WCB 8/2024

Big Redwood Forest Preservation Deal Coming Up On Mendocino Coast

MEETING OF THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD
Thursday, August 22, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium, 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=224088&inline

NORTH COAST:

4566 acres: Lost Coast Redwoods $8,500,000 Mendocino County
To consider the allocation of a grant to Save the Redwoods League and Bureau of Land Management for the permanent protection of 4,566± acres located seven miles southwest of Leggett in Mendocino County.

https://www.savetheredwoods.org/project/lost-coast-redwoods/
Save the Redwoods League acquired Lost Coast Redwoods property for $36.9 million in December 2021. The land is protected from excessive timber harvesting, subdivision, and development. ...With more than 2,250 acres (about 3.5 square miles) of second-growth redwood forest and large old-growth trees scattered throughout . Total size: 3181 acres, Goal: $43.4 million

https://www.savetheredwoods.org/project/lost-coast-redwoods/overview/
Soper Company owned this property, known to the company as DeVilbiss Ranch, and managed it for timber production since 1963. For decades the company supported habitat and biodiversity through ethical stewardship and led the timber industry in science-based innovation and land management practices that foster sustainable forests. ….totals 3100 acres

https://www.savetheredwoods.org/project/cape-vizcaino-restoration/
SRL purchased the nearby 401-acre property Cape Vizcaino property in 2008,

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120 acres: North Coast Range Fen Conservation Area (Wojcik) $475,000 Humboldt County
To consider the acquisition of 120± acres of land by CDFW as an expansion to CDFW’s North Coast Fen Regional Conservation Area located near Bridgeville in Humboldt County.

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CENTRAL VALLEY AND SIERRA NEVADAS

96 acres at Big Rock in Mariposa County, $520,000
To consider the allocation for a grant to the American Indian Council of Mariposa County to acquire in fee 96± acres of land located near Mariposa in Mariposa County.

Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area Expansion #17 (Soper) FEE $1,238,900
Yuba County four miles east of Bangor

1585 acres: Willow Creek Ranch Conservation Easement $775,000 Lassen County
To consider the allocation for a grant to California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to acquire a conservation easement over 1,585± acres, located 17 miles north of Susanville in Lassen County.

691 acres: Upper Carpenter Valley $2,500,000 Nevada County
To consider the allocation for a grant to Truckee Donner Land Trust to acquire in fee 691± acres located three miles northwest of the town of Truckee in Nevada County.

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SAN FRANCISCO BAY:

8 acres: Tidewater Day Use Area $2,650,000 Alameda County
To consider the allocation for a grant to East Bay Regional Park District for a cooperative project with the National Park Service, California State Coastal Conservancy, and Alameda County to convert an empty industrial lot to eight acres of bayfront parkland, which will become part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline in the city of Oakland in Alameda County

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LOS ANGELES:

Ballona Wetlands Drain Removal $575,000 Los Angeles County
To consider an allocation for a grant to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to remove two reinforced concrete pipelines within the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles County.

Ballona Wetlands Tribal Engagement $250,000 Los Angeles County
To consider an allocation for a grant to CDFW to provide engagement with tribal governments and tribal community members to facilitate participation in ongoing actions within the Reserve in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles County.

SCC 4/2024

Bay Ridge Trail Preserve is Expanded

disburse up to $1,683,000 to the California Rangeland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over approximately 1,402-acres of Stonier Ranch for the protection of open space, wildlife corridors, viewsheds, natural resources, and grazing lands, in Santa Clara County.
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2404/20140418Board08_Stonier_Ranch_staffrec.pdf

WCB 5/2024

Notice of Meeting WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD
Thursday, May 23, 2024, 9:30 a.m. Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium
715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814

DETAILS AND MAPS
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=222475&inline

AGENDA ITEMS:

NORTH COAST:

Trinity Headwaters $12,100,000 Trinity County
grant to Pacific Forest Trust to acquire 10,700± acres located west of Interstate 5 and the city of Mount Shasta, and southeast of the community of Callahan. $1.4M from SNC, $2M from feds
INFO AND MAP: https://www.pacificforest.org/conservation-project/trinity-headwaters/
https://www.pacificforest.org/conserving-trinity-river-headwaters/

