Can conservation purchases end Hamilton City flood fears?
Chico Enterprise Record- 4/14/02
By Heather Hacking, staff writer

The Nature Conservancy is working to be a "good neighbor" to rural areas by creating restoration projects that could act as a buffer for high water and help make needed improvements, like those needed by Hamilton City's J Levee.

The J Levee runs between the river and the Glenn County community, keeping flood waters at bay. However, it's proving to be less and less able to handle the task.

Glenn County officials agreed the Nature Conservancy has been a good partner on trying to fix Hamilton City's flooding problem. But a majority of the board still gave mixed reviews on the effects of taking farmland out of production.

Sam Lawson, project director for the Sacramento River, said the Nature Conservancy has been one of the participants in the Hamilton City Work Group. That's a collaboration of several agencies working to find a permanent fix for the levee, a problem that has plagued Glenn County for 25 years.

The Army Corps of Engineers has not been able to come up with funding because federal rules require that for each dollar spent on flood control, one dollar of property must be protected by the project. The value of the land in Hamilton City isn't enough to justify the work that needs to be done, he said.

However, Lawson said if Hamilton City partners with the Nature Conservancy, the Corps of Engineers might be able to justify the project by figuring in environmental benefits, such as habitat restoration.

Environmental benefits are part of the Corps' requirements, Glenn County Supervisor Denny Bungarz said.

He said the Nature Conservancy has been a very good partner on the J Levee problem. One of the proposals for the Sunset Ranch on the east side of the river south of Highway 32 is to downgrade one of the existing levees there, which would relieve pressure on the J Levee across the river, Bungarz said.

Another problem is that for Corps projects, 50 percent is paid by the federal government, 25 percent by the state and 25 percent by local match.

No one knows what the total project costs will be, but there is little likelihood Hamilton City could afford the millions of dollars its share would be, Bungarz said.

Glenn County Supervisor Gary Freeman said the community of Hamilton City has raised about $75,000 for the levee over the past several years by holding an annual levee festival. But that money will go toward planning.

However, a solution might come from three possible purchases by the Nature Conservancy. The group is close to deals on two properties in possible locations where the J Levee might be relocated, Bungarz said.

These are the Westerman Ranch northeast of Hamilton City at the river, and part of the Vereschagin ranch east of the town. The conservancy is also close to a deal on what is called the Pederson property, which surrounds Irvine Finch Boat Launch at Highway 32.

If the Nature Conservancy donates one of the pieces of land it plans to buy, it could donate it to the levee project and this would count toward the local match in the Corps of Engineers funding package.

"I don't necessarily like to take farmland out of production," Freeman said, "but if it can protect residents from flooding," that's a nice trade-off.

Glenn County Supervisor Keith Hansen agreed the Nature Conservancy has been a positive player on the J Levee project.

But he said some in the community still don't like the idea of farmland being taken out of production.

"My real rub with it is they're really almost the real estate arm for Fish and Game," Hansen said, since the Nature Conservancy often buys land and then turns it over to public agencies.

He said it's frustrating to watch the conservancy spend money on maintenance of wildlife when money could be spent on other things, such as roads, bridges and water projects.

As land is taken out of agriculture, it hurts the local economy, supervisors said. Small rural stores are going out of business because fewer farmers stop to buy snacks and soda, Hansen said. He said places like Princeton are also having trouble as farm workers move away and there is less funding for public schools.

"A lot of little pieces accumulate along the way and the community economic picture is kind of bleak," Hansen said.

"They (the Nature Conservancy) have been a good player for Hamilton City people so far. Whether it will all work out in the end - we don't know," Hansen said. "We have to go forward with a positive attitude."

Glenn County Supervisor Forest Sprague also passed on "kudos in cooperation with Hamilton City" to the Nature Conservancy. Yet, Sprague is still critical of the conservancy for touting the purchase of "marginal land."

One of the selling points the Nature Conservancy uses for purchases is that they buy land that floods often and doesn't provide as high a yield for farmers.

He said he doesn't like the term "marginal land." People are still making a living off that land, he said.

"When it's idle and not productive, it's not a benefit to the community," Sprague said.

Sprague said he also disagrees with how some wildlife is managed. For example, one property owned by Fish and Game was turned into habitat and the levee was allowed to deteriorate, Sprague asserted. When the floods came in 1995, water damaged surrounding property where new orchards were planted, he said.

He said he thinks some of the "willing sellers" who sell land do so only because wildlife agencies have allowed the land to deteriorate and flood to the point that they have no other option other than selling.

Lawson said recent studies indicate land put into habitat can act as a buffer for farmland when floods occur, thus helping local farmers from losses due to flooding. The study gives an "opportunity to demonstrate we can have both a healthy ecosystem and healthy economy," Lawson said.

"The Nature Conservancy, Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Fish and Game are all working really hard with local communities to ensure that ecosystem restoration projects provide multiple benefits," Lawson said.

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