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November 7, 2022 \u2014 The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution proclaiming a local emergency related to tree mortality last week. The Board also agreed to prioritize one water project per district and hire a consultant to organize what it will take to carry out the projects.\n\nSupervisor John Haschak noted that trees are dying off at an alarming rate in all the county\u2019s ecosystems, due in large part to increased aridity and bark beetles. The bark beetles, which have long plagued fir trees, are now also making inroads in redwood and hardwood forests, which haven\u2019t been stressed by the infestation until recently. He summed up what he hoped to accomplish with the resolution.\n\n\u201cNot only do we need to replant trees, but we also need to create healthy forests,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the critical issues in combating this tree mortality, is that our forests are stressed, not only from the aridity, the drought, but also from overcrowding and some of those other issues. So we need to look at the holistic approach of how do we manage these forests, and how do we create healthy forests? So if we can get grant funding to do that and focus on those kinds of issues, that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to get.\u201d \n\nHaschak added that he expects the resolution will bring the county in line with neighboring jurisdictions and the rest of the state, which in 2014 declared a tree mortality emergency. The declaration eight years ago stated that \u201cthe scale of this tree die-off is unprecedented in modern history;\u201d and predicted that it will contribute to wildfires that will release thousands of tons of pollutants and be beyond the capacities of the firefighting systems in place. \n\nSupervisor Ted Williams had a provocative and still unanswered question about dead standing trees. \u201cSupervisor Haschak, do you think it\u2019s a good idea to continue poisoning trees, given that we already have so many dead from natural causes?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cAre you talking about Measure V?\u201d Haschak asked. Williams clarified that he was, and Haschak replied, \u201cWell, we weren\u2019t looking at that issue in this. We were looking at this global tree die-off that\u2019s happening, whether they\u2019re poisoned or not.\u201d\n\nElizabeth Salamone, the general manager of the Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District, offered a comment on how forest health is connected to water quality.\n\n\u201cWe need surface water and groundwater sustainability in order to support the forests,\u201d she declared. \u201cAnd there will be, and is, grant funding that supports nature-based solutions, which need to happen across many sectors, across many agencies, a lot of collaboration in that, so that water-based issues can work hand-in-hand with the reforestation.\u201d\n\nSalamone was on hand to offer her services to help collect data from the county\u2019s 42 water agencies, after Supervisor Glenn McGourty presented on the five top priority water projects for a consultant to take up with a water agency, once the consultant is hired and the agency is up and running. An exact price tag for the agency remains elusive, but the county is working on a draft memorandum of understanding with the UC Cooperative Extension office, in hopes of taking some of the burden off of county staff. The extension plans to start recruiting for a hydrology and climate change advisor starting early next year.\n\nMcGourty started with the first district, where he reported that a joint powers authority is working to consolidate the water districts of the Ukiah Valley. This is in keeping with the goals of the state water agencies, which he says have funding available for the purpose.\n\nIn the second district, he cited groundwater recharge, which would divert some of the Russian River\u2019s overflow onto a flood plain, where, theoretically, it would infiltrate the water table. He suggested Riverside Park on the eastern end of Ukiah for a pilot project.\n\nHe said the priority for the third district was mapping the groundwater basins, and reported that Round Valley has already received funding to start the task.\n\nHe suggested more reservoirs for the fourth district, including floating solar panels to reduce evaporation and provide some power.\n\nFor the fifth district, he said the top priority is the long-wished-for modernization or replacement of the wastewater treatment plant, which has a price tag of $4 million and is still in the conceptual design phase.\n\nWilliams said the projects were not the final list, but that the Board asked for it to make sure that any funds for water projects were spread equally around the county. \u201cGlenn came to us with a request for money,\u201d he recalled; \u201cand I think we said, it looks like it could all go to, say, the Potter Valley Project, and we need to make sure there\u2019s improvements all throughout the county. There\u2019s water problems everywhere, and the request was that Supervisor McGourty come back with a plan that provided a project in each district.\u201d \n\nThe Potter Valley Project, whi...