DPAC Minutes 2026-02-10
Meeting Minutes
Delta Protection Advisory Committee
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
The Ryde Hotel, 14340 Highway 160, Walnut Grove, CA 95690
Agenda
1. Call to Order and Flag Salute
Chair Anna Swenson called the meeting to order at 5:38 p.m.
2. Welcome and Roll Call
Commission Clerk Heather McClure called the roll. Present at roll call: Chair Anna Swenson; members Morris Lum, Craig Watanabe, Douglas Hsia, Jeff Iniguez, Erin Chappell, Emily Pappalardo, and Edward Hard; and Ex Officio Member Heather Swinney. Vice Chair Russ Ryan arrived just after Item 4 at 5:42 p.m.
3. Public Comment – an opportunity for members of the public to address the Commission regarding items not on the agenda
Chair Swenson asked if there were any comments from the public, and there were none.
4. Approval of August 20, 2025, Meeting Minutes
Motion: It was moved by Member Hard and seconded by Member Chappell to approve the August 20, 2025, meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
5. Update on Delta Protection Commission activities – Amanda Bohl
Executive Director Amanda Bohl reported that:
- Staff hoped to bring the farmland conversion study commenced in 2025 to DPAC this spring.
- Hearings on the Delta Conveyance Project would be held February 26-27 in Sacramento, and she noted that she and Commissioners Patrick Hume and Tom Slater would attend to present the Commission’s appeal of the Certification of Consistency with the Delta Plan for the project.
- The Commission was currently recruiting for two staff positions: commission clerk and senior environmental planner; the latter would be the land use lead on staff.
- DPAC Member Todd Bruce had resigned, and the staff was currently soliciting applications for his seat and others whose terms expire in May.
6. Freeport Jurisdiction Inquiry – Janet Lake and the Freeport Community Group
Chair Swenson said Lake was unavailable, but that the gist of Lake’s concerns are the annexation by Sacramento of a portion of Freeport and confusion over who oversees the area for the city.
She asked for committee and public comments and there were none.
7. Clarksburg Trail Update – Rachel Vanderwerff, Senior Environmental Planner and Amanda Bohl, Executive Director
Executive Director Amanda Bohl said staff brought the issue back to the committee because they had not had all the information that was needed when it was discussed at the December meeting.
Bohl explained that the Commission’s role in the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail Extension Project is to listen, do outreach and make sure appropriate outreach is happening.
DPC Senior Environmental Planner Rachel Vanderwerff presented details of the proposed project, which would be built on a former railroad right of way from West Sacramento to Clarksburg. The project team includes West Sacramento, Yolo County, the Yolo Transportation District and the Delta Protection Commission. The team is finalizing a preliminary environmental study and anticipates getting a categorical exclusion from the requirement to do a full environmental review. A community workshop on the project was tentatively slated for this spring.
Consultant Diane Moore with Moore Biological Consultants reported that she had walked the length of the proposed extension in March 2025 to document the habitat. It includes overgrown areas with riparian vegetation, a large wetland, elderberry shrubs, and heavily wooded areas, with intensively farmed land on both sides. She documented white-tailed kites by the wetland, Western pond turtles, and burrowing owls, among others.
She said her concern as a biologist was the large numbers of mature trees, riparian habitats, and Swainson’s hawks, saying there are probably three pairs nesting along the alignment. She said she was here to raise the environmental alarm.
Clarksburg resident Corinne Dwyer said Clarksburg does not want to be connected to West Sacramento, and said the project benefits West Sacramento, not Clarksburg. She predicted there would be garbage dumping the length of the trail. She expressed concerns about farmers’ ability to spray fields when needed.
Committee members had questions about whether wetlands would be filled in and whether there would be oversight by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Member Chappell said project proponents would have to go through CDFW. She noted that doing work in wetlands would require both state and federal permits.
Abby Carlson, Assistant Director of the California Farm Bureau, noted that the bureau had sent the Committee a letter urging opposition to the project as proposed.
8. Golden Mussel Update – Martha Volkoff, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Martha Volkoff presented information to the Committee about the status of the golden mussel infestation in the Delta and the state’s efforts surrounding it. To date, the mussels have been detected only in the Delta and in State Water Project waters from the Delta. The farthest north they have been detected is Rio Vista, but she anticipated that boater movements would spread the mussels farther in the Delta.
She said chemical treatment in infested areas is unrealistic at this time.
She said a bill had been introduced in the Legislature that is a placeholder for developing an approach for the state to address the problem.
Vice Chair Ryan noted that Metropolitan Water District of Southern California had put meters on syphons on its islands to establish a baseline water flow, which will help to assess the impact when syphons are infested with mussels.
Member Hard noted that there is no mechanism preventing golden mussels from invading fire hydrants in Stockton.
Volkoff encouraged people to reach out to her at invasives@wildlife.ca.gov.
9. Task Groups Report Out on Rivers and Levees – The Committee
Vice Chair Ryan reported there was a push to increase levee subventions from 75% to 95%.
Chair Swenson asked for committee and public comments and there were none.
10. Waterways Cleanup Task Group Update – The Committee
Chair Swenson reported there had been a spur-of-the-moment effort by an Elk Grove group to pick up trash south of Elk Grove. Pickers worked 6.5 miles and picked up 8.64 tons of trash. She noted the group was interested in doing a river clean-up.
She asked for comments and there was one from the public: A man noted that the Rio Vista Litter Pickers is a group that’s been active in trash cleanup for two or three years and recommended adopting a place to pick up trash and publicizing it.
11. Member Announcements and Next Meeting
Member Hsia said Locke was celebrating Chinese New Year this coming Saturday and recommended that people arrive before noon.
Member of the public Rafe Goorwitch added that Isleton would hold its Asian New Year celebration March 7, and that the Bing Kong Tong Building in Isleton turns 100 this year. He also piggybacked on the litter discussion, noting that there needs to be trash cans that get emptied regularly at spots where people routinely fish.
Member Chappell reported that Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham had stepped down, and he would be replaced on Feb. 17 by Meghan Hertel.
Chair Swenson announced the next meeting would be April 7, at a location to be determined – suggestions welcome.
12. Adjourn
Chair Swenson adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m.