San Francisco Estuary Partnership

Yesterday I was reading through the latest issue of the SFEP newsletter and I happened to spy an interesting article about how the Army Core of Engineers feels about trees on levees. Turns out they’re against them, and asking every city in the nation to rip out trees that are within 15 feet of the waterway.

The original ordinance was announced back in June of 2009 along with a requirement to ‘fill in animal burrows’ and remove woody debris. (I bet you can guess why this article got my attention.) The requirement got a lot of pushback from environmental groups. So much so that the USACE released its own “don’t believe the lies you heard” web page. Which outlines the outlandish things they’ve been accused of and justifies them without ever denying them in any way whatsoever. Here’s a favorite:

Error: The Corps ordered thousands of trees chopped down.

Fact: The Corps notifies levee project sponsors of operation and maintenance deficiencies, which may include vegetation, animal burrows, encroachments, and closure structures. These deficiencies must be corrected to remain eligible in this voluntary program for federal rehabilitation and repair assistance following a flood.

Translation: You only need to remove all nesting locations for those damned birds and close the stinkin’ rabbit holes if you want our money! If you don’t want it we can take it to some other city that deserves it more. The rule is that if you fail to do all these ridiculous things we, (like that fire department in Tennessee), aren’t responsible for you! If we come out to a flood situation and see one single tree branch floating by we’re not going to pay you a dime or lift a shovel. Got that? Don’t come crying to us if your cities wash all the way out to sea, this job is really hard and besides KATRINA WASN”T OUR FAULT! WAHHHHHH!!!

This was my favorite under ‘key points’

Proper operation and maintenance (O&M) of levee systems is a critical component of public safety and the consequences of O&M issues, such as vegetation on levees, floodwalls or dams, go beyond a breach or failure. While vegetation and other encroachments can harm the structural integrity of the infrastructure, it can also obscure visibility for visual inspections, impede access for maintenance and inspection, and/or hinder emergency flood fighting operations.

Did you get that? All those darn trees block our view when we come out once a decade to check how things are working. It’s really hard to see all the reasons why we aren’t responsible and how your community is really at fault. Sometimes we have to move branches and they’re really scratchy, we get mosquito bites and the mud is slippery. Back off people. All these boxes won’t check themselves!!!!!!

Ahh, dear sweet, overworked ACE. (Isn’t that cool that your initials are ACE? Like a handsome P.I. or something. I know you like initials) I know you’ve had a hard, hard time of late, people were awfully mean about the levees in that Gulf Coast town, and you had those awkward whistleblowers and documentaries made about you. It’s been a nightmare! Here, have a beer. Sit in the good chair. Put your feet up. Better? I want to tell you a little secret about trees that might make you feel differently.

You see, trees have a part you can see and another part you can’t see. (Stop me if I’m going to fast for you.) The part you can’t see is under the ground. Well it turns out they’re about equal in size. Imagine that! All those forks and branches are mirrored under the soil. They’re called ROOTS and there’s millions of them.

I understand you’re worried about your levees. Look at all those things under there! And its not just the trees! The grasses and blackberries and tulles and thistle…All those matted roots…I can understand why you’re stressed….but ACE. Roots are our friends! More importantly, roots are YOUR FRIENDS. Think of them as if they were holding their little hands under the soil. They’re making a net to support the dirt. To support YOUR LEVEES. They keep it altogether with their interlocking connections.

See, the roots are saving you hours and hours and hours of work – (paper and field). They are saving you angry documentaries when the levees collapse. They are on your team ACE. They are your FRIENDS.

In the interest of time I won’t post again how your own research proves that willows along streams help protect the levees, increase flow and reduce erosion, but go look here if you’re interested. I won’t waste time repeating again how woody debris is essential for salmon and trout. What would be the point? I will just assume that in the history of the world there has never been a government employee that doesn’t want his or her jobs to be easier. Who could blame you? Holding back water is hard work. Which is why I am here to remind you that Roots can help make that happen.

I suspect that this issue is coming to the forefront in the next few days as the regional ACE-representative has given Ca until the end of the month to make its case for riparian benefits. Stay tuned.

Guest Blogger: Lisa Owens Viani of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership.

As sea level rises, and the climate changes, how will the San Francisco Bay Estuary and its wetlands, watersheds, and wildlife—including the ever-so-clever, charismatic Martinez beavers—respond? Sea—and Bay and Delta—levels—are predicted to rise as much as four and a half feet by the year 2100. One way of responding to this threat is to make our watersheds more resilient, or better able to withstand change. To do that, we need less hardscape—concrete and pavement—and more green, as in trees, shrubs, reeds, and rushes.

We need to slow, spread, and sink our stormwater runoff (to quote my friend Brock Dolman, of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center) instead of shooting it straight into the Estuary; by slowing, spreading, and sinking all of that water, we replenish groundwater, reduce flashy runoff and erosion, filter pollutants, and create more resilient, more flexible watersheds. We can daylight creeks (dig up and bring those in pipes back above ground), revegetate the ones in concrete channels, open up and restore creek mouths where they enter the Bay in pipes, restore more wetlands—nature’s “sponges” and buffers against sea level rise—and create many more “green stormwater” projects. Beavers, too, could play a big part in a more resilient landscape, helping to recharge groundwater, slow flashy flood flows and stream bank erosion, and restore habitat for our threatened salmonids.

On September 29-October 1, 2009, the Estuary Partnership will examine some of these questions—and many more issues affecting the Estuary—during its 9^th biennial State of the Estuary conference, entitled “Our Actions/Our Estuary.” In addition to keynote speakers from Stanford University, NOAA, and the Pacific Institute who will address climate change, other sessions at the conference will focus specifically on the status of the fish, birds, and other wildlife that use the Estuary, and the status of their habitat. On the second day, watershed restoration activities being promoted by cities surrounding the Bay will be highlighted. Featured cities include San Mateo, Emeryville, Hercules, and San Francisco. Guest speaker Tom Liptan, from Portland, will describe his city’s groundbreaking green stormwater projects, and the Ella Baker Center’s Jakada Imani will talk about how we can put people back to work again around the Bay through green jobs. Time Magazine’s Michael Grunwald gives the keynote address that day, sharing lessons learned in the Everglades.

On the third day, scientists and others will address new contaminants of concern in the Bay, how to retrofit our older urban and suburban landscapes in order to tackle water and air quality concerns, and how to deal with the trash epidemic in the Estuary and Pacific Ocean. We’ll learn about the latest efforts to restore subtidal (beneath the water) habitat in the Bay, and from a variety of environmental groups about how they are engaging local communities and students in their watersheds. Click here for the entire program or to register.