Flood zones along the Russian River just got bigger, on paper at least. Sonoma County supervisors have accepted new flood risk maps from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for the Russian River watershed. They are the first new maps in 30 years. When voting on the maps, District 5 Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents the lower Russian River said, “I do believe that this needs to pass.” “It has passed with the support of my colleagues,” Hopkins said. “But I just do want to register the protest of whether it’s, you know, appropriate for us to take actions that negatively impact property owners.” Hopkins cast a symbolic ‘no’ vote on adopting the updated maps. The county needed to accept FEMA’s latest flood risk assessment or get the boot from the National Flood Insurance Program, but the new maps are a bit of a catch-22.