Wild and Scenic Campaign for Cache Creek

“Designating the portions of Cache Creek that flow through public lands as part of the state wild and scenic river system recognizes its special qualities and will attract resources to protect, restore and manage it for future generations,” said Capay Valley farmer Sam Bledsoe. “Local residents, people from Sacramento, the Bay Area and throughout the state will all benefit.”

The legislation will protect Cache Creek from below the Clear Lake dam to Camp Haswell at the upper end of the Capay Valley, as well as the creek's north fork downstream from Highway 20. The Bureau of Land Management has found that the outstanding cultural, geologic, wildlife, and recreational values of this portion of the creek make it eligible for designation as a wild and scenic river. The proposed sections of the river flow through deep canyons covered in oak woodlands and chaparral. The river supports diverse wildlife, including bald eagles, tule elk, mountain lion and black bear, turtles and river otters to name a few.

“We're lucky to have a gem like Cache Creek right here in our backyard,” stated Jim Crenshaw, a local business owner and president of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “The creek provides endless recreational opportunities, and protecting it will attract new visitors from near and far, and in turn, will boost local economies.”

Momentum for state wild and scenic designation has continued to grow in recent years. Supporters of this legislation include a broad array of river users, including kayakers, rafters, anglers, native plant enthusiasts, and members of the faith community , as well as Tuleyome, Friends of the River, Yolo Audubon, and Sierra Club Yolano Group.

“Cache Creek has been a sacred spot for me since I first rambled its edges with my family as a child in the '50s,” said Reverend Sarah Motley, Chair of the Care for God's Creation Conference. “It is a place of energy and stillness, of beauty and wildness, of constancy and change. Walking by the creek is a time to tread lightly – and expectantly – to receive what the creek and its surrounding hills have to give us.”

Anyone interested in helping to work on the Campaign may contact the Cache Creek Wild campaign at cachecreek@wildmail.com.