Clear Lake has supported human civilization for 14,000 years as the largest natural freshwater lake in California. But human-caused pollution from development, mining, agriculture, and global warming have dramatically impacted the health of Clear Lake's watershed, leading to a myriad of environmental and health challenges from mercury contamination to ever-increasing toxic cyanobacteria blooms that transform the lake shore into a sea of poison green slime. For decades, the necessary political will and funding to restore Clear Lake has lagged far behind the support for other California watersheds - San Francisco Bay and Lake Tahoe have received millions of dollars in funding focused on environmental restoration. Clear Lake has remained a relatively low economic priority for the State. As Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature distribute a historic budget surplus, now is the time to support California Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry as she demands urgent and equitable funding to complete ongoing research and fund remediation measures to improve water quality and Save Clear Lake!
Ignoring the urgent need to restore Clear Lake not only threatens health and limits economic opportunities for all 65,000 residents of Lake County, it commits a gross injustice against the Pomo residents of the Clear Lake basin, whose cultural heritage and economic vitality depend on the Lake. The Clear Lake basin is the historic home of several federally recognized Pomo tribes, who have been valiantly devoting their own resources to fight environmental degradation. But the Pomo have been forced to shoulder a disproportionate responsibility for maintaining the lake water quality. It's time for California to step up and give Clear Lake watershed restoration the priority it deserves.
In 2017, the State formed a Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake, a coalition of representatives from Lake County, Pomo tribes, U.C. Davis, and regional experts, to make recommendations for rehabilitating Clear Lake. The BRC has created a list of priorities for lake restoration research and implementation. The funding needed is minimal compared to California's historic budget surplus. The Governor and Legislature should immediately fund all items on the list, and commit additional funding to implement the Committee's recommendations.
Furthermore, the State created the Lake Tahoe Conservancy which is responsible for managing funding and overseeing environmental protection and restoration projects in the Tahoe basin. Clear Lake needs a similar organization to serve as a central clearinghouse and a permanent authority responsible for coordinating the ongoing preservation and restoration of the environmental and cultural resources in and around Clear Lake. Urge the State of California to create the Clear Lake Conservancy now, to establish permanent advocacy and accountability for ongoing care of Clear Lake.
