"The River Stops Here: How One Man's Battle to Save His Valley Changed the Fate of California," by Ted Simon (Random House, 1994), tells the story of a courageous and successful effort in the late 1960s by Richard Wilson, now director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), to stop Dos Rios dam, which would have diverted the upper Eel River south and flooded Round Valley in the Mendocino Coast Range. The dam, which was authorized after a 1964 flood on North Coast rivers, eventually would have delivered water from the northern rivers into the State Water Project for delivery to Southern California.
Wilson, then a Round Valley rancher and timberland owner, led a campaign to block the dam and save the valley. He took on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Metropolitan Water District, and a host of powerful business and political interests. After his victory, Wilson entered environmental policymaking as president of the Planning and Conservation League, and served as a California Coastal Commissioner and member of the state Board of Forestry. Gov. Pete Wilson, who is no relation, appointed Richard Wilson to head the CDF in 1991. Richard Wilson continues his interest in sustainable economic development that compliments the environment and meets the needs of the people of California. He is a member of the California Executive Council on Biological Diversity.
"How to Save A River," by David M. Bolling for River Network (Island Press, 1994), is a handbook for citizen action in launching effective river protection campaigns. The author, an award-winning journalist and co-founder and president of Friends of the Russian River and former executive director of Friends of the River, unfolds his knowledge and experience gained from years of river protection campaigns across the United States. Bolling tells how to organize and plan a campaign, cultivate public support, build coalitions with other groups, put a plan into action, cultivate media and other powerful allies, and develop credible alternatives to damaging projects. The book gives numerous examples of successful river protection campaigns that prove ordinary citizens can effect change when they know how to organize themselves. River Network, founded in 1988 as a national nonprofit organization to help people save rivers, believes that America needs a broadly based citizen movement to protect rivers and their water sheds.
"Reclaiming the Last Wild Places; A New Agenda for Biodiversity," by Roger L. DiSilvestro (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993), describes consequences to humans of diminished wildlands and biodiversity. DiSilvestro traces the history of conservation and federal land management in America from the 19th century to the present, including portraits of famous conservationists such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir. He highlights misconceptions, tactical errors, and "fatal" compromises that have resulted in disappearing animal species. As a remedy, DiSilvestro proposes an "applied biodiversity" approach that concentrates on protecting ecosystems rather than individual species, thereby avoiding the need for costly "crisis management" of species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
He would pursue the goal from three angles: legislation, education, and economics. DiSilvestro proposes that Congress make biodiversity protection a national goal, enact national biodiversity policy laws, and create a new land-protection agency solely focused on protecting natural biodiversity. He also believes that conservationists should work with educators to establish a national science curriculum, and seek ways of making wildlands protection remunerative to people living near the lands.
Says DiSilvestro, "Those of us dedicated to protecting biodiversity need to join our demands for wildlands protection with a demand for economic protection of people displaced by environmental regulation. The loss of even one job is a serious matter to the individual who loses it."
"The Nature of California," by James Kavanagh (Waterford Press, 1994), is a handy, colorful paperback field guide to the diversity of California's plants, animals, and natural attractions for people of all ages. This pocket reference, written in a simple, direct, and easily readable style, features three sections. The introduction reviews the co-evolution of plants and animals and the major differences between them. The main section lists 325 common animal and plant species fishes, amphibians, rep tiles, birds, mammals, seashore life, trees and shrubs, and flowering plants each with color picture, common name (gray fox, mourning dove, giant green anemone, fireweed), Latinized scientific name, size, description, habitat, and comments about characteristics or lifestyle. The third section contains color maps and descriptions of bioregions, and natural attractions, including parks, wildlife areas, museums, sanctuaries, a glossary, species checklist, and lists of books for further reference. Among entities assisting in research for the guide are the California Department of Fish and Game, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, all of which are members of the California Executive Council on Biological Diversity.
Video - GIS: Geographic Information Systems, Improving Local Decision -making. Commissioned by California Executive Council on Biological Diversity. Video describes how GIS assists local governments in land use planning decisions. The technology provides for electronic layering of information obtained from satellite images. GIS supplies greater amounts of data to be obtained and processed faster than is possible with aerial photos and paper maps. Contact: Joanne Cemo, 916-227 2677; joanne_cemo@fire.cdf.ca.gov; fax, 916-227 -2672. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 1920 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Video - Plumas County: A Vision in the Sierra. Produced by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Reviews 9-year effort to re store streams and prevent erosion through the Feather River Coordinated Resource Management group, involving 17 local, state, federal, public, and private entities. 40 minutes. Available from Plumas Corporation, P.O. Box 3880, Quincy, CA, 95971. Telephone 916-283-3739. Pay for postage.
Video - The Local Forest: A Solution to the Timber Wars. Reviews efforts of the Quincy Library Group to develop an ecologically and economically sound solution to resource issues on the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests. 17 minutes. Produced by Earth Vision Institute. Available from UC Cooperative Extension, 208 Fairgrounds Rd., Quincy, CA, 95971. 916-283-6270. Pay for postage.