Upstate California - History

History

Upstate California is a name for the more-rural region north of Northern California's major urban areas. The term Northern California includes the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. The region to the north of Sacramento has traditionally used the name Northstate to differentiate itself from the major metropolitan areas which are actually more centrally located in the state. However, "Northstate" has had little or no name recognition even in other parts of California. The coastal counties of Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte are known as California's North Coast or Redwood Coast, which has a similar issue by including the northern San Francisco Bay Area counties. In 2001, economic development officials from some of the 20 northernmost counties decided on a new name without "north" in it. The name "Upstate California" was also intended to borrow from the recognizability of Upstate New York.

The region has a history of trying to assert its identity, including attempts to secede from the state. A movement to combine the northernmost counties of California and southernmost counties of Oregon into the State of Jefferson in 1941 fell apart after the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II. In the early 1990s, Assemblyman Stan Statham led an unsuccessful effort to split the northern counties into a new state. In a historical echo of the timing of the 1941 secession movement, the Upstate California promotional campaign began on September 10, 2001, becoming overshadowed in the news the next day by the September 11 attacks.

In spite of the slow start, the name has increased in usage. For example, in state government agencies, the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and the 10-campus University of California system include Upstate California among their regional divisions of the state. Some regional divisions group El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sutter and/or Yuba counties with Sacramento rather than Upstate California, including the United States Census Bureau which includes all 5 counties in the Sacramento Combined Statistical Area, as parts of those counties have gained a distinctly suburban feel as a result of Sacramento's urban sprawl.

A study released in June 2009 by the Center for Economic Development at California State University, Chico titled "Renewable Electricity Production in Upstate California" found that the region produces 43% of its electricity usage from renewable sources which put the area ahead of a statewide mandate to reach 33% by the year 2020. The study suggests that the region is in a good position to use further development of renewable energy production also as a direction for regional economic development. The study identifies current sources as hydroelectric (dams), biomass and geothermal and future potential for solar. The area does not have significant potential for wind power production.