9.9 FINDINGS
Agricultural Resources
* Between 1987 and 1992 the number of farms and acres of farmland in
Sutter County decreased, while the total value of farm products increased.
However, the amount of developed land remains below 4% of the total County
land area.
* Prime agricultural lands and lands of statewide significance total 275,998
acres, or roughly 71% of the total area of Sutter County.
* The County's agriculturally related economic base could be jeopardized
by the conversion of agricultural land to urban uses and through incremental
divisions of agricultural land for rural residential uses unless appropriate
measures are taken.
* Urbanization often results in conflicts between agricultural and non-agricultural
land uses.
Forest Resources
* Sutter County contains very limited forested area that provides vital
wildlife habitat in an otherwise intensively farmed county.
Mineral Resources
* According to the California Division of Mines and Geology, the County
does not contain any significant or substantial deposits of mineral resources.
Natural Gas Resources
* As of November 1995, Sutter County produces approximately five percent
of all the natural gas produced in California from 252 wells in 19 gas
fields.
Water Resources
* Water is a vital component of the agricultural industry for Sutter
County.
* Several areas of the County have experienced pumping depressions of groundwater,
some as a result of groundwater pumping in adjacent counties.
* Surface water supplies are critical to the preservation of Sutter County's
agricultural industry as well as the conservation of groundwater resources.
* Preservation of local water rights is crucial to the long-term viability
of both urban and agricultural uses in Sutter County.
Biological Resources
* Sutter County contains a variety of vegetation types that provide
valuable habitat for many wildlife species.
* Agricultural land uses provide limited but important habitat and forage
opportunities for selected wildlife species.
* The Sacramento and Feather Rivers provide critical habitat for a number
of sensitive and State and Federally listed species.
* The Butte Sink is one of the largest riparian wetland remaining in California.
* The Sutter Buttes comprise a unique biological resource that contains
a variety of diverse habitats of high sensitivity.
* The portion of the Feather River, north of its confluence with the Bear
River, supports the largest remaining contiguous example of mixed-riparian
forest in the Central Valley.
* Public improvement projects, including public landscapes, parks and other
public facilities offer opportunities for providing wildlife habitat.
Air Quality
* There are two sources of air quality problems in Sutter County: PM10
(inhaled particulate matter) and ozone.
* An overall increase in stationary and mobile emission sources will occur
in Sutter County in spite of new, more stringent and improving emission
control devices and retrofitting stationary emission sources.
* The direction and ultimate form of physical development in Sutter County
will affect air emissions.
* Future Federal and State air quality requirements could reduce land use
options for the County.
10.10 PERSONS CONSULTED
Ahart, Lowell, Botanist (Sutter Buttes). November 3, 1993, personal communication
Anderson, Walt, Biologist. Prescott College, AZ, November 2, 1993, personal communication
Corbin, Ken, Air Pollution Control Officer, Feather River Air Quality Management District, Yuba City, CA., January 27, 1994, telephone conversation
Heinrich, Ira, Director. Middle Mountain Foundation, November 2, 1993, personal communication
Horenstein, Julie, Plant Ecologist. California Department of Fish and Game, November 29, 1993, personal communication
Lagomarsino, Irma, Biologist, November 22, 1993, National Marine Fisheries Service, personal communication
Manolis, Tim. Sacramento Audubon Society, November 16, 1993, personal communication
Mensik, G., Biologist. USFWS, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, November 1, 1993, personal communication
Miller, Michael, Biologist. National Biological Survey, November 30, 1993, personal communication
Obadasian, David, North Sacramento Valley Air Quality Liaison. California Air Resources Board, January 28, 1994, personal communication
Pierce, Dale A., Acting Field Supervisor, USFWS, December 3, 1993, 1-1-94-TA-80, correspondence
Sanders, Susan, Wildlife Biologist, Consultant. November 18, 1993, personal communication
Shirhall, Terri. Feather River Air Quality Management District, Yuba City, California, telephone conversation
Sweigert, Gayle, Federal Air Quality Liaison. California Air Resources Board, January 28, 1994, personal communication
Whitmore, Dale, Biologist. California Department of Fish and Game, June 6, 1995 and November 3, 1993, personal communication
Young, Dave, Air Quality Analyst. Sacramento Area Council of Governments, January 28, 1994, personal communication
Yparraguirre, Dan. California Department of Fish and Game, November 22, 1993, personal communication
Zezulak, Dave, Biologist. California Department of Fish and Game, November 16, 1993, personal communication
9.11 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, W. The Sutter Buttes: A Naturalist's View. The Natural Selection: Prescott Valley, AZ, 1983.
Audubon Society. January 10, 1993, Peace Valley Christmas Bird Count, December 22, 1992.
Beak Consultants, Incorporated. 1992, Giant Garter Snake 1992 Field Survey Report, Unpublished report prepared for Sutter Bay Associates and North Natomas Landowner Association, Inc.
Beedy, E.C., S.D. Sanders, and D. Bloom. June, 1991, Breeding Status,
Distribution, and Habitat Associations of the Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius
tricolor) 1850-1989, Prepared for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Brode, J.M. and G.E. Hansen. January, 1992, Status and Future Management
of the Giant Garter Snake (Thamnophis gigas) within the Southern
American Basin, Sacramento and Sutter Counties, California, California
Department of Fish and Game, Inland Fisheries Division, Endangered Species
Project.
California Air Resources Board. 1991, Emission inventory 1991, Sacramento,
CA.
