California Is Preparing for Extreme Weather. It’s Time to Plant Some Trees.

Here in Maine, a dedicated group of "tree huggers" are reclaiming land that has come under the ownership/stewardship of various local NGOs. They are planting trees and grasses, etc. that are currently thriving 1000 miles to the south. Few may survive but some will and that's all it takes. E.C Pielou's "After the Ice Age: the return of life to glaciated North America" is worth reading for the resilience of nature at the other end of the temperature scale.

Restoring floodplains is important work -- and a positive development in California. It is 100% certain that there will be floods in the future --we know this because there have been floods in the past. This has nothing whatever to do with climate change. Floods are what caused floodplains in the first place. Floodplains are are a geographical mitigator of floods. When rivers are restricted to narrow channels by human development, their capacity is limited -- and when exceeded, human infrastructure is damaged and lives are lost. So, three cheers for those restoring California floodplains and returning them to their natural utility. Anyone who doubts past floods needs a lesson in the history of Central California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floods_in_California

I'm proud to be a Californian who PLANS for the future and does NOT deny there is global warming like Trump does.

Trees eat CO2. Trees stop erosion. CA has lost many trees in it's quest for agriculture (a big economic source), CA has planed lots of thirsty trees to replace a few of them. CA is building houses on the side of cliffs as if mud slides were not an issue. Mud slides and the other issues CA faces have been going on for decades due to their insatiable quench for people and economic strength. CA is a loser of epic proportions not to be fixed with yet more legislation. Plant trees, stop building on flood plains, stop diverting precious resources, stop living and developing the desert and PLEASE do something about your excessive and unsustainable population growth, like sending illegal immigrants home. Won't happen, but thought I'd ask.

Stop the population growth!

In addition to all its many pragmatic benefits, seen from above, the returning of farmland to a wilder state conveys a sense of intentional earthwork art. I'm reminded of Smithson's "Spiral Jetty." Icing on the cake.

This type of project needs to be promoted more as in this worthwhile article. Replenishment of natural resources to solve an environmental problem is a simple idea and truly would make America great again. How much better use of taxpayer money than the extravagances practiced by our cabinet secretaries and president!

Please don't plant anything susceptible to "Fire Blight". There is no cure to it, no way to stop the advance. In many towns here in Contra Costa County flowering fruit trees have been the trees of choice for hardiness and beauty. Members of the apple and pear families have been planted by the thousands. Now they have a curious die-back on the ends of boughs. This is accompanied by a black rot. Pruning does no good, as the bacterium is already in the wood. When I say there are thousands in my town, I'm not exaggerating. Please, California: Make sure the species you choose are not susceptible to fatal disease. Fire Blight is heart-breaking.

New trees are probably made of fire-resistant plastic. No doubt.

I wonder why the Conservation Corps workers have to wear hardhats for this work of planting saplings in open fields. Wouldn't a sunhat offer more appropriate protection?

Climate change and other environmental problems have become so important that the Times should create a separate section on the topic that would include articles like this one, articles on the melting of Antarctica, the rising of the seas, tornadoes and hurricanes, and other problems that are putting in question the habitability of our planet.

As chair of the board of River Partners, a national leader in riparian restoration I would add to the fine article that the removal of monoculture orchards for replacement by a diverse forest of oaks, cottonwoods, native grasses, shrubs, etc. not only returns native animal species to the floodplain but helps cut down on pesticides and fertilizers flowing into the river, saves water (irrigation system is pulled out after three years), creates new recreation areas, and provides nutrition for young salmon and other fish as they enter into the floodplain.

Seems like these new areas would also be good places to camp, hunt, and fish.

This is the kind of thinking that needs to be applied to so many of the modifications to the natural environment that man has made over the decades. For example, how about digging up the concrete drainage channels that just dump rainwater into the river (Albuquerque) or ocean (LA). Plant wetland grasses and trees on their bottoms so that rainwater soaks in. We all benefit, especially the Earth.

