Category Archives: Bike Trail

Bike Trail, Wildlife

California’s Turkey Population Moves To Town

Some 130,000 people are licensed to hunt birds in California. Some already know wild turkey hunting season opened this week. But you don’t have to go to woodland areas to find these large birds.  The number of wild turkeys in urban areas seems to be growing.

On a fall morning, few people walk around the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael. But dozens of wild turkeys are foraging through fallen leaves next to the American River

“The irridesence of the feathers is marvelous, they’re a beautiful bird,” says Paul Tebbel is director of the nature center. “The population has certainly grown in the last couple of decades. There’s very little predation.”

In open landscapes like this, where females graze quietly and males fan out their tail feathers, turkeys can be a pleasant and peaceful way to experience wildlife. But where there are more homes and more people, it can be a different story.

“Nobody likes them, They’re just a nuisance. And we can’t kill them,” says Ben Gordon with the Limeridge Homeowners Association, a community of almost 250 houses in Concord.

He says in the last three years, 150 to 200 turkeys have showed up.

“They’ve been all over the development,” says Gordon. “We see them everywhere. They cross the streets.”

Gordon says the turkeys on the periphery of the development don’t bother people, but they leave a mess on sidewalks, pick apart lawns and land on rooftops and trees.

“Somebody told me, ‘You could shoot them and eat them, and they’re really good eating.’ And I said ‘Oh, did you do that? And he said ‘Well no, I wouldn’t do that, it’s against the law,’” says Gordon.

Turkeys were introduced in California for hunting. But you can’t hunt in most cities. California started establishing the birds in wild land areas in 1959 and stopped 15 years ago. But since then the population has grown and moved to town.

“They hadn’t even really looked at the available data to try and assess what might be impacted by introducing these large omnivores into a naïve landscape,” says Dan Gluesenkamp, director of the California Native Plant Society.

The organization that sued the state to stop the turkey releases. While a species of turkey did exist in California until 10,000 years ago, Gluesenkamp considers these large wild birds, some of which originated in Texas, to be invasive in California.

“You can look at a flock of 60 turkeys, and those birds weigh about 20 pounds each. And when you do the simple math, that’s a lot of biomass that they’re vacuuming off the landscape,” says Gluesenkamp. “So if you care about the wildflowers, and you care about the bugs, and you care about snakes, and you care about frogs… Then the more turkeys you got, the less of everything else.”

Gluesenkamp did a study that showed turkeys remove acorns and eat a lot of small critters. But there isn’t much research showing the ecological harm turkeys might cause. Still, Gluesencamp says species in the ecosystem are like rivets in an airplane.

“You can pop a lot of rivets out of an airplane before something goes wrong,” says Gluesenkamp. “There’s a lot of extra rivets holding those wings together. But you don’t know which rivets are critical. And you don’t know when you’ve popped one too many until the plane starts to crash.”

Gluesenkamp says there aren’t a lot of predators to hold turkey populations in check. He thinks hunters should be allowed to take more. But state wildlife managers say that wouldn’t help the urban turkey population.

“Turkeys are somewhat nomadic, so over time they’re going to move to the areas that frankly the living is the easiest,” says Scott Gardner with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

More at CapRadio.org >>>

 

Bike Trail, safety, Wildlife

Sacramento Officials Seek Opinions On Proposed 12th Street Bike Path

Sacramento city officials are soliciting public opinions about reducing 12th Street from four lanes to three as it enters downtown from Highway 160.

The far west lane on the street would be turned into a two-way bicycling path, separated 5 feet from cars by a crosshatched area with bollards as far south as F Street.

If built, it would be the first full, exclusive bike path directly into downtown, giving bicyclists a safer way in and out of downtown from the northern neighborhoods and from the Two Rivers Bicycle Trail along the American River. City traffic officials say it also will force drivers coming off of Highway 160 into downtown to slow through an area where there are numerous pedestrians.

The city has published a Web page – http://n12street.com – offering details of the project concept and asking for comments.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, safety

Bumpy Negro Bar Bike Trail To Get Fix

Portions of the bike trail through Negro Bar will be undergoing some much-needed smoothing thanks to a non-profit group and California State Parks.

Walkers, bike riders and joggers will appreciate the trail fix along the north shore of Lake Natoma when the work on the trail is completed. Much of the area suffers from bumps from tree roots, potholes, poor drainage and sand build-up.

Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma (FOLFAN) and state parks will repair about 1,300 linear feet of trail in three areas. Work will be done on both trail pavement and shoulders.

Dirt shoulders alongside the pavement will be built up again for pedestrians and joggers to safely pass.

New striping will be painted on the trail pavement and some new bollards installed.

“The damage to the trail in many cases is so extensive that is has become a real safety issue,” FOLFAN spokesman Jim Cassio said on the group’s website.

The project, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 3, will focus on three areas of the main trail: along the main Negro Bar parking lot, the slope and low point east of the parking lot and a set of drainage culverts near the main picnic area.

The trail will be closed through portions of Negro Bar. Signs will offer detours.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Bike Trail, Boating, Fire, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Winter Rains Not Likely To Ease California Drought

Drought conditions will likely ease in much of the West this winter, but not in most of California, according to a new climate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report, released Thursday, indicates that conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which include a developing El Niño weather pattern, may prompt above-average rainfall for the southern third of California over the next three months.

The Bay Area, however, as well as most of the rest of the state, stands only a one-third chance of seeing above-average rain — and equal chances for below-average rain and a normal amount.

“There’s just not a strong enough climate signal to make a prediction,” said Mike Halpert, acting director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

The forecast bodes poorly for Northern California, where residents are hoping a wet winter erases some of the costs of the state’s driest three-year period on record, including tight drinking-water supplies, fallowed agricultural fields and damaging wildfires.

But even a wetter-than-average winter would provide only a modicum of drought relief.

“It will take significantly above-average precipitation to fill reservoirs and recharge groundwater,” Halpert said.

The only good news for California, according to federal climate experts, is that the stubborn ridge of high-pressure air that consistently formed off the coast in recent years, blocking storms from making shore, won’t be nearly as prevalent.

The probable El Niño, which forms when the jet stream reacts with warm ocean surface waters, will likely push enough moisture across the high sea to keep the ridge from settling in, Halpert said.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

California Drought Prompting Extraordinary Measures To Protect Salmon

State and federal wildlife officials this month are preparing extraordinary measures to protect Chinook salmon returning to spawn in California’s drought-depleted rivers.

Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon are making their way upstream from the Pacific Ocean to begin their annual spawning ritual. These fish, primarily produced in hatcheries, make up the most abundant salmon run in California and are the primary catch for an ocean fishery that sustains thousand of jobs.

But the species has had wild population swings over the past decade because of droughts, poor ocean conditions and loss of habitat. Officials are hoping to avoid another wild swing by taking action to help this year’s run, including some measures that have never been tried in California.

At the American River Hatchery near Sacramento, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is installing water chillers at a cost of nearly $1 million to ensure water coursing through the hatchery doesn’t become lethally warm for salmon and other species hatched and raised there. The chillers, essentially giant refrigeration units, are in place at a few hatcheries around the state but had never before been used on the American River.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Boating, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Agency Seeks $9.7M From State To Improve Local Water Supplies

Hoping to reduce the Sacramento region’s dependence on Folsom Lake for water, local officials seek $9.7 million in state funds for 17 projects.

Officials with the Regional Water Authoritysaid the money, which could come by the end of October, would pay for groundwater-supply projects that would lessen the reliance on Folsom in dry years.

“Folsom is our biggest risk when it comes to water supply, because it serves statewide water supply and environmental needs in addition to our own,” John Woodling, the authority’s executive director, said in a news release.

The projects include upgrading or installing 13 wells, building four pump stations for lifting water to higher elevations and increasing access to water from the Sacramento and American rivers even when they’re running particularly low.

More at BizJournals.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, History

Johnny Cash Trail And Overcrossing Opens Oct. 4

Dedication and ribbon cutting ceremonies for Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail and Bike/

Pedestrian Overcrossing are set for Saturday morning at the intersection of Folsom Lake Crossing Road and East Natoma Street .

Roseanne Cash will attend the ceremonies for the project that honors the memory of her father, said Sue Ryan, City of Folsom public information officer. The public is invited to view exhibits and enjoy entertainment from 9 a.m.-noon. The ribbon cutting ceremony will begin at 10 a.m.

Organizers encourage guests to walk or cycle to the event, because of a limited on-street parking for vehicles.

