Guest Article Submitted by Tom Russell – April 2013

Our Camden Lakes – A City Treasure Caught in the Crosshairs

Most of us, if not all of us, have taken a walk, ridden bikes on the trails, and/or picnicked by the two Camden lakes, our City’s treasures. Over the past 25 years, the Upper Camden Lake along Camden Lake Way, and the Lower Camden Lake along Allister Way, have supported wild habitat such as beaver, ducks, geese, egrets, turtles, muskrats, river otter, hawks, fish, rabbits, fox, migrating pelicans, giant garter snake and yes, even some larger animals such as coyotes. We are very lucky to live in a migration flight path and have the various migrating birds rest and or breed at our lakes. It has served the animals, birds and humans well having a large habitat separated, yet accessible, by a well maintained park system. It is to everyone's benefit having the opportunity to view nature’s wonders within a reasonable distance from our homes and not encroach on nature’s territory. The Camden project was built with this idea of nature in mind.

In between the two Camden Lakes, the County built an overflow area for those times when we were to get a large amount of water. Over the years, the beaver aided the stepped construction of the lakes and built a dam across a portion of the overflow area to create a third lake hidden from view but to the benefit of many wild birds. The County had designated this as a wild area.

Quite a few years ago, 1936, there was a Bass Hatchery at the corner of Elk Grove - Florin and Bond Roads. This was the state's only hatchery devoted entirely to the rearing of warmwater game fishes (black bass, sunfish, and catfish) and forage fish. The Fish and Game Commission purchased a 40-acre parcel of land near Elk Grove to erect a modern warmwater fish hatchery. This location was chosen because it was centrally located in the State and because a stream, into which the ponds could be drained, flowed through the property. Water was supplied by wells in that location. When the Hatchery ceased operation, it was agreed that since a water habitat had been created by years of operation, the lake and stream would continue getting water from the wells to maintain the nature habitat.

There is a struggle now under way between nature and man. Our collective treasures, the lakes, are in trouble. The upper lake and creek upstream have been drained. With so many government entities wanting to control nature, we all seem to be losing sight of what has been created in the past quarter century here in our City. The City of Elk Grove, Cosumnes Community Services District, Sacramento -Yolo Mosquito Vector Control District, State Fish & Game and the Laguna Creek Watershed Council, all have some say in how our lakes and creeks are controlled and maintained.

Lately there has been some debate about the Weir (dam) at Lower Camden Lake, the lake levels and the beaver. As many of you know, one or more of the controlling agencies have been exterminating the beaver because they feel this animal is creating problems with the flow of the creek and possibly the erosion of the banks along the creek. Because most of the beaver are now gone, some of the beaver dams that maintain the nature habitat area have been damaged by one or more of these agencies, thus lowering the water in the lakes (or draining the upper lake) which eventually changes the habitat areas established over the last twenty some years. The baseline for the Camden project includes the habitat environment initially created as well as the habitat that was changed by natural forces, including the beaver. Up until the destruction of the beaver dams, the natural flow of the lakes and creek allowed us to see an environment built by these wild animals.

We are in danger of losing our lakes as we know them and the wild habitat areas along with the natural wild birds and animals that are attracted to thisnature area. There needs to be a good natural balance of fish, birds and animals to maintain an area that is as diverse as what we have now. Take another walk by our lakes and see what upsetting one part of nature can do to an area.

We need to bring attention to the different agencies the urgency of bringing back into balance our natural resource that we all, including the animals, enjoy and need as the city grows larger and larger.

We urge our government entities to direct staff to consider our plea and let them know that they are upsetting the balance of nature in our area to a point that we may not be able to pull out of if something constructively is not done very soon. The destruction of the beaver in this part of Laguna Creek area is not to the benefit of the other animals, birds or governmental agencies. The destruction of the beaver dams in this part of Laguna Creek will only drain the lakes and destroy the habitat areas that have been created over the past twenty some years. It's up to the humans to protect the wildlife areas that are of benefit to all of us including the animals.

We humans invested in our residences under the original promise of the project: Camden Lakes (not Camden Mud pits, or Camden Creek).

We ask that our governments place an injunction on themselves, collectively and collaboratively, and restore the environmental project by restoring the lake and creek levels to their former status, and that any changes, including the eradication of beaver and their dams, follow a much better public process.

Involved Agencies or Organizations:

City of Elk Grove

Cosumnes Community Services District -

Sacramento - Yolo Mosquito Vector Control District

State Fish and Game Dept.

Laguna Creek Watershed Council

And recently added: Camden Neighborhood Association Board

Side note: As of May 1, the lakes appear to have recovered, some of this is due to renewed beaver activity, but largely due to the seasonal addition of pumped water into the system.

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