Mayor Elizabeth Patterson was appointed to serve as the primary representative to the Delta Conservatory Board. (File photo)

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson was appointed by the Solano County Board of Supervisors as the primary representative to the Delta Conservancy Board at the supervisors meeting Tuesday. Prior Solano County representative Skip Thomson, supervisor for District Five, had requested that his term end early due to his recent election as chairman of the Delta Protection Commission along with increased activities on other boards. His term would otherwise have ended Dec. 31 of this year. Thomson requested that his term be reassigned to Mayor Patterson.
“I am proud to appoint Mayor Patterson to serve as the primary representative on behalf of Solano County,” Thomson said in a statement. “Her work as a scientist, familiarity with water issues and passion for protecting our natural resources makes her a great fit.”
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy was created by the state legislature in November, 2009 to implement ecosystem restoration and support efforts that advance the economic well-being of Delta residents.
In an interview with the Herald Thursday, Patterson outlined her extensive experience with water issues beginning with her time on the Contra Costa County Resource Conservancy Board in the early 1980s. She will see some familiar faces on the board from her past associations, she says, along with some new. “Some of them I knew from the Army Corps of Engineers in Sacramento or from joint work on the Sacramento-San Joaquin water basin flood study,” she recalled, along with a few other past colleagues.
Patterson said she hopes to serve on the board without taking too much time away from her other obligations. Her existing familiarity with the issues surrounding the delta, which include water delivery, wildlife conservation and agricultural and recreational uses, will ease her introduction to the role. It also helps, she says, that she is already acquainted with many of the players.
One of the overarching challenges Patterson perceives for the conservancy is to increase awareness of the multi-faceted nature of the delta – its diverse communities and their differing relationships to the water supply – which she feels is fundamental to creating systems that can well serve the divergent needs.
“The Delta is multi-generational. Five- and six-generation families make a life in the beautiful area,” she said. “It’s a historic place. It has 500,000 acres of farmland. The conservancy makes sure it can help that culture to remain, and promotes that sense of place, in addition to keeping the ecosystem functioning for fish and other species as well as for water supply. I wish more people would tour the Delta and see all the variations.”
Patterson sees a particularly low awareness of delta characteristics in the southern part of the state, which depends significantly on northern delta water.
“As a project manager with a state agency, I worked with some other groups to organize boat tours (here in the North Bay Area),” she said. “We had a wonderful relationship with Maritime Academy. We took three Maritime Academy boats into the delta, each with one expert. The passengers were key state people. But you go to the southern California area and 98 percent of the people have no idea why the delta smelt is more important than lawn irrigation.”
Patterson was quick to add that the water agencies and officials in Southern California are well acquainted with the nature of the Delta and the complexity of the needs it serves, but that the average resident there is not.
“I feel privileged to be appointed to the board,” she concluded. “I get to see what people have put together, and what they’re working on to achieve.”
As for the differing perspectives from other parts of the state, Patterson is optimistic.
“We all share a respect for nature,” she said.

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