Newsletter: Spring 2008
Articles
- Updates
- Save Clover Valley Featured at Prestigious Conference
- We Need Your HELP!
- Gratitude Galore
- In Memory
- Musings
"SAVE CLOVER VALLEY" IS ALIVE AND KICKIN'!
Updates
Latest News: The lawsuit filed by co-plaintiffs, Clover Valley Foundation and the Sierra Club, is making its way through the courts. We know our case has great merit. Additionally, the Town of Loomis has filed a separate lawsuit. Stay tuned; we believe Clover Valley can be saved as a regional historic and nature preserve with its awesome environmental and cultural treasures protected in perpetuity.
The Ongoing Quest: The over-nine-year effort to save one of the region's remaining ecological gems is going strong; we continue to make presentations, write letters, attend meetings and research issues. We tried to reason with the Rocklin City Council and developers, but when all our efforts fell on deaf ears, when backed into the proverbial corner, we took action that is our civil right: Litigation. We will find justice in the courts. We are NOT giving up the fight to save this very special place-one of the last intact remnants of historical and environmental integrity.
The Misconception: We occasionally receive condolences about the Clover Valley referendum election results (Rocklin, Feb 5, 2008) with some folks believing the battle to save Clover Valley was lost with the election. Nothing could be further from the truth. Clover Valley Foundation, because of its non-profit 501(c)3 status, was not associated with the election campaign. As individuals, we applauded and supported the referendum, but Clover Valley Foundation has always carried on with our mission to save Clover Valley aside from, and beyond, the election.
The Truth: Clover Valley's uniquely diverse environmental and cultural resources are not amenable to development. No other place has such a concentration of wetlands, oak and riparian woodlands, wildlife, perennial creek, meadows, grasslands, scenic ridges, stone corral, rock walls, and 33 prehistoric sites all in a relatively narrow, two-mile long, steep-sloped valley. To consider bulldozing this special place into smithereens is an obscenity of colossal proportions.
Save Clover Valley Featured at Prestigious Conference
Accepting an invitation to participate in the 33rd Annual California Preservation Conference, "Balance and Complexity" (a four-day April event in Napa), three of Save Clover Valley's ardent supporters gave an overview of the grassroots fight to protect Clover Valley. Elaine O'Deegan, Allison Miller, and Marilyn Jasper provided the very receptive and appreciative audience with a visual presentation, and detailed discussion of how "Save Clover Valley" has evolved to where it is today.
We Need Your HELP!
Fundraise. We have highly-skilled environmental attorneys who are working for us at reduced rates, but there are additional costs: court fees, administrative record expenses, consultants, research, etc. Although we run a very tight and frugal ship, we know this battle could stretch for years. There will be appeals; there will be motions; and there will be other legal costs that we need to cover. Please use the enclosed envelope to help us raise $40,000 for this first round, and ask family and friends to make a tax deductible donation also.
Volunteer. We need bodies to help out at fun-filled festivals and enjoyable regional events. If you can spare a couple of hours, we will provide the rest. Please contact us to help staff a booth--it's fun!
Write letters. Submitting letters to the editor is a great way to keep "SAVE CLOVER VALLEY" in the minds of citizens. Please help us by regularly writing to ALL local and regional newspapers. Keep the media and readers aware of ongoing support for saving Clover Valley.
Become active. Join and support environmental organizations that champion our effort, such as the California Oak Foundation, Sierra Club, and the Rose Foundation; attend public meetings. Let us know if you have any questions and/or if you can help. Call (916) 652-7005, or email email@clovervalleyfoundation.org. Check out new groups forming to make changes: www.betterrocklin.org or www.healthyrocklin.org.
Never Said It Would Be Easy: When we began this effort, we knew we would face challenges. Our vision remains strong--not just because of our reverence for Clover Valley's unique ecological wonders, but also because of citizens' courage and steadfast determination to confront and fight this egregious development. Thanks to ongoing public support, we are not quitting. We know Clover Valley must be conserved in perpetuity as a historic nature preserve. With your support, that vision will become a reality.
Gratitude Galore
In addition to busy workdays and schedules, we wish to acknowledge the wonderful people who stepped up to work our booths at this year's many Earth Dave activities. Heartfelt thanks goes to Suzanne Kizer, Caroline Hickson, Robert Hanna, Barbara Williams, Bob Jasper, Tony Rakocija, and Ken Votaw. With their help, we participated in many local festivities. Maintaining a presence in the region at public events is critical, but we need a pool of volunteers. Please consider spending a couple of hours at one of the many upcoming annual tabling events. It's fun, and we need you!
In Memory
We respectfully acknowledge donations in memory of Dorothy Giel, Francis Eister, and Helen McGovern. May they rest in peace.
Musings
Many learned writers and prestigious studies have sounded alarms over the disconnect between children and the experience of nature. Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, recognized the need for children to appreciate what many elders take for granted-the great outdoors. Today's children have fewer opportunities to hear, see, smell, taste, and touch nature, to be in awe of its mysteries and life cycles. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods … Nature Deficit Disorder, has written of the benefits of exposing children to nature instead of pharmaceuticals, of prescribing nature time for stress reduction and as an antidote to child obesity, and assuring that every school utilizes nearby nature in its curricula. We support his "Take a Child to Nature" day concepts that instill a sense of faith in universal life rather than fear, and grant a child a sense of wonder.