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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Mark your calendar – the Lake County Weed Management Area is hosting its 11th annual “Invasive Weeds Tour” on Tuesday, July 22.
The tour is free and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The Lake County tour is fun and informative, and gives participants the chance to view and learn about several species of invasive weeds.
It begins at 9 a.m. and will be held at Anderson Marsh in Lower Lake.
This is the first year that the Lake County tour will be held in a single location.
This event includes a 2.1-mile hike through Anderson Marsh followed by a discussion and samples of aquatic weeds.
The event will wrap up with lunch. The lunch is free although donations to help offset the cost will be greatly appreciated and cheerfully accepted.
The negative effects of invasive weeds when left unmanaged will be highlighted, along with effects of a control burn on the weeds. Other weeds such as Medusahead, Himalayan Blackberry, Perennial Pepperweed, and various aquatic weeds will be explored.
The third week of July has been designated by the state legislator as California’s annual “Invasive Weed Awareness Week.”
This statewide program is designed to educate citizens about the undesirable effects and impacts of non-native invasive weeds.
The tour is sponsored by Lake County Department of Agriculture, the Lake County Department of Water Resources, and the East Lake & West Lake Resource Conservation Districts.
RSVP for the tour with Kristi at 707-263-0217 by July 18.
California now has an official state amphibian: the California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii, a state species of special concern.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has worked for many years to conserve and restore populations of this rare species.
By declaring the California red-legged frog the official state amphibian of California, the Legislature and Governor acknowledge the species’ important place in the ecology, culture and history of California.
It also broadcasts and reinforces the state’s commitment to protecting its rare resources, which include amphibians.
Within California, it lives in various aquatic habitats from sea level to more than 5,000 feet in elevation, occupying a variety of aquatic habitats and their adjacent uplands in the coastal mountain ranges from southern Mendocino to northern Los Angeles counties and a few isolated areas in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
CDFW documents show that the frog has a yearlong range in southern Lake County.
It has been lost from most of Southern California, but some populations still persist in northwestern Baja California, Mexico.
The California red-legged frog is the largest native frog in the Western United States.
Amphibians, especially frogs, provide an important function in aquatic ecosystems by eating insects and being a food source for other animals. They also are excellent indicators of the environmental quality of an area.
This species is the highly renowned frog that Mark Twain wrote about in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County in 1865.
They were abundant until the 19th century Gold Rush, when the human population suddenly tripled, and the “forty-niners” nearly ate them into extinction at a rate of approximately 80,000 frogs per year.
When the overconsumption of California’s native frogs created a shortage, food sellers introduced non-native bullfrogs to replace them in the frog leg (food) market.
Now those bullfrogs have become widespread, and compete for the same food source thus threatening the native frog species’ existence.
The California red-legged frog is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, which prohibits them from being “taken” (harassed, harmed, pursued, hunted, shot, wounded, killed, trapped, captured or collected). It also prohibits adverse modification of their designated critical habitat without adequate mitigation.
The primary threat to California red-legged frog populations has been habitat loss. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the frog has seen a 70 percent reduction of its former geographic range, primarily due to conversion or degradation of habitat.
“We’ve learned a great deal about our impact on California species and their environment during the past century,” said CDFW Senior Environmental Scientist Rhianna Lee. “These frogs are unique members of their native ecosystems and the food web, evolving together so that all the pieces support each other for long-term survival. Removing one or more of the pieces can have a negative effect on the health of the environment.
Gov. Brown signed Assembly Bill 2364 (V. Manuel Pérez, D-Indio) into law June 28. The proposal for a state amphibian was made by an after-school club at Sea View Elementary School in Salton City. Third grade students suggested the designation in a letter to Assemblyman Pérez.
Details about the California red-legged frog are on the Web at http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=D02D .
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The 62nd quilt block to be installed on the Lake County Quilt Trail is on Allied Information Networks owned by Nell and Roland Shaul.
The building is located at 2150 Argonaut Road in Kelseyville.
The design for “Lone Star in the Vineyard” was chosen to represent Nell Shaul’s heritage from Texas, the vines and grapes represent Lake County’s wine and grape industry, and her favorite colors were chosen for the color scheme of the quilt block.
The Shauls are pleased to be added to the Lake County Quilt Trail.
The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.
The 4-foot by 4-foot quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.
For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Quilt-Trail/187014251326163 .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force has arrested a Lakeport man and seized approximately 4 ounces of methamphetamine.
Kory Daniel Hudson, 32, was arrested Tuesday morning, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday narcotics detectives were conducting a probation search in Lakeport when Brooks said they noticed a gold Chevy pickup parked on the street.
Detectives saw that the vehicle was occupied and contacted the driver, who was identified as Hudson, Brooks said.
While detectives were talking to Hudson, they noticed he was displaying signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Brooks said they had Hudson exit the vehicle and perform several tests to determine if he was under the influence, which he failed.
Hudson subsequently was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, Brooks said.
During a search, detectives located two plastic bags containing methamphetamine in Hudson’s possession. The gross weight of both bags was 123.8 grams or 4.36 ounces.
Hudson also was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance, Brooks said.
Brooks said Hudson was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. He remained in custody on Tuesday afternoon, with bail set at $35,000.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On July 11, a group of more than 125 people gathered at Grace Church in Kelseyville for a town hall meeting to discuss the growing movement supporting the formation of a new state.
