Nevada County supervisors likely to oppose planned reservoir
Opposition to a proposed reservoir that would flood thousands of acres along the Bear River could come next from the Nevada County Board of Supervisors.
On Tuesday, members of the Bear Yuba Land Trust will ask supervisors to send a letter opposing the project to the South Sutter Water District.
The water district is studying the building of a lake 1,500-2,000 acres in size at the Garden Bar crossing, just upstream from the district's Camp Far West Reservoir.
County District 2 Supervisor Ed Scofield is expected to ask fellow supervisors to sign the land trust's letter.
"The area that would be flooded represents critical habitat for plants and wildlife," Scofield wrote in his recommendation to colleagues.
"It has played an important role in human history for 5,000 years, and remains home to some of the oldest pioneer families in Nevada County, many of whom continue to ranch on the land," Scofield's report said.
Supervisors' action on the matter will be followed Wednesday by a discussion about the proposed Garden Bar reservoir among directors of the Nevada Irrigation District.
They are expected to oppose the idea, but to discuss how the Nevada Irrigation District could help South Sutter meet the future water needs of its 167 customers, primarily rice farmers in southern Sutter and western Placer counties.
The Nevada Irrigation District sells South Sutter 10,000 acre-feet of water yearly, but sales are uncertain due to changes expected in the district's other water contracts.
A reservoir at Garden Bar would flood some of nearly 6,000 acres already placed in conservation easements on both sides of the river.
The easements protect blue oak woodland, which is unique to the Sierra Nevada foothills and areas around the San Francisco Bay Area, said Joe Byrne of the Bear Yuba Land Trust (formerly Nevada County Land Trust).
Placer County supervisors voted 5-0 to oppose the project on Nov. 8, after the county's Fish and Game Commission recommended against the project in October.
