Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation adding 31 miles of Cache Creek to the California Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The Governor signed the legislation along with several other environmental bills, noting that, “Protecting our environment and preserving California’s natural beauty for future generations is a top priority for my administration.”

Cache Creek is the 16th river protected by the state system since it was established in 1972. Wild & Scenic designation prohibits any state approval, permits, or funding for new dams and diversions. In addition, state agencies are obligated to protect the free flowing nature and extraordinary values of state designated rivers.

The key to the bill’s success was tremendous public support. The bill was endorsed by the Lake and Yolo County Boards of Supervisors, the cities of West Sacramento and Davis, the Woodland Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Times, the Woodland Daily Democrat (the local newspaper), numerous local businesses, dozens of scientists and university professors, and a long list of conservation and recreation organizations.

Cache Creek is one of the most popular recreational streams near Sacramento and the Bay Area. It offers whitewater boating, camping, picnicking, and fishing. A series of Yolo County parks line the lower portion of the designated segment while the upper segment flows through land managed by the Bureau of Land Management which are proposed for wilderness designation in the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act. This legislation (H.R. 233 / S.128) is currently pending in Congress and is sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). The rich habitat along the creek supports some of the largest populations of bald eagle and tule elk in the state, along with more than 150 species of songbirds.

For More Information

• Dan Smuts, The Wilderness Society, 415-561-6641