Photo taken March 22, 2025, by Juliet Malik.
Proposed Manton solar farm
CNPS recently learned of a plan to clear a 25-acre blue oak–gray pine woodland in the Battle Creek watershed on Battle Creek Bottom Road near Wilson Hill Road in Manton, California, to install a solar farm. Almost all of the brush has already been masticated; blue oaks, black oaks, and scattered gray pines remain. Looking into the fenced and posted parcel from the roadway, almost all the many blue oaks appear healthy, and a few were over 24 inches in diameter at breast height. When she first learned of this proposed solar farm, Marily Woodhouse, of Battle Creek Alliance, contacted noted botanist Julie Kierstead. Both wrote letters commenting on the inadequacies of the biological surveys, which listed two manzanitas that do not grow anywhere near the area. This project is still in the scoping stage and must go through CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) processes and a Planning Commission hearing. Our Chapter will comment when the project is open for review. It is important to consider the tradeoff: could the net electricity produced in a solar farm on this site ever justify removing the carbon sequestering of this dense woodland?
Photo taken by Marily Woodhouse on April 26, 2025.
Proposed 1,000-acre Millville Plains solar farm
State CNPS has learned of plans to put in a 1,000-acre solar farm on Millville Plains in the southern section just east of Millville Plains Road, Redding, which would entail a 154 MW system with 120 MW lithium iron phosphate battery storage, to be connected to high-voltage Western Area Power Administration powerlines. Brendan Wilce, State CNPS Conservation Program Coordinator, provided comments on this project during the early scoping review phase, emphasizing the need for a thorough biological survey to identify rare plants and, if found, the need for proper mitigation. This project will eventually be released for public comment.
New Redding Tree Ordinance
The Redding Planning Department finished a new draft Tree Ordinance early this year and will be presenting it to the Planning Commission as soon as the City Attorney’s office has reviewed it. It has been at the City Attorney’s office for three months already. KRCR-TV reporter Devin Herenda produced a story on this last week for which I was interviewed. It is available on the KRCR-TV website: City of Redding staff draft new tree ordinance proposal, awaiting approval. Hopefully a Planning Commission hearing can be held by June at the latest. Retired Planner Kent Manuel updated the ordinance, which will require mitigation for oak tree removal. The ball is now in City Attorney Christian Curtis’ court; the ordinance is not public until his office has approved it. Hopefully he will not weaken it like he did the City’s new General Plan. ~David Ledger, Conservation Chair