[Kozak]

When I moved to Sacramento I heard a greatdeal about the "Vernal Pools" , which were described as veritable edens, and resulted in large areas being off limits to development ( although already purchased and taxed accordingly ). So one spring day I went to visit them and saw what for all the world to my midwestern eyes were - puddles. Some large puddles, but puddles non the less. Get one of those on your property and you were screwed.

[Grampa Dave]

When my oldest son was graduated from college, we went to the Sierra foothills for some fishing in a lake in February/early March.

I never knew what a Vernal Pool was until that trip. I noticed barbed wire around these colored puddles. The barbed wire was to keep the rancher's cattle off of these pools.

My son explained to me what the Vernal Pools were and the cost to those ranchers.

Later in May we drove up those same roads to go fly fishing in a river up in that area. The fences were still there. No Vernal pools, just dust bowls where the colored puddles were.

[Ditter]

I have never heard of a "vernal pool" in our country they are called wetlands & if you get one you are "truly screwed". Wonder what happened to the "mud puddles" we used to have?