The parcel in question: 7 Feb 07
Please read the PDF (244k)
See more information on Pine Hill Preserve in Cameron Park here.
UPDATE ON THE CONGREGATE LAWSUIT AND PROTECTION FOR THE PINE HILL PLANTS
On August 16, 2007, Judge Proud ruled against us in the lawsuit we filed in opposition to the County's approval of the Congregate project. This was an extremely disappointing outcome and we believe the Judge ruled in error on several points. Because we disagree with Judge Proud's ruling, and still feel we have a very strong case we decided to appeal his decision to the Third District Court of Appeal. We filed a notice of appeal on October 3, 2007. The case will be briefed and considered by the Court of Appeal sometime in the next 4–6 months.
The issues that we are raising to El Dorado County regarding the management of the Pine Hill plants and the preserves are important ones that need to be resolved to ensure the protection of the plants. We are finding that several other projects being proposed in the county suffer from the same problems.
Recently, the Chapter commented on the Thousand Oaks project near Meder Road. This project proposed to transplant a few El Dorado bedstraw plants and provided no protection for a majority of the bedstraw plants on site. The bedstraw is among the rarest of the species we are trying to protect and is not well represented in the existing preserve design. The US Fish and Wildlife Service in the recovery plan recommends the creation of a 60 acre specialty preserve to provide additional protection for this species. The habitat and rare plants found in the Thousand Oaks project if undeveloped could provide a basis for the creation this preserve. We wrote to the County objecting to the mitigation measure to transplant the bedstraw and told them that the rare plant fee program was not adequate for a number of reasons. Ultimately, the County denied this project based on conflicts with the proposed location of a septic system and a stream course.
The Chapter also commented on a project called Cameron Park Bowl. This project is adjacent to the northern boundary of the Cameron Park Unit of the preserve. The project covers about 10 acres and as reported in the environmental documents would remove "20,000 Red Hills soaproot, 4,039 El Dorado County mule-ears, 3,591 Pine Hill ceanothus, 165 Layne's butterweed, and nine Bisbee Peak rush-rose plants." The County found that simply paying a mitigation fee was adequate to reduce impacts to less than significant. We disagreed with this conclusion and sent the County a letter stating this. The Bureau of Land Management and the US fish and Wildlife Service also wrote letters on this project and stated their objections. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to have a hearing on this project on December 11, 2007.
The Congregate lawsuit and our review and comment on development projects are two steps that the Chapter has taken to protect the Pine Hill plants. Other chapter activities to increase awareness and conservation of the plants include educational hikes that we lead to the plant preserve, and the programs and talks we offer on the Pine Hill plants. It is critical that the chapter, along with your support, do all that we can to ensure the long term protection of the Pine Hill plants.
—Sue Britting,
Conservation Chair