Three speakers – Terry Rapoza, Robert “Red” Smith of the Shasta Lantern newspaper and Mark Baird – hosted the event to discuss the movement to create Jefferson, the 51st state, out of parts of Northern California and Oregon.
Various maps and plans for Jefferson have shown that it would include Lake County, as well as Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba in California, along with several Southern Oregon counties.
However, www.jeffersondeclaration.net – the Web site of the group currently advocating for the movement across Northern California – does not list Humboldt and Mendocino counties among the areas where the effort to gain support is under way.
Proponents say the new state will restore power back to these seemingly forgotten Northern California and Southern Oregon counties.
A key point for those who want to found a 51st state is that Northern California has a small number of seats in the state Legislature and in the US Congress in comparison to urban areas farther south.
California has some of the highest taxes in the United States, and Jefferson supporters say that the northern counties rarely see any of this tax revenue.
They also argue that Northern California's counties are not seeing a fair share of tax revenue while California’s state debt is more than $422 billion and climbing.
A recurring theme during the town hall forum was the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims, in which the court that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.
The Jefferson movement's members say the decision took a lot of power from the more rural counties, and tipped the scales in favor of more populous areas like Los Angeles.
In the new state, it's proposed to have at least one representative per county, and no more than 30,000 people represented per representative.
Advocacy and answering questions
Rapoza opened the event with a prayer, pledge of allegiance, and a meet and greet where he asked the crowd to introduce themselves to their neighbors.
He started off by stating some of the main goals for creating a state, and his focus was set on limited government, fiscal responsibility and upholding the US Constitution above any law.
A key point that Rapoza brought up was what he called the misappropriation of funds from California’s Fire Prevention Fee. This fee was enacted in July of 2011, and effective July of 2013.
A fee of $152.33 is charged to anyone who has a habitable structure within the State Responsibility Area. Rapoza stated that $74 million was collected and $50 million went to the State General Fund, $12 million went to legislation, $10 million went to administration and only $1.75 million went to actual fire protection.
Smith, who followed Rapoza in speaking to the group, spoke of founding father ideals and emphasized what “We the People” actually meant.
He was adamant about the struggling economy in Northern California and Southern Oregon, and stated that nearly 72 percent of the economy in the area has disappeared.
Smith stood before the crowd and answered some of the questions he hears most when it comes to the Jefferson movement.
Many people say that splitting from California would make the rural counties poorer than they are now. Smith stated that at least they would have the legislative power to do something about growing poverty, instead of being silenced by the larger populated areas.
While some naysayers of the plan say that it would be too hard to accomplish, Smith said that the word “impossible” is a dare to an American.
Smith brought up the numbers of voters in the Jefferson area is in decline, not because of lack of interest, but because voters feel like their vote does not count against the masses of the southern counties.
He closed by asking the crowd, “Name one law that they (state legislature) pass that doesn’t make Californians criminals.”
Baird told the group that liberty is freedom with morality and responsibility.
“We are governed from afar by people with no empathy for us,” he said.
Baird counseled the audience on the necessary steps that are ahead of the state of Jefferson.
The next step is to submit a declaration to Sacramento, with petition signatures to back the numbers of people in support of the 51st state.
Baird ended his speech by inviting audience members to ask questions.
A question was raised about what would happen to California State Universities, with Chico State University and Humboldt State University falling within Jefferson’s proposed boundaries.
In-state tuitions would be available within both Jefferson and California, said Baird, who also brought up the importance of elementary and high school educations and the desperate need to improve education at all levels.
A Mendocino County resident asked why his county was not included in the plans for the state of Jefferson. Baird responded that it's the goal to include both Mendocino and Humboldt counties in Jefferson, but the counties have not responded thus far.
Has the time come for 51? With a mountain of skepticism and legislative hurdles ahead of them, the supporters of the state of Jefferson seem to think so.
If you would like more information or would like to join the Jefferson movement, visit www.jeffersondeclaration.net or add them on Facebook.
To contact your local Jeffersonians, send your question or comment emails to
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Northshore bicyclist was injured on Saturday night when he was involved in a crash with a vehicle.
The crash happened at around 9:15 p.m. Saturday on the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff just west of Stokes Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds said William Guttormsen of Nice, whose age was not available, sustained major injuries.
The driver of the vehicle was Nacy Douglas, 65, of Kelseyville, Reynolds said.
Reports from the scene on Saturday night indicated that Guttormsen had hit Douglas' windshield.
Reynolds confirmed that Guttormsen's bike had damage on the rear and Douglas' vehicle had windshield damage.
He did not have details about what led to the crash, but said the report available to him did not indicate Douglas was at fault.
Guttormsen had complaints of pain to his lower right leg, back and neck, Reynolds said.
Reports from the scene on Saturday indicated that REACH 6 responded to pick Guttormsen up for transport to an out-of-county trauma center, but the helicopter had mechanical issues and had to stay on the ground at the Sentry Market landing zone.
Instead, Guttormsen was transported by Northshore Fire ambulance to the Sutter Lakeside Hospital helipad, where REACH 1 picked him up and flew him to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to radio traffic.
Email Elizabeth Larson at