SOLANO CO., 3/21/26 — The two men stood near a rickety barbed wire fence by state Highway 12 between Suisun City and Rio Vista in Solano County, looking east over a vast tract of gently rolling rangeland.
In the summer, this sprawling property will be sere and brown. But now, freshened by heavy winter rains, it is intensely green. Wetlands dot the landscape, some supporting Canada geese and mallard ducks dabbling in the water. Northern harriers and red-tailed hawks cruise overhead, seeking mice and voles in the grasses and emerging wildflowers below.
Both men admired the view. But Jim DeKloe, a biology professor at Solano Community College, and John Harter, the owner of Waterfront Comics in Suisun City, have different visions for the property…