The $3.8 million overcrossing, which spans busy Folsom Lake Crossing Road, is designed to echo the look of Folsom Prison’s East Gate guard towers, Ryan said. Cash made the prison famous with his big hit, Folsom Prison Blues, which he performed at the prison in 1968.

“People around the world know Folsom because of that very famous song,” says Mayor Kerri Howell. “This very distinctive overcrossing will serve as an iconic and symbolic feature of Folsom history and will be a unique gateway for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.”

The 2.5 mile Johnny Cash Trail will eventually extend from the Historic Truss Bridge to Green Valley Road , traversing prison property and linking El Dorado and Placer counties to Folsom’s Historic District and the American River Parkway , Ryan said.

Exhibits at the event will showcase plans for the Johnny Cash Trail Art Experience. The Folsom City Council recently approved artists’ concepts for the project, and development of a fund raising campaign.

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, safety, Water, Wildlife

American River Parkway Advocates Bristle At Potential Expansion Of Aftershock Festival

Concert promoter Danny Hayes sees Discovery Park as an ideal venue for his Aftershock heavy metal rock festival. Nearly 38,000 fans attended the two-day event on the American River earlier this month, prompting Hayes to talk about adding a third day and raising the daily attendance cap.

“We’re definitely coming back,” said Hayes, CEO of Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents. “The numbers prove there is a market there.”

Bill Davis doesn’t share his enthusiasm. The Sacramento resident argues that large, for-profit events such as Aftershock are inappropriate for the American River Parkway, a 29-mile ribbon of open space that starts in Discovery Park and stretches east to Folsom.

Davis is a board member of Save the American River Association, which last year sued the county to stop it from approving foot races, food truck festivals, concerts and other activities that the group contends are harming the ecologically sensitive riparian forest. Formed in 1961, SARA helped establish the American River Parkway, a recreational centerpiece of the Sacramento region. “Our concern is the impact on the park’s resources and wildlife,” Davis said.

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen also has concerns. Hansen lives in Alkali Flat, a mile from Discovery Park, and heard the festival’s heavy metal music loudly and clearly on both nights.

“It’s a difficult balancing act, between large events and use of the parkway,” Hansen said. “Not every venue is appropriate for every event.”

Sacramento County is responsible for maintaining and managing the parkway, which is both a wildlife corridor and a place where about 5 million people come to play every year. County officials say the parkway is a public resource and its use should be available to any event that complies with the guidelines in a county parkway plan.

In 2014, the county expects to issue permits for 71 events on the parkway, including a Girl Scout camp, 5K runs and concerts. That’s an increase from 2012 and 2013, when there were 66 events permitted each year.

Aftershock is the latest flashpoint. Attendance has risen sharply since the festival drew 12,800 its first year in the city in 2012. In 2013, 30,000 people attended the two-day event. The growing popularity has prompted Danny Wimmer Presents to talk about expansion.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Bike Trail, Boating, Events, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Great American River Clean Up Is This Saturday

This Saturday, September 20, offers opportunities to help the community as well as have fun.
During the hours of 9 am to noon the annual Great American River Clean Up will be held. To volunteer and enjoy the outdoors while helping to keep the American River Parkway clean; details and more information can be obtained at the American River Parkway Foundation website.

Bike Trail, Fire, safety, Water, Wildlife

Fires Plague American River Parkway This Summer

There are sections of the American River Parkway that look like another planet.

Stephen Green was standing in front of one of those places on Friday. The ground was gray and powdery. Charred logs lay splintered on the ground. What was left of a small tree stood by itself among the emptiness.

Was this the fire that burned 30 acres in early August? Or was it the big one on the Fourth of July that nearly messed up a fireworks show atCal Expo and delayed a Sacramento Republic FC soccer match? It could have been the blaze that shut down the Cap City Freeway during the commute one evening in July.

One more question: Who can we blame for this?

“People have to respect this resource,” Green said. “And I don’t think a lot of them do.”

Green has lived in a home that backs up to the parkway for 34 years. He’s president of the Save the American River Association and is heavily invested in what happens here.

So is everyone in this city. By some estimates, the parkway gets 8 million visitors a year. You won’t find a natural resource this big running through the middle of many American cities.

There are fires on the parkway every summer. It’s just that there have been a lot more this year, more than anyone can remember. City firefighters have battled a half-dozen or so blazes already this year that they would consider major. The one on the Fourth of July destroyed 160 acres.

More at SacBee.com >>>