SCC 6/2023

SOME BIG COASTAL PRESERVATION DEALS IN JUNE!

AGENDA:

https://scc.ca.gov/2023/05/18/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-sacramento-june-01/
click on agenda item links for maps

TO WATCH ON ZOOM:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x3pYh8EHQ7WsnkYGeRCn4w

LAND PURCHASES IN GREEN SHADING

DATE: Thursday, June 01, 2023
TIME: 10:00 A.M
LOCATION: California Natural Resource Agency, 715 P Street, Room 2-221 A-C
Sacramento, CA 95814

HUMBOLDT: $5,500,000 to California Trout, Inc. for the acquisition of the 175-acre Prior Ranch for the Elk River Habitat Restoration Project

HUMBOLDT: $4,500,000 to the Hoopa Valley Tribe to acquire approximately 10,300 acres of real property known as the Pine Creek Tract, in the Klamath River watershed (current owner: New Forest, bought in 2018 from Soper-Wheeler. Hoopa tribe will pay a total of 14.1 million))

MENDOCINO: $2,000,000 to the Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 11,692 acres of the Rana Creek Ranch in upper Carmel Valley

MENDOCINO: amend the Conservancy’s revenue sharing agreement with The Conservation Fund for the 16,000 acre Big River/Salmon Creek Forests. State will receive $3.1 million.

SONOMA-NAPA: $1,500,000 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 654-acre McCormick Ranch Property in the Mayacamas Mountains

SONOMA: $515,200 to the Pepperwood Foundation to reduce wildfire risk at 1054 acres out of the 3200 acre Pepperwood Preserve

MONTEREY: $1,090,000, including $970,000 of grant funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation to acquire a conservation easement over 24 acres of agricultural land, floodplain restoration and coastal access along Tembladero Slough, between Castroville and Salinas River State Beach.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: $910,000 to the Land Conservancy of SLO County to acquire a conservation easement over the 736-acre Warren Ranch located in the upper San Simeon and Santa Rosa Creek watersheds

ORANGE COUNTY: $575,000 to the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy for restoring 44.8 acres of degraded wetlands at Newland Marsh in Huntington Beach

SCC 4/2023

State to Fund Preservation of Two Forested Parcels

https://scc.ca.gov/2023/03/23/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-san-rafael-april-06/

Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $41,200 to the Mattole Restoration Council to complete preacquisition activities for 52 acres of wetland, riparian, grassland, and forested habitat on the North Fork Mattole River in Humboldt County. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board03A_Lower_North_Fork_Mattole.pdf

Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $7,000,000 to the Land Trust of Napa County to acquire 465 acres of the 2,300-acre Walt Ranch Property for habitat preservation, biodiversity protection, climate resilience, improving wildlife corridors, and public access and tribal cultural uses compatible with natural resource protection in the Capell Valley of Napa County, California. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board05_Walt_Ranch_Acquisition.pdf

WCB 5/2023

State To Preserve 25,000 Acres in May Meeting

Notice of Meeting

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=212662&inline

MAPS: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=212927&inline

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD May 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814

Bates Ranch $2 million Santa Clara County
cooperative project with the Peninsula Open Space Trust and the Moore Foundation to acquire 735± acres to provide a critical wildlife corridor from Mount Madonna County Park to Uvas Reservoir, near the city of Gilroy

Devil's Canyon $1,600,000 Los Angeles County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire in fee 120± acres

White Tate $642,200 San Diego County
grant federal funds to the Escondido Creek Conservancy, to acquire in fee 48± acres near the city of San Marcos

Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement $0 Siskiyou County
To consider WCB entering into a Property Transfer Agreement on behalf of CDFW for future acceptance of 7,027± acres of land from Klamath River Renewal Corporation after dam removal and restoration as a no-cost acquisition located near the town of Hornbrook

Bently Junction Ranch $4,220,000 Mono County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 2,333± acres located near Bridgeport

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Rana Creek Ranch $24 million Monterey County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy for a cooperative project with the State Coastal Conservancy to acquire 11,691± acres located in Carmel Valley

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=212651&inline

review of price

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Fay Creek Ranch $3,336,929 Kern County

two grants to Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) for a cooperative project with Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 2,285± acres near the community of Weldon in Kern County. At close of escrow, WRC will direct the seller to convey the southwestern 1,039± acres to the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation and the northeastern 1,246± acres to the Tübatulabal Tribe’s nonprofit organization for long-term stewardship

Karuk Tribe Gets Land Back on Hwy 96

Biden and Congress Return 1000 Acres to North Coast Tribe

On January 6, in a rare act of unity for a very divided federal government, President Joe Biden signed into law an act returning the center of the world to the Karuk Tribe. Eight years in the making, the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act took roughly 1000 acres of land hugging the shores along the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers near the border between Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties and placed it in trust for the Tribe.