California Air Resources Board. 1993a, Annual air monitoring data summaries, Sacramento, CA.
California Air Resources Board. 1993b, Assessment and mitigation of
the impacts of transported pollutants on ozone concentrations in California,
Sacramento, CA.
California Department of Fish and Game. 1990, California's Wildlife, Volume
III, Mammals, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.
California Department of Fish and Game. 1991, Annual Report on the Status
of the California State Listed Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants.
California Department of Fish and Game. January, 1991, Feather River Wildlife
Area Management Plan.
California Department of Fish and Game. undated pamphlet, Birds of the
Gray Lodge Wildlife Management Area, California.
California Department of Fish and Game. undated pamphlet, Central Valley
Habitat Joint Venture, North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
California Department of Fish and Game. 1993, Printouts of Rarefind: California
Natural Diversity Data Base for Sutter County 7.5-minute quadrangles.
California Department of Fish and Game. 1979-1993, Mid-winter Population
Indices for Central California (Sacramento Valley, Butte Sink, Sutter National
Wildlife Area).
California Department of Fish and Game. 1990, California's Wildlife, Volume
III, Mammals, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.
California Native Plant Society (In Press). Inventory of Rare and Endangered
Vascular Plants of California (5th Edition).
California Waterfowl Association. 1991, An Evaluation of Waterfowl Production
in Agriculture Habitats of the Sacramento Valley, California Department
of Fish and Game, Sacramento, California.
Environmental Science Associates, Inc. September 25, 1992, Proposed Ash
Landfill DEIR, Prepared for Sutter County Planning Department.
Environmental Science Associates, Inc. September 26, 1991, Southwest Pease/Route
99 Residential Development Focused DEIR, Prepared for City of Yuba City.
Faber, Phyllis M. and Robert F. Holland. 1988, Common Riparian Plants of California, A Field Guide for the Layman, Pickleweed Press: Mill Valley, CA.
Grenfell, William E., Bruce M. Browning, and Walter E. Stienecker. 1980,
Food Habits of California Upland Game Birds, California Department of Fish
and Game, Sacramento, California.
Hansen, George E. 1988, Review of the Status of the Giant Garter Snake
(Thamnophis couchi gigas) and its Supporting Habitat During 1986-1987,
Draft Report, Prepared for California Department of Fish and Game.
Hausback, Brian P. and Tor H. Nilsen. 1991, Sutter Buttes Field Trip Guide
In: Sloan, Doris and David L. Wagner (eds.) Geologic Excursions
in Northern California: San Francisco to the Sierra Nevada, California
Division of Mines and Geology Special Publication 109.
Heitmeyer, Mickey E. 1989, Agriculture/Wildlife Enhancement in California:
The Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture, Transaction 54th North American
Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference.
Heitmeyer, Mickey E., Daniel P. Connelly, Roger L. Pederson. 1989, Waterfowl
Habitat Management in the Central, Imperial, and Coachella Valleys of California.
Herbold, Bruce, Alan D. Jassby, and Peter B. Moyle. March, 1992, San Francisco Estuary Project, Status and Trends Report on Aquatic Resources in the San Francisco Estuary.
Holland, R.F. October, 1986, Preliminary Description of the Terrestrial Natural Communities of California, Prepared for the California Department of Fish and Game.
Laymon, Steve A. 1980, Feeding and Nesting Behavior of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the Sacramento Valley, Report prepared for California Department of Fish and Game.
Mayer, K.E. and W.F. Laudenslayer, Jr. October, 1988, A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California.
Michael Brandman Associates. July 1992, Sutter Bay Village Specific Plan & Golf Course Residential DEIR.
Michael Brandman Associates. September, 1992, Sutter Bay Village Specific Plan & Golf Course Residential FEIR Responses to Comments.
Perry, John and Jane G. Perry. 1983, The Sierra Club Guide to the Natural Areas of California, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, California, 320 p.
Powell, R.D. 1980, Implementation issues under the Clean Air Act for
a size specific particulate matter standard, Pages 49-58 in Frederick,
E.R. (ed.), The technical basis for a size specific particulate standard,
Air Pollution Control Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Planning Center, The. April, 1992, South Sutter County General Plan Amendment.
Planning Center, The. July 31, 1991, South Sutter County General Plan Amendment DEIR and Technical Appendices.
Planning Center, The. November 22, 1991, South Sutter County General Plan Amendment FEIR Response to Comments.
Sacramento Audubon Society. 1989, Areas of Critical Concern and Proposals for their Protection, Sacramento Audubon Society, Sacramento, California, 72 p.
Sutter County Department of Agriculture. 1992, Sutter County Annual Crop Report.
Sutter County. 1983, General Plan County of Sutter.
Transportation Research Board. 1985, Highway capacity manual (Special Report 209), Washington, DC.
U.S. Department of Commerce. 1992 and 1987 Agricultural Census.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. October, 1993, Join Us in a Partnership for Wildlife's Wetlands, Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture, The North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
U.S.G.S. Open - File Report 93-292, September 1993, EPA's Map of Radon Zones.
Zeiner, D.C., W.F. Laudenslayer, Jr., and K.E. Mayer, eds. 1988, California's Wildlife, Volume I, Amphibians and Reptiles, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.
Zeiner, D.C., W.F. Laudenslayer, Jr., K.E. Mayer, and M. White, eds. 1990, California's Wildlife, Volume II, Birds, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.