California's extreme weather is at least partially due to population growth. Southern California used to be mostly desert. The Death Valley is hot but the scenery is beautiful. But civilization has started to pop up in the surrounding deserts. We have lost part of the beautiful desert environment due to urban sprawl. Los Angeles is now hot and congested. Frequently traffic comes to a complete stop. What good is owning a Maserati when you are frequently restricted to a top speed of 10 mph? Poverty and homelessness is growing in the cities. A respectable job is often not enough to own an apartment. Many people do not have full health care. They die early because they don't have adequate cancer screenings. We need to do two things: 1. Institute a one (or two) child policy like that of China. Lower birth rates can partially offset immigration. 2. We need to stop illegal immigration. Humanely of course. These are difficult policies to institute, because extremists of both parties cry for sanctuary cities or that abortion is murder, These are inflammatory just as Trumps badly chosen words that some illegal immigrants are rapists.

Good idea, needs to be expanded, yes. But that’s not how you carry a potted tree. Ouchies!

100% opposite of GOP EPA, in correct way, in tunes with science and rest of the world population.

-------- the levees along the sacramento river are all on the verge of failing, so this work is appropriate and timely . . .

Wonderful idea, driven by science and thinking to the future. We need this kind of thinking all over the country (and world) if we hope to stave off the inevitable changes wrought by climate change. Plus, it’s just beautiful and healthy for wildlife and people. Meanwhile, here in NJ, they’re letting people build new mega mansions on the recently (taxpayer) restored barrier island — in the exact spot where it breached and washed into Barnegat Bay during Sandy. Not driven by science, not thinking about the future at all.

Very nice article. An additional important benefit of flood plain restorations is stabilization of soils and sediments, avoiding their runoff into rivers. Those sediments carry nitrogen and phosphorus into lakes (e.g., Lakes Erie and Okeechobee) and the ocean where they feed harmful/toxic algae blooms and localized dead zones. Were a more systemic planting of riverside acreage accomplished, many of the problems with nutrient contamination in our country could be lessened or alleviated, in addition to providing the flood control benefits you note.

And meanwhile the US Forest Service still allows clearcut logging on Federal (read Public) land in the high country that forms the headwaters of many of our great rivers. This is not a Trump introduced problem and has gone on during times of Democratic and Republican control of the White House and Congress.

Just what California needs to be doing, plant trees and trees and trees.

Excellent use of public funds and environmental science. This should be a model for many other areas in need, not only on both coasts, but in every river drainage.

Thank You, Good People of California. There should be a national/international law that a tree must be planted for every one cut or burned down. Trees provide the oxygen we require to survive as a species. BIG ancient ones, which are getting harder and harder to find, are great for hugging and reminding us how insignificant we are in the full scope of things. WE THE PEOPLE must DEMAND that OUR elected officials protect OUR human lives by taking control of "development" and getting insatiably greed profit-only Robber Barons out of decision making roles. They must start creating communities, towns, cities and states geared toward making OUR lives better, healthier and more sustainable. NOW is the time.

What has been abundantly clear here is that Central Valley farmers have removed way too much water from the aquifers that have existed under their fields, to the point where the water they have been pumping lately has had salt levels that are too high for agricultural use. Whether or not future annual rains produce wetter than normal (ha!) or drier than normal (look at the last 10 years) precipitation is academic. Overuse of ground water has and will defeat any and all "conservation projects", unless that use is limited, by law. Guess what? The Big Ag lobbyists have been, for decades, working (read paying) to make our state legislators give them unfettered access to all the water they can get. That wave of money (and we don't know the source of much of that, thanks to Citizens United), means continued agricultural exports to foreign customers, not to U.S. consumers.

This is a good plan that should be expanded over time, not only in California but also in other states, especially on the east coast. In coastal SC, where hurricanes have destroyed whole towns in the past, cities still allow building right next to beach dunes in many areas. A beach buffer zone would add both beauty and protection. In the long run, we would save money from not rebuilding in these areas when homes and businesses are destroyed. Do we really need to subsidize wealthy people who insist on homes with beach views?

Good idea. But the numbers cited - a few square miles here, a few hundred acres there - suggests this project has a long way to go before it has the kind of impact that is needed. Lot of work left to be done!

I love this. Low tech, relatively cheap, natural, sustainable, beautiful solutions that provide all kinds of added value (carbon sinks, wildlife restoration, etc.) while addressing an important issue.