The land has previously been managed by the US Forest Service. In 1850, the California legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians which, among other things (including establishing indentured servitude and laying the groundwork for genocide), facilitated the removal and displacement of Indigenous Californians from their ancestral lands. By the time that the first seeds of what would become the US Forest Service were planted in the late 1800s due to exploitation of the forests by miners and loggers, the original stewards of the lands that would come to be managed by the federal government had already been forcibly removed. For perspective, the Tribe’s ancestral territory encompasses over one million acres, 95 percent of which is currently occupied by the US Forest Service, so although this act of land return is cause for celebration, it is a mere fraction of the territory historically inhabited by the tribe...

MAP: https://huffman.house.gov/download/huffman_legislativemap-katimiinarea_08-09-2021

https://www.yournec.org/feds-return-center-of-the-world-to-karuk-tribe/

SEE FULL STORY ON PAGE 6
https://www.yournec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Web_February-2023-EcoNews.pdf

SCC 2/2023

 Coastal Conservancy to Fund $7 million purchase in East SF Bay

2/2/2023 meeting in Imperial Beach (San Diego area)
https://scc.ca.gov/2023/01/20/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-imperial-beach-february-02/

disburse up to $7,000,000 to East Bay Regional Park District to acquire the 768-acre Finley Road Ranch Property in Contra Costa County for purposes of protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural and scenic resources, including wildlife corridors and habitat; improving landscape resilience related to climate change; preserving open space; providing public access and recreational use compatible with the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural and scenic resources; and providing a public entry staging area for parks on the southern side of Mount Diablo

Total price is $11.3 million, including $4.3 million in non-State funds

for uncropped map:

https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2302/Linking/20230202Board10_Finley%20Road%20Ranch_Ex%201%20map.pdf

WCB 2/2023

CA Wildlife Land Deals.....

Notice of Meeting WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD
February 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814

agenda and maps: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=210594&inline

Photos: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=210689

IN L.A. COUNTY:

Escondido Falls $1,500,000 in Los Angeles County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire 88± acres. Total price: $4.8 million
https://files.ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/274756-1/attachment/azqLUAQd3fq1RSnITTxvOKKctYydTQJUIsjQF2t8kGDBQZ6J6-BczTwfJDifhm63KBIbLf3ruh03Ni070

Topanga Lagoon Restoration Planning $4,946,000 in Los Angeles County
a grant to the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains for a cooperative planning project with CDFW, State Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Parks and Recreation, and Caltrans to develop the technical studies, environmental review and outreach necessary to restore the Topanga Lagoon

IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY AND SIERRA NEVADAS:



Fay Creek Ranch $3,360,000 in Kern County
grant to Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 2,285± acres near the community of Weldon. WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA

Kramer Ranch Conservation Easement $1,356,788 in Lassen and Modoc Counties
grant to California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to acquire a conservation easement over 4,922± acres near the community of Bieber
Total price: $2.96 million

Yanci Ranch $0 in Yolo County
to subgrant federal funds to the Yolo Habitat Conservancy to acquire a conservation easement over 795 ± acres. Total price: $1.3 million

Barber Creek $240,000 in Alpine County
acquisition of 66± acres of land by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)

Bufford Ranch Conservation Easement, Expansion 2, $95,000 in Kern County
grant to California Rangeland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 64.99± acres of land located in Caliente. Total price $100,000


IN THE SF BAY AREA:

Monitor Island Transfer $0 in Lake County
no cost transfer of 4± acres of land by CDFW to Lake County Land Trust

IN SAN DIEGO:

San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area, Expansion 6 (Geis) $413,000 in San Diego County
acquisition in fee of 50± acres of land as an expansion to CDFW’s San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area


IN THE CENTRAL COAST:

Silacci Ranch Conservation Easement $2,010,000 in Monterey and San Benito Counties
grant to California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Department of Conservation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to acquire an agricultural conservation easement over 9,418± acres near the city of Salinas. Total price: $8.5 million
https://www.montereyherald.com/2020/12/17/grant-awarded-to-conserve-rangeland-in-the-gabilans-near-salinas/

SCC 12/2022

Sonoma Mountain Purchase Funded by CA Coastal Conservancy Board

ful meeting agenda:
https://scc.ca.gov/2022/11/16/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-pacific-grove-december-01/

