Lake County asks to be added to expanded Delta Conservancy and approves letter of support

The board considered AB 2216, a bill to expand the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Conservancy into a broader Valley‑Delta Conservancy and to establish programs for environmental protection and economic well‑being across a wider geography. County staff and external partners described potential benefits of inclusion—chiefly access to planning and implementation funding for watershed restoration, forest health and water projects.

Supervisor Paiske and others noted that parts of Lake County already benefit from conservancy programs (for example, the Coastal Conservancy in the Eel River watershed) and that being included could help the county leverage state funding for projects such as lidar mapping and restoration planning. Julia Sullivan (Lake County Resource Conservation District) and Sarah Ryan (Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians) spoke in favor of increased funding opportunities while urging that local tribal collaborations and existing partnership frameworks be respected.

Karen Burm, deputy executive officer of the Delta Conservancy, told the board the Conservancy has no regulatory authority and would not impose mandates like a 30x30 target on local projects, and that the Conservancy seeks local support for projects. The board agreed to send a letter of support for AB 2216 as amended to explicitly add Lake County and to authorize the chair to sign the letter.

What happens next: staff will deliver the amended letter of support to the author's office and continue discussions about how Lake County can seek inclusion in the expanded Conservancy boundary.