Gateway to the American River
Fall on the river under continuing low flow conditions
Sutter’s Landing Park is a natural treasure in the heart of Sacramento. It serves as a historic gateway to the 31.5-mile American River Parkway, which enjoys more than 8 million visitor days per year—more than Yosemite National Park! Friends of Sutter's Landing Park (FOSL) has created a vision offers a unique opportunity to enhance the quality of life of residents today and for future generations. The park could become a legacy project for the City of Sacramento, enriching the livability of our city and making it a destination for families, nature-lovers, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
Sutter’s Landing could be a nature park in the middle of the central city, providing habitat for wildlife, as well as great access to trails along the American River for people. There exists an opportunity to add to the current park by adding to and widening the corridor along the river that supports wildlife, by expanding access for people to enjoy this resource through additional nature trails, and by helping inspire children and their families through increasing opportunities to learn about science, nature, and the history of this important site.
Please consider joining FOSL to make this happen!
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FORB/FOSL: Trash cleanup this holiday weekend
Friends of Sutter's Landing Park will be at Sutter's Landing Park on July 3rd and July 4th 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We will have a canopy and table with trashbags, gloves, etc., asking people to please Pack Out what you Pack In!
The trash at Sutter's Landing Park gets bad along the river, especially at the holidays.
The event is okayed by the City Parks Department, and we will follow the Covid 19 restrictions. Masks, gloves, and social distancing to the extent possible will be required. Be aware that covid cases are on the rise in Sacramento—please use your best judgement and do not come out if you are immune compromised, especially at risk for the disease, or share a space with someone who is vulnerable. We want to keep everyone healthy, even as we care for the river.
Please volunteer for a shift (2 to 3 persons per shift)
RSVP to Betsy Weiland at flweiland@yahoo.com to volunteer
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Good News:
Friends of Sutter’s Landing (FOSL) was formed to advocate for our neighborhood stretch of the American River. FOSL recently obtained its 501(c)(3) non-profit status and is ready for business. We provide support and resources for ongoing environmental education work done by Friends of the River Banks. We’ve also hosted work parties to remove invasive plants. What else should we do to make Sutter’s Landing a fabulous native ecosystem? Participate in a FOSL meeting and help us protect this resource and plan for the future. The next meeting will be scheduled with Zoom, contact Sean for details.
💥Friends of the River Banks, or FORB, recently hosted a special online event "Midtown Sacramento Coyotes with Guy Galante". Guy has been studying coyotes in the area for many years and is currently involved in education and monitoring activities with a young family of coyotes in Midtown. Those who missed this very popular event can follow the link above to a video recording as well as other information on this subject.
Check out this Video by George Nyberg! "Sutter's Landing Park Gateway to the American River". Truly a part of Sacramento's heart and soul. 9/19/18
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IMPORTANT NEWS!
💥Hurray! As of 2020, Friend's of Sutter's Landing Park is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the State of California. Donations can be made to support FOSL and will also directly benefit Friends of the River Banks (FORB) events and other activities. Donations will help FOSL to work more closely with the Lower American River Conservancy and other organizations and agencies to preserve and restore Sutter's Landing Park and the Lower American River Parkway. Donations should be made out to "Friends of Sutter's Landing Park" and mailed to Friends of Sutter's Landing Park, P.O. Box 162677, Sacramento, Ca 95816.
💥Support Expanding Sutter's Landing Park
The Lower American River Conservancy Advisory Committee met in 2019 to discuss priorities for funding projects.
This was a key meeting as the Advisory Committee recommends which projects should be funded by WCB under this program. The City of Sacramento applied for Prop 68 funds to expand and enhance Sutter's Landing Park along the American River Parkway through the Lower American River Conservancy.
Based on the competitive scoring from the review committee, WCB staff recommended that $2 million of the funds be allocated to the Sutter’s Landing Park acquisition projects and that $176,000 be allocated for improvements to Camp Pollock. Here’s a link to the Advisory Committee meeting: nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=164926&inline. Several of these projects have been funded and are moving forward with more proposals possible in the 2020 grant cycle.
Continue to support these important proposals as they go through the Conservancy grant selection process in 2020.
