Hundreds of people marched along
the American River in July to protest the Army Corps of
Engineers’ plan to remove over 600 trees, including oaks, from
the riverbanks for a flood control project. Dozens attended a
November meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to
urge the rejection of a solar energy project that would remove
thousands of oaks from land near Prairie City. Sacramentans have
also rallied against projects that would remove oaks for flood
control along the Sacramento River and homes in Rancho
Cordova.

Sacramento was once known as the
City of Trees, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that some residents
are concerned about what is happening to local oaks, despite the
impact the projects would have on ongoing issues like the

housing
crisis,
flood risk and fossil fuel
consumption.

“If you look at the land-use
changes in the Central Valley over the last 200 years, so many of
the oaks have been removed through conversion to agriculture and
cities,” says David Rizzo, distinguished professor of plant
pathology at UC Davis. “There are very few classic oak woodlands
left.”

Diseases that are killing oaks in
other parts of the state have been largely absent in the Capital
Region, Rizzo says. Development and climate change — higher
temperatures and drought — threaten oaks here. Valley, blue and
interior live oak are the most common oak trees in the region.
“Oak woodlands are a critical habitat,” Rizzo says.

Here is a look at projects that
involve cutting oak trees.

American River housing

Interior live oaks are on a site proposed for housing on the
American River in Rancho Cordova. The interior live oak is
unusual for oak trees because it retains leaves in winter.

Developers want to build a
housing subdivision in Rancho Cordova in one of the few sections
of undeveloped private property on the Lower American River,
known as the Kassis site after former owner John P. Kassis. The
most recent iteration of the project discussed between developer
Trumark and Rancho Cordova’s City Council would create

245 units on 41
acres. The project
site near River Bend Park has 147 protected trees, including 10
interior live oaks. The project has been discussed for years, in
part because of concerns from state and local officials about the
potential for flooding.

American River flood
control

A Valley oak in a section of the American River Parkway where the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to remove all of the trees for
flood protection work.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
says it needs to remove at least 675 trees along the American
River Parkway as part of a project to better secure the
riverbanks against flooding near Watt Avenue. Environmental
groups, in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of California, say the work can be done without
all the tree removal.

One of their arguments for
opposing the project is that the Corps of Engineers did not
specify how many heritage oaks would be removed, when they are
common along the river and protected under Sacramento County
ordinance. They also said the federal agency failed to properly
consider project alternatives.

A federal judge agreed that they
provided enough evidence to raise the question in further legal
proceedings when she granted a temporary injunction against the
project in November.

Sacramento River flood
control

Oak and other trees along the Sacramento River were part of an
extensive trimming project required by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.

That wasn’t the first time the
Corps of Engineers drew opposition for plans to cut trees. A few
years ago, Reclamation District 1000, which is responsible for
levees in Natomas, cut trees along the Garden Highway to ensure
its employees could clearly see the levees from the highway. The
district said the Corps of Engineers required the work. Residents
said the work was unnecessary, especially since the levees had
been improved in recent years.

Coyote Creek solar farm

The Coyote Creek Agrovoltaic Ranch Project calls for the removal
of 4,259 blue oaks in eastern Sacramento County.

On 1,400 acres in eastern
Sacramento County, currently used for ranching and home to about
3,500 oak trees, developers are proposing the construction of a
solar-power generation farm. The Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch
project was designed for the Sacramento Municipal Utility
District, which planned to use the energy to help meet the
state’s requirement for more alternative energy sources.

SMUD has since backed out, citing
“project uncertainties” including “supply chain constraints,
rising prices, tariffs, schedule delays, environmental impacts
and pending litigation.” The developers say they will seek a new
partner for the project. Three lawsuits are pending against the
project, including one filed by environmental groups challenging
the environmental impact report approved by county supervisors in
November.

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