Miner's Creek $2,750,000 Siskiyou County
grant to The Nature Conservancy to permanently protect 389± acres
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/california/stories-in-california/staff-stories/ see 12/15/2023 post

Upper Bear Creek Meadows Conservation Easement $4,485,000 Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou Land Trust for a cooperative project with CAL FIRE to acquire a conservation easement over 4,768± acres located east of the community of McCloud. $1.2M from CalFire

Parks Creek Ranch $9,300,000 Siskiyou County
grant to The Nature Conservancy to acquire 5,277± acres located five miles from Weed.

Arcanum Ranch $550,000 Mendocino County
grant to Sanctuary Forest to acquire 50± acres located two miles south of the community of Whitethorn.

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SO-CALIF:

El Monte Valley (Digenan) $810,000 San Diego County
grant to Lakeside’s River Park Conservancy for a cooperative project with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the County of San Diego to acquire in fee 75± acres located eight miles east of the city of Santee. (Price includes $690k from CNRA for total $1.5M.)
The Property connects the County’s El Monte County Park to the County’s 2,619-acre El Capitan Preserve,

Santa Rosa Hills $347,000 Riverside County
grant to the Oswit Land Trust for a cooperative project with CNRA to acquire in fee 165± acres located one mile east of the city of Hemet. (CNRA is paying $1M, for total price of $1,34M)

Western Riverside MSHCP Johnson $371,000 Riverside County
grant Federal & WCB funds to the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) to acquire in fee 10± acres located in the city of Hemet. USFWS is paying $690k

Happy Valley $1,400,000 Riverside County
grant $2.6M Federal & WCB funds to the Oswit Land Trust to acquire in fee 639± acres located near Indio Hills.

Palo Verde Ecological Reserve, Expansion 5, $8,000,000 Imperial County
acquisition of 1,971± acres located south of the city of Blythe. Dept of Water Resources paying $2M, $25.5M from Lower Colorado MSCP Consortium

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L.A. COUNTY:

Angeles Linkage $824,000 Los Angeles County
grant to the Trust for Public Land for a cooperative project with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire 113± acres located half a mile south of the community of Acton.
RMC paying $1.5M, and CNRA $1M

Follows Camp Ecological Design $2,080,000 Los Angeles County
grant to City of Industry for a project to develop restoration design plans and initiate environmental education programs, located on 118 acres of city-owned land eight miles northeast of the city of Azusa.

Simi Divide - Box Canyon Connector $850,000 Ventura County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority for a cooperative project with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to acquire 166± acres located near Simi Valley. SMMC paying $385k

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CENTRAL COAST:

Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve, Expansion 19, $640,000 Monterey County
To consider the acquisition of 24± acres located near Castroville.

LI Livestock Ranch Conservation Easement $1,056,124 San Benito County
grant to the California Rangeland Trust for a cooperative project with the Bureau of Reclamation to acquire a conservation easement over 1,631±-acres located adjacent to Pinnacles National Park. Bureau of Reclamation paying $980k

Beach Ranch $5,000,000 Santa Cruz County
grant to The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County to acquire 264 ± acres located 2.5 miles southwest of Watsonville. Coastal Conservancy paying $8M, LT of S. Cruz $900k

Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander, Section 6 (La Selva Uplands) $6.1M, Santa Cruz County
grant federal & WCB funds to The Trust for Public Land and The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County as successor grantee for a project to acquire in fee 144± acres located near Watsonville. USFWS paying $3M

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SF BAY AREA:

Barnett Ranch $1,997,000 Contra Costa County
grant to John Muir Land Trust to acquire 134± acres located in Martinez in Contra Costa County

Morgan Valley Expansion 1 (Aigner) $70,000 Lake County
grant to The Regents of the University of California to acquire 12 ± acres.

