Shasta Snow-Wreath
Now that the petition to list the Shasta snow-wreath (Neviusia cliftonii) as endangered has been accepted by the California Fish and Game Commission, it will undergo a one-year review. Thank you to all who sent in letters of support, including Shasta Chapter CNPS, state CNPS, Shasta Environmental Alliance, California Wilderness Coalition, and Wintu Audubon Society. An excellent letter and good synopsis of the plant, written by Julie Kierstead, can be found here.
Shasta Lake City Tree Conservation Ordinance
The City of Shasta Lake’s revised Tree Conservation Ordinance will go the Planning Commission on Thursday, June 4, at 6 PM. The City’s original tree ordinance was enacted about 12 years ago, in response to a mass removal of trees at its Deer Creek subdivision. The revised ordinance will remove some problematic elements in the current ordinance and will hopefully result in a plan that helps preserve the City’s native oak trees. The final-draft ordinance had not been released as of May 27; however, it is expected to include provisions for mitigation fees, similar to those of many California cities. Mitigation fees encourage developers to plan their projects to save as many trees as possible to reduce their costs.
Illegal Tree Removal near McConnell Trails?
A Shasta Chapter CNPS member made a complaint to Shasta Environmental Alliance about the removal of about 20 trees on a private parcel of land near the parking lot for the McConnell Foundation Trails on Tidmore Lane. In response to the complaint, Redding Planning Department’s Lily Toy noted that the City has no permits on file for a tree removal permit for the parcel in question, and assigned one of her staff to investigate. At this date, we have not received the results of that investigation to know whether or not there was a violation of the tree ordinance.
Shasta Environmental Alliance Tree Committee
Shasta Environmental Alliance has formed a Tree Committee to create a list of recommended street trees for the City of Redding Parks and Recreation Department. The committee is composed of arborists Rico Montenegro and John Alderson; landscape architects Kirkwood Hale and Mike Lander; Shasta Chapter CNPS members Doug Mandel, Susan Gallaugher, and David Ledger; Shasta College instructor Leimone Waite; and tree health specialist and entomologist Don Owen. We hope to create other lists of trees suitable for parking lots and subdivisions. Most trees recommended will be horticultural species; however, they will be species that are adaptable to Redding’s heat and droughts. -David Ledger