This is really bad news. We will need to work to repeal this in the next Congress. Constituents of Duncan Hunter, please give him hell.

Deer and elk trophy hunts on Santa Rosa Island would continue under a deal reached Friday by congressional negotiators. The plan defies a federal court settlement and is strongly opposed by the National Park Service, which wants the nonnative game removed.

Language permitting the hunts was included in the final version of an annual defense bill agreed to by House and Senate negotiators as Congress completes work before recessing for the November 7 elections.

That means the plan is likely to become law. The House and Senate were expected to give final approval later Friday or Saturday to the bill authorizing the nation's defense programs.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., pushed the hunting plan over objections from congressional Democrats including Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., whose district includes Channel Islands National Park.

Santa Rosa Island, 40 miles offshore from Santa Barbara, is the second-largest of five islands in the Channel Islands park.

Under the federal court settlement, private trophy hunts now run on the 53,000-acre island are supposed to end in 2011, and the deer and elk are to be removed.

The Park Service bought Santa Rosa Island in 1986 for $30 million from a local ranching family that still owns the hunting concession. Litigation over terms of the deal led to the court settlement.

The National Park Service says the hunts and the nonnative game interfere with indigenous plants and animals on the undeveloped and remote island, including some endangered species. The hunts also restrict public access since much of the island is off limits to visitors while they go on.

Hunter has said his legislation is meant to give military veterans, particularly those who are paralyzed, somewhere to go for hunting and recreation.

But the group Paralyzed Veterans of America — cited repeatedly by Hunter in support of his plan — announced over the summer that it opposed the idea because of the difficulty of traveling to and around the island, which has bumpy dirt roads and can only be accessed by boat or plane.

"It is simply outrageous that this deeply misguided proposal has been inappropriately included in the 2007 defense authorization bill in an act of pure congressional hubris," Capps said in a statement Friday. "This is a sad day."

YES on Proposition 84!
by Julie Garner

I'm voting YES on Prop 84 this November — and I urge you to join me. Here's why.

Proposition 84 is a $5.4 billion bond on the November ballot for clean water and coastal protection. It addresses some very
serious problems:

* More than 60% of rivers and streams tested in California fail to meet the federal clean water act standards.
* Last year there were 5000 beach closures and health warnings because of contamination of our coastal waters.

Prop 84 provides funds to prevent pollution of our drinking water, improve water quality and supply, and protect our rivers
and our coastal areas.

More than $300 million will be spent by big money interests this year on TV advertisements alone. Prop 84 can't compete with that spending on the public airwaves — but we can get the word out by building strong grassroots support from the ground-up.

With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can join me to help get out the word and get out the vote for Prop 84.

Sign up to give "4 Minutes for Prop 84" between now and Election Day — and help spread the word about Proposition 84 to everyone you know!

http://ga3.org/campaign/4_minutes

Thanks so much for your help and support!

Environmental Resolution (September 24, 2006)

Sierra Club Sponsorship of the San Gabriel River Conference III

 

The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club will sponsor a conference featuring work being done to revitalize the San Gabriel River.