Morgan Valley Expansion 2, $30,000 Napa County
grant to The Regents of the University of California to acquire 5± acres.

Tiburon Ridge (Martha) $5,500,000 Marin County
grant to The Trust for Public Land and Marin County Open Space District as successor grantee to acquire 110± acres located in the town of Tiburon. $49M total price; $29m from Marin CO OSD

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CENTRAL VALLEY/SIERRA NEVADAS:

Western Placer County HCP/NCCP (Redwing Ranch North) $1.1M, Placer County
grant federal & WCB funds to the Placer Conservation Authority, for a cooperative project with Placer Legacy Open Space and Agricultural Conservation Program to acquire in fee 430± acres located near Lincoln. USFWS paying$4.3M, Placer Legacy Program $400k

C & P Conservation Easement $1,410,000 Sutter County
grant to Ducks Unlimited for the acquisition of a conservation easement over 313± acres of land buffering high quality wetlands located on the Sutter National Wildlife Refuge

Island Dairy $11,100,000 Stanislaus County
grant to River Partners to acquire fee title over 482± acres located between the historic San Joaquin River channel and Laird Slough immediately adjacent to the unincorporated community of Grayson.

SCC 2/2024

Coastal Land Preservation Deals:

From State Coastal Conservancy meeting on 2/15/2024


NORTH COAST:

DEL NORTE: up to $1,300,000 to the Smith River Alliance, of which $500,000 is to conduct pre-acquisition planning activities and minor clean-up actions for beach, dune, wetland, upland, and forested parcels within and in the vicinity of the Pacific Shores Subdivision, adjacent to the Lake Earl Wildlife Area in Del Norte County, and $800,000 is to acquire those same parcels.
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20230215Board3B_Pacific_Shores_Acquisition_Phase_IV.pdf

83 ACRES IN HUMBOLDT: up to $800,000 to the Mattole Restoration Council for the acquisition of the approximately 83-acre North Fork Mattole property on the North Fork of the Mattole River in Humboldt County
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215_Board10_North_Fork_Mattole_Test.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215_Board10_North_Fork_Mattole_Ex1.pdf

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SAN FRANCISCO BAY:

100 ACRES IN CONTRA COSTA: up to $1,230,000 to John Muir Land Trust to acquire the approximately 100-acre Kenneth Gerlack Preserve Property in Contra Costa County. (Total price: $1.23M)
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board14_Franklin%20Canyon%20Kenneth%20Gerlack%20Preserve.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board14_Franklin%20Canyon%20Kenneth%20Gerlack%20Preserve_Ex1_Maps_Clean.pdf

20 ACRES IN SONOMA: up to $600,000 to Sonoma County Regional Parks to acquire approximately 20 acres of non-active railway corridor to complete acquisition of ownership of lands needed to enable future construction of the Sonoma Schellville Trail, Sonoma County. (Additional $2.1M coming from Sonoma county govt agencies) http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board17_SchellvilleAcq.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board17_Ex1.pdf

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CENTRAL COAST:

247 ACRES IN SANTA CRUZ: up to $8,000,000 to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County to acquire the 247-acre Beach Ranch property at the Pajaro River Estuary in Santa Cruz County. (Additional purchase funds: $5M State Wildlife Conservation Board, & $806k from CA Dept of Conservation.)
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board23_Staff_Rec_Beach_Ranch_Acquisition.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board23_Staff_Rec_Beach_Ranch_Acquisition_Ex1.pdf

12,000 ACRES IN SLO: up to $5,000,000 for planning for the conservation of the 12,000-acre Diablo Canyon Lands located along 14 miles of coastline, owned by PG&E as part of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant which is slated to close in 2030.
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board20_Diablo_Canyon_Land_Conservation_Planning.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board20_Exhibit_1.pdf

27,512 ACRES IN SLO: up to $2,500,000 to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to acquire a conservation easement over the 27,512-acre Camatta Ranch in eastern San Luis Obispo County. Total purchase price is $18.7M with additional $10.88M from CA WCB, $5M from CA Dept of Conservation and $327k from LCSLO
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board3D_Camatta_Ranch_Conservation_Easement_Acquisition.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board3D_Exhibit_1.pdf