SONOMA: disburse up to $787,500 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 174-acre Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Property in Sonoma County 12/1/2022 SCC
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2022/2212/20221201Board12_Sonoma_Mountain.pdf
Several maps: https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2022/2212/20221201Board12_Sonoma_Mountain_Ex1.pdf

WCB 11/2022

ABOUT 10,000 ACRES TO BE SAVED BY WILDLIFE BOARD

 Notice of Meeting of WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD, November 15, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
MAPS: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=206070&inline

CENTRAL VALLEY/SIERRA NEVADAS:

21 ACRES China Hill, Expansion 4, $40,750 Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou Land Trust (SLT) for the protection of Yreka phlox, a wildflower endemic to China Hill and other surrounding foothill areas, located in the city of Yreka. USFWS is granting $59,000, for a total price of $100,000
http://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/Project.aspx?ProjectPK=22897&PropositionPK=4

655 ACRES Yreka Phlox Soap Creek Ridge purchase (Anderson) $105,075. Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou LT. USFWS granting $295,000, for a total price of $400,000

66 ACRES Barber Creek $240,000, Alpine County, acquisition by CDFW. WITHDRAWN

4101 ACRES Sierra Valley Conservation easement purchase, Expansion 7 (Bates Ranch) $2,382,268 in Plumas County, grant to the Feather River Land Trust. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is granting $317k, for a total price   of $2.7million

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NORTH COAST:

CAL FIRE Mattole Headwaters, $0 Humboldt County POSTPONED
acceptance of a conservation easement over 95+ acres by CAL FIRE located near Whitehorn in Humboldt County.

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CENTRAL COAST:

Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (Hasan) $900,000 Santa Cruz County
acquisition of 3.5± acres of land by CDFW, located in Aptos. Total price is $900k

4503 ACRES Sans Topo Ranch Conservation Easement, $650,000. San Benito County, grant to California Rangeland Trust (CRT) to acquire a conservation easement located near Hollister.    The US Fish and Wildlife Service is providing $1.85 million, for a total price of $2.5 million.

321 ACRES Pereira Ranch Conservation Easement, $415,000 , in San Luis Obispo County,
grant to the Land Conservancy of SLO County near San Luis Obispo. CA Dept of Conservation is contributing $735,000, for a total price of $1.15million

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LOS ANGELES:

Agoura Hills - Santa Monica Mountains Gateway, $2,230,000, grant to MRCA to acquire 8± acres, SE of Cornell and Agoura roads. MRCA to provide $330k, Total price is $2.6 million
https://smmc.civicweb.net/document/11584/Consideration%20of%20resolution%20authorizing%20a%20grant.pdf?handle=4F14D34DD86F45C082668846035801E2

Newhall Pass I-5 Wildlife Crossing Design, $4,724,000, Los Angeles County. grant to the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains for a wildlife overpass across Interstate 5
https://mrca.civicweb.net/document/64073/Consideration%20of%20resolution%20authorizing%20a%20suppo.pdf?handle=A82B7D676B474C3295B22EEAD2884D61

North Coast New Parks...

From 2018-2022:


DEL NORTE COUNTY:

Aug 23, 2019
state $ help North coast Yurok tribe buy 50,000 acres from timber giant Green Diamond
@FORESTSFOREVER
"The Tribe is restoring approximately 15,000 acres in Blue Creek into an old-growth forest and a Salmon Sanctuary. Blue Creek is one of the most important Klamath River tributaries..." #salmon #forests https://buff.ly/2zdPKMR
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2019/aug/14/yurok-tribe-acquires-50000-acres-green-diamond-lan/
MAP: https://www.westernrivers.org/assets/projects/bluecreek_website-map-updated-1594857350.pdf
Jun 30, 2020 @FORESTSFOREVER
How the Yurok Tribe is reclaiming the Klamath River https://youtu.be/D2mBw-oLw0I

New San Francisco Bay Parks...

From 2018-2022:

ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTIES:

10/17/2020
By an act of Congress, John Muir Land Trust is donating the 44-acre West Hills Farm property to the John Muir National Historic Site to help preserve trails and lands surrounding the longtime home of the man known as the Father of Our National Parks.
In 2019 JMLT purchased Almond Ranch, a 281-acre property connecting the John Muir National Historic Site to an expansive trail system and 18,000 acres of permanently protected open space.
https://jmlt.org/calendar-events/national-park-expansion-and-almond-ranch-dedication/