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The mural was done by Chico-based illustrator and muralist Wyatt Hersey and people were invited to help paint it. The room where the mural was painted will not only be used to conduct the business of the organization but also as a community space where others can come to host meetings. The interactive mural featured many of Butte County's natural features and animals.

The Butte Environmental Council has launched an educational campaign in Oroville to help alert citizens to the dioxin contamination that has plagued the southern part of town for decades. Billboards demanding action and a series of public forums have been funded by grants from Ventura-based outdoor-clothing company Patagonia Inc. and the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Mark Stemen, president of BEC's board of directors, said Clif Bar and Patagonia both have campaigns aimed at helping low-income communities deal with the toxic problems they may face. "They were very inspired by the issues and the work we've been doing in south Oroville," Stemen said.

A majority on the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to draft an ordinance that would ban fracking, a step that could place this county at the vanguard of a grass-roots movement to halt the practice.  In a surprisingly unscripted move, the supervisors voted 4-1 to consider a comprehensive fracking ban after county staffers research how best this can be done. The vote was applauded by dozens of anti-fracking activists, many of whom had spoken in favor of the more moderate measure that was on the agenda - a recommendation the county amend its zoning code to ensure local oversight of fracking projects.  Some speakers at the Tuesday meeting, though, said they weren't confident the state has the resources or will to protect local aquifers and air quality from fracking operations. And Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, warned that new drilling techniques are making "smaller pockets" of gas - like those in Butte County - "more viable."  "With a price shift there could be a boom here," DiFalco said.

Environmental groups want to see Bidwell Ranch become part of Bidwell Park Seasonal cattle-grazing makes up the bulk of the activity at Bidwell Ranch, an expansive reserve downslope of Upper Bidwell Park. But that could change if the Chico City Council gets behind the request of a coalition of heavy-hitting local environmental groups. As John Merz put it in a recent city meeting, the request is straightforward: that "Bidwell Ranch become a formal part of Bidwell Park." But that plan has hit snags over the past decade, and Merz says local environmental groups-Friends of Bidwell Park, Butte Environmental Council, Altacal Audubon Society, the Sierra Club Yahi Group, the California Native Plant Society's Mount Lassen chapter and the Bidwell Ranch Committee-have come to the conclusion that the best option for the 750-acre property is adding it to the city's largest park.