In late 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officially released its upcoming Project “Contract 3B” environmental analysis for public comment. Project 3B is slated to bulldoze over 600 trees in an especially pristine stretch of the American River Parkway, as this new plan pushes extremely destructive methods (claimed to be needed for “bank erosion potential”) more miles further upstream beyond similar work projects that have already been occurring near Sacramento State University. Those prior projects bulldozed nearly all trees in the work zones, and left barren dirt banks.
Contract 3B is on the Central Valley Flood Protection Board's official discussion agenda for the May 23rd meeting!
This will be the last opportunity for detailed, technical discussion before the Board meets to vote on the project. Your attendance is vital!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
American River Trees (ART) and other experts have been busy reviewing over 8,000 pages of the final documents.
So far, it appears the Army Corps did not make significant changes to their proposal to reduce their impact to the Parkway.
ART believes there are California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) violations as well as Wild and Scenic River Actviolations.
The project decision-makers, Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB), have scheduled a Board meeting on Friday, May 23rd for technical discussion regarding the project. The Army Corps will be presenting and the public can offer comment.
At the meeting, ART will present to the Board our concerns about the final documents, CEQA non-compliance, and present feasible, less destructive alternative designs and proposals for the project.
Your attendance is vital to show the Board that the community does not approve of the project as currently proposed! See below flyer and our Event webpage for meeting details.
This will be the last opportunity for detailed, technical discussion before the Board meets to vote on the project.
Please note: this agenda item, and the amount of time you will want to stay, is expected to be longer than previous ‘Stand Up’ efforts. We anticipate the item to conclude by noon at the latest. However, the exact timing and duration are subject to the Board’s discretion.
