It’s important to take the long view in Napa Valley.
If we want the region’s rich viticulture history to extend into the future, we must take crucial steps to combat the climate crisis. It’ll be hard to continue growing premium grapes if the drought worsens, wildfires intensify and temperatures escalate.
That long view has to be applied to each proposed development project. When it comes to the Walt Ranch vineyard conversion project, it’s not enough to only consider the vines that will be planted in the coming years and the grapes from initial harvests. We must consider how this project affects the county for future generations, and the message the county’s actions send to Napa residents.
To make way for new vines, thousands of oak trees critical to a healthy climate will be cut down. These mature trees have stored carbon for many years and would continue to do so for decades if left undisturbed. When cut, these trees, their roots, and soils will release carbon into the atmosphere. Without a science-based plan to make up such a significant loss in forested land, this project will have lasting and harmful consequences.
The conversion, which will completely transform more than 300 acres of oak woodlands, shrubland, and grassland habitat, is simply wrong for Napa. Let’s not be satisfied with a mitigation plan that’s equally wrong.
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When this comes before Napa supervisors, they should be wary of a plan that overpromises and under-delivers. Here is an opportunity for the board to require a preservation plan that takes the climate crisis seriously.
It’s impossible to make up for the 14,000 trees that will be lost to this project. But if the trees will be lost, the county should require permanently protecting existing forested land and native habitats that are vulnerable to development. Setting aside developable land at Walt Ranch or purchasing such property off-site should be the focus of the mitigation plan.
Planting new trees can be effective at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, but it must be done correctly, and gains are far from immediate.
It will take decades for trees planted from seedlings to have the same carbon-sequestering abilities as the mature trees that will be destroyed. As a starting point, there must be measures in place to ensure that tree planting is successful and will lead to mature oaks. New trees should be planted in historic oak woodlands where natural regeneration from wildfires is not occurring, and the plantings must be monitored for at least seven years to make sure enough trees survive to start to make up for what the project will destroy.
These are not out-of-touch ideas meant to stall the project. These are sensible steps Napa County can take to do the bare minimum in combatting a crisis already at our doorsteps. Scientists warn that immediate action is paramount if we are to halt rising temperatures and avert a climate catastrophe. In this case, immediate action does not mean crossing your fingers and hoping that a dubious tree planting plan will work.
The county must require the applicant to maximize the number of acres to be permanently preserved on-site and adopt a detailed tree planting plan backed by science. Those who want to develop hillsides and open space for their economic gain must know they’ll be required to mitigate the resulting climate harm. Napa residents deserve that. Why would anybody welcome new development and the environmental harms that may come if they only get hollow promises in return?
Ross Middlemiss, Staff attorney
Center for Biological Diversity
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Supervisors' final call on Walt Ranch will be lasting - Napa Valley Register
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