AB 1716 approved creating a new state conservancy for the Lower American River Parkway. The governor signed Assembly Bill 1716, the bill to create a state conservancy program for the Lower American River Parkway, on September 16, 2016. The Lower American River Conservancy Program (LARC) is now in place under the state Wildlife Conservation Board. The governor's recent budgets have provided several million dollars in funding for the LARC and with the passage of Prop 68 this year an additional $10 million in funding for projects is now available. The approved legislation created an advisory committee with representation by various state and local agencies as well as key nonprofit organizations. The committee meets regularly and will soon make recommendations on proposed projects. FOSL's vision for Sutter's Landing Park as Sacramento's gateway to the American River Parkway can become reality through the LARC process. Additional funding could become available later this year if Prop 3 passes in the general election.
Sacramento County is now seeking a $500,000 grant from WCB to finally develop the Natural Resource Management Plan for the American River Parkway which will be a critical tool in setting priorities for protecting and restoring wildlife habitat and other natural resources primarily through the Lower American River Conservancy Program. Public participation in the NRMP and overall LARC are critical. Also note that the approved legislation for the new conservancy requires at least 20% of approved funds target disadvantaged communities along the American River Parkway providing an important means of providing parklands, open space and recreation for these communities.
Other News from 2019:
Work party at 9 am; climate change at 10
In addition to Friends of the River Banks discussion on climate change August 10th, participants had an opportunity to help keep Sutter’s Landing healthy by removing star thistle. Star thistle is an invasive plant that doesn’t belong in our river ecosystem. It grows quickly in disturbed areas and can take over, excluding native species and changing the ecosystem. We need to remove the star thistle before it goes to seed.
Work on star thistle starts at 9 am, then take a break at 10 am for our discussion on climate change and why habitat restoration is even more important in a changing climate. Those who want to remain after the discussion can go back to star thistle removal.
If you want to help with star thistle removal, please wear long pants and sleeves—star thistle is prickly. Bring leather gloves, a water bottle (we’ll have jugs to refill them), shovels and hoes. Happily, the weather is supposed to be relatively cool tomorrow.
All volunteers must sign a waiver. Copies will be available at the event.
Climate Change on the River
Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time. Join Friends of the River Banks and Friends of Sutter's Landing Park on Saturday, August 10, 2019 @10 am, to talk about how a changing climate will impact our neighborhood stretch of the American River, the species that live there, the larger Sacramento area, and all we hold dear. We’ll also talk about what we can do to address the climate crisis. While this gathering is mostly geared toward adults, children are welcome to join us for the walk and to remind us how important it is to ensure a safe climate for future generations.
Gather at the very end of 28th Street at the Sutter’s Landing parking lot. Bring hats, water, sun block, and binoculars. Please leave your dogs at home and walk, bike, or carpool if possible to keep our collective carbon footprint low.
Recent local community radio program on Sutter's Landing Park.
Cully Park Opens! In June 2018 an exciting example of how a city and community can come together to convert a former landfill into a new 25 acre park for everyone opened in Portland's most diverse and park deprived neighborhood. What is underway in the city of Portland Oregon is also an excellent example of what can be done here too.
From Dumps to Destinations, Converting landfills to parks. "New parks can be fashioned out of old garbage dumps. It's not as bad as it sounds". An excerpt from the recently released book published by Island Press called Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities. This article looks at some cities who have created parkland from capped landfills and provides considerable information about how and why completing the conversion of the former landfill at Sutter's Landing Park to a true regional park is an excellent idea.
How a Former Phoenix Landfill Became Home for Displaced Burrowing Owls
The last known burrowing owl was seen at Sutter's Landing Park in 2007 in an area that has been altered by heavy equipment and the species seems to be on the decline in many locations. There is some habitat remaining at SLP and more could be restored as was the case with a former landfill in Phoenix. This type of effort is a priority for Friends of Sutter's Landing Park, Friends of the River Banks and other local groups. The recent approval of AB 1716 creating a new state conservancy for the Lower American River Parkway should be an effective tool for this type of effort.
A first cut draft map looking at American River Parkway vegetation, habitats, connectivity and surrounding 2050 urban growth projections. The intent is to create a useful tool to help with the development of a Natural Resource Management Plan for the Parkway while learning more about the capabilities of Data Basin, a free mapping and analytical tool. A PDF file of this draft map is also available.
Lower American River in Parkway Plan