280 ACRES IN VENTURA: grant of an amount not to exceed $35,000,000 to The Nature Conservancy to complete permitting and implement the first phase of the Ormond Beach restoration and public access improvement Plan on approximately 280 acres at the eastern side of Ormond Beach
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board08_OrmondBeachRestoration.pdf
MAP: Exhibit 3: Ormond Beach Restoration and Public Access Plan
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board08_OrmondBeachRestoration_Ex3sm.pdf

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LOS ANGELES COUNTY:

150 ACRES-LONG BEACH: land swap involving the transfer of a five-acre parcel owned by Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority to Los Cerritos Wetlands, LLC in exchange for a 150-acre parcel for purposes of natural resource and wetland protection and restoration, open space, and public access.
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board09_LCWLandSwap.pdf
--Declaration of Deed Restrictions
https://scc.ca.gov/files/2024/02/Add1_LCW_OTDparcel_DRC.pdf
--Tribal Letters https://scc.ca.gov/files/2024/02/Add2_TribalLetter_Kizh.pdf
--Additional Projects Letters
https://scc.ca.gov/files/2024/02/Add3_SupportLetters-1.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2024/2402/20240215Board09_LCWLandSwap_Ex2_Passed.pdf

WCB 2/2024

A Big Land-Saving Deal on the Central Coast

Notice of Meeting, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium, 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

PRELIMINARY AGENDA ITEMS

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=218708&inline

FULL AGENDA WITH MAPS:

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=219881&inline

CENTRAL COAST:

Camatta Ranch Conservation Easement $10,372,600 San Luis Obispo County
grant to The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo for a cooperative project with the State Coastal Conservancy and the Department of Conservation to acquire a conservation easement over 27,512± acres located near Shandon.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA:

Los Banos Wildlife Area, Expansion 10 (Soares) $3,700,000, Merced County
acquisition of 168± acres of land by CDFW as an expansion to CDFW’s Los Banos Wildlife Area located in Los Banos in the San Joaquin River watershed

Malech Ranch Conservation Easement $1,200,000 Santa Clara County
cooperative project with the Moore Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Network for the acquisition of a conservation easement over 761± acres near the city of Gilroy

CAL FIRE Pacific Union College Forest, Expansion 1 $0 Napa County
acceptance of a conservation easement over 246± acres by CAL FIRE near the community of Angwin 

Mountain Meadows, Expansion 1 (101 Ranch) $950,000 Lassen County
grant to Trust for Public Land for a cooperative project with CDFW and Feather River Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 1,827± acres five miles northeast of Westwood.

Magoon and Gill Conservation Easement $3,046,750 Sutter County
grant to Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust for a cooperative project with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to acquire a conservation easement over the 875-acre Gill and 571-acre Magoon properties, totaling 1,446± acres located east of Robbins

Sweetwater Ridge $7,280,000 Merced County
grant to River Partners to acquire 560± acres located at the southeastern border of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and bordered on the west by the San Joaquin River

O’Connell Ranch $6,110,000 Santa Clara County
grant to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency for the acquisition of The Conservation Fund's 78.3% interest in 1,073± acres near the city of Gilroy

Lakeside Ranch $10,000,000 Santa Clara County
grant to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency for the acquisition of 1,902± acres located west of the city of Morgan Hill

Upper Truckee River Watershed (Knox Johnson Motel-6) $6,000,000, El Dorado County
grant to the California Tahoe Conservancy for a cooperative project with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Tahoe Fund, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the CDFW Watershed Restoration Grants Program for the acquisition of 31± acres of land adjacent to the Upper Truckee River within the city of South Lake Tahoe

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

Western Riverside MSHCP Samrith $88,069 Riverside County
acquire in fee 20± acres west of the city of Temecula.

Western Riverside MSHCP Johnson $371,000 Riverside County
acquire in fee 10± acres in the city of Hemet.