HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmail from Nancy McCune - Butte Creek Canyon Overlay Zone Menchaca, Clarissa
From: Nancy McCune <nmccune@wildblue.net>
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2018 2:00 PM
To: Teeter, Doug; Connelly, Bill; BOS District 4; Kirk, Maureen;Wahl, Larry
Cc: Clerk of the Board
Subject, Butte Creek Canyon Overlay
I am writing to give my support to the Butt Creek Canyon Overlay as it is with no changes?
Perhaps it is fitting that I am writing this on Earth Day. I just read an article from The Nature Conservancy that
had this eye-opener, "We've lost nearly two-thirds of the world's wildlife since the first Earth Day 48 years
ago.,'
What we have in Butte Creek Canyon is a rare jewel that deserves protection from the insatiable appetite and
destruction of development.
We have a beautiful canyon that has come back from the ravages of all the worst practices of gold mining in the
last century, including dredging, to recover once more become a canyon that supports an intact ecosystem,
including apex predators. In my twenty years of owning property in Butte Creek Canyon, I have seen so much
wildlife in the canyon: salmon, deer, fox, otters,beaver, bear, mountain lion, possum, raccoon, eagles, osprey,
red-shouldered hawks, big-horned owl, quail, wild turkey, and numerous birds, too many to mention. The
overlay will also provide watershed protection that provide stream side buffers and help prevent erosion.
Butte Creek Canyon offers a beautiful and accessible refuge to Chico residents who want to take a dip in the
creek, have a picnic, see wildflowers, and appreciate the stunning views of the canyon walls. The canyon and
creek offer many opportunities for recreation including tubing and kayaking, hiking, biking and fishing. These
recreational activities (including the Wildflower) bring revenue into Chico which could be impacted by
continued development.
Butte Creek Canyon also has many historical sites that need to be protected and preserved. There is also a need
to use existing scarce resources to protect existing homes from fire danger. There is only one road into and out
of the canyon. Currently, those of us who live on the Centerville Road have been dealing with a single lane
road out because of neglected road and ditch maintenance. We were extremely concerned all last summer
during fire season about the need to evacuate with only one lane. This condition continues today, with no fix in
sight and summer fire season is nearly here again.
A group of dedicated people, most land and home owners in the canyon,has been working on this overlay for
eight years. They have made continued efforts to be inclusive of all viewpoints, answer all concerns, and have
made many amendments to the overlay proposal to meet the requirements of the council. The overlay has
shrunk from over 25,000 acres to under 5,000. And there still seems to be little support from the council for the
overlay, and a catering to a few land owners and developers, while the majority of the canyon residents support
the overlay.
I ask you, it is really impossible to take a longer view, and support this proposal to ensure that Butte Creek
Canyon is preserved for future generations?
Sincerely a voter,
Nancy McCune
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530-680-9727
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