WCB 8/2017: more land saved for wildlife

August: Several Small Land Purchases Ok'd by State Wildlife Conservation Board

http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=148414&inline%20Final%20Agenda
MAPS: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=149021&inline

40 acres at Roddy Home Ranch in Contra Costa County

320 acres in East Contra Costa County

39 acres in the Coachella Valley area of Riverside County

40 acres at Rancho Jamul in San Diego County

12 acres at San Vicente Highlands in San Diego County

6 acres at Wheeler Ridge near Mammoth Lakes in Mono County

9 acres at Taylor Yard along the Los Angeles River

0.4 acres in Hope Valley in Alpine County transferred to a private owner for $20,000 to resolve some encroachments into the State's land

Tax $$ to save 6296 riverfront acres in Calif.

State Hands out $34 million for New 

River Parks and Trails

2012 PROPOSITION 84, ROUND 2, RIVER PARKWAYS GRANT RECIPIENTS

11/26/2012--The California Natural Resources Agency today announced over $34 million in funding for 33 proposed river parkway projects statewide. These projects will create recreation opportunities for families, restore fish and wildlife habitat, provide flood management, and enhance California’s river parkways.

…In total, the grants will fund more than 31 miles of trails and more than 7,500 acres of wildlife habitat restoration and land acquisition.

For full info release:

http://resources.ca.gov/bond/RP_Awards_2012.Final.pdf

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LIST OF LAND PURCHASES TO BE FUNDED:

Alpine County parks dept.:  6 acres--Markleeville Creek Acquisition - $136,000

El Dorado County:  American River Conservancy –2,566 acres-- Cosumnes River Parkway - $1,800,000

Yuba and Nevada Counties: Bear Yuba Land Trust – Rice’s Crossing: Yuba River Acquisition - $1,900,000

Acquire the 2,706-acre Rice’s Crossing property immediately below New Bullards Bar Dam adjacent to Yuba River State Park to provide trails for public use and improve river health for salmon fisheries.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/yuba-121413-river-land.html

The Rice's Crossing property spans both sides of the Middle Yuba River and is bounded by Bullards Bar Reservoir to the north and South Yuba River State Park to the south.

… "This property knits together more than 8,500 acres of protected open space and contains six miles of the Yuba River," said Markley Bavinger, project manager for the Trust for Public Land.

(BELOW: RICE'S CROSSING LOCATION)

L.A./San Bernardino County line: The Conservation Fund – Mount Baldy Ranch Land Acquisition - $868,000. Acquire 237 acres along San Antonio Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains

Humboldt County: Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. – Ryan Creek Community Forest Project - $1,000,000. Acquire approximately 1,200 acres of timberland adjacent to Ryan Creek, establishing a Community Forest for the city of Eureka, which will practice sustainable timber management.

Tulare County: Sequoia Riverlands Trust – Kaweah Oaks Preserve Acquisition $410,181

Acquire approximately 22 acres of riparian habitat adding approximately one-half mile of creek frontage along Deep Creek to the Kaweah Oaks Preserve.

Nevada County:  The Sierra Fund – Deer Creek Tribute Trail & Restoration Project (Acquisition) $739,111. Acquire approximately 32 acres of riparian habitat for the purpose of habitat restoration/enhancement and public access.

Sonoma County parks dept:  Mark West Creek Regional Park and Open Space Preserve - $1,000,000

Acquire 297 acres in the Mark West Creek watershed creating a 1,100-acre regional park and open space preserve providing hikers, cyclists and equestrians access to 20 miles of developed trails crossing grasslands, woodlands and creeks.

Placer County: Trust for Public Land – North Fork American River – Big Bend Acquisition - $1,368,000. Acquire 460 acres known as the Big Bend Property which is bisected by the North Fork American River to protect habitat and wildlife corridors and improve public access to the river.

Even More New Parks to Explore....

In the Sierra Nevadas and Central Valley:

IN SHASTA COUNTY:

Hathaway ranch 6630 acre conservation easement
http://www.pclfoundation.org/publications/sierranevada/shasta.html
http://www.shastalandtrust.org/content/view/19/1/

JS ranch 5940 ac conservation easement
http://www.alcnet.org/PR_JS_Ranch

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IN TEHAMA COUNTY:

(NOT FINALIZED) 5545 ac Pine Creek CE—Rose Ranch, seeking $1 million of total $1.5 mil cost of CE from SNC
http://grants.sierranevada.ca.gov/Easygrants_WS_SNC/applicationpdf.aspx?id=385

80 acres—near Lassen NP—saved 4/2011
http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/news/eighty-acre-added-to-the-lassen-volcanic-wilderness/

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IN PLUMAS COUNTY:

BY THE FEATHER RIVER LAND TRUST:

Heart-K ranch 884 acres
http://www.frlt.org/docs/hk_directions.pdf
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Come-Celebrate--Heart-K---Signed--Sealed--Delivered-.html?soid=1102283092745&aid=3XGHZYiLLRU

Maddalena ranch—575 acres
http://frlt.org/oursuccesses.html
http://www.frlt.org/docs/madd-directions.pdf

Leonhardt Learning Landscape—42 acres,
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs092/1102283092745/archive/1105007767955.html

318 acre conservation easement at Pierce Family ranch, completed 12/2010
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frlt/sets/72157625403168342/

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IN SIERRA COUNTY:

Sierra County Land Trust Protects Volcano and Young America Lakes
5/19/11 from High Sierra Rural Alliance
http://sierracountylandtrust.org/index.shtml
http://www.sierrafund.org/news/495-sclt

Thanks to the herculean efforts of Laurie Oberholtzer of the Sierra County Land Trust and Carl Somers of The Trust for Public Land, three more parcels totaling 835 acres surrounding the Sierra Buttes will be kept in trust for the public. One parcel contains Young America Lake. Another parcel includes Volcano Lake. The acquisition also includes a large portion of the craggy face of the Sierra Buttes.
Previous purchases by the SCLT have included two parcels bordering the eastern edges of Volcano Lake and four parcels on Upper and Lower Sardine Lakes. Their land holdings now total over 1500 acres. The public will now be able to enjoy un-gated access to these jewels in the Lakes Basin area which will be managed by SCLT for hiking and back country camping.
The most recent 835 acre purchase was made possible by a grant funded through Prop 50 in 2007 to the High Sierra Rural Alliance as sponsor for SCLT from the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Grant Program. HSRA is thrilled to have played a part in the acquisition of this unparalleled landscape for public use. We wish to thank everyone who helped make the purchase possible and wish the SCLT much good luck and further successes in protecting the treasures of Sierra County.

MAP OF Young America lake
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=39.59960,-120.65091&z=15&t=T

map of Volcano lake
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=39.60668,-120.62521&z=15&t=T

http://sierracountylandtrust.org/whatwedo.shtml
While much of the Lakes Basin is in the Tahoe National Forest, almost 3,000 acres are still privately owned, mostly old mining claims.

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IN NEVADA COUNTY:

Sugarloaf Mtn-- 30 acres bought by city of Nevada City, 12/10/10
http://www.nevadacityadvocate.com/nevada-city/3498.html
http://sierrafoothillsreport.com/2011/01/31/nevada-city-gains-title-to-sugarloaf/

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IN PLACER COUNTY:

1800 acre Bruin ranch, (WCB 11/2010 gave half the purchase price)
http://www.tpl.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/california/northern-sierra-nevada/harvego-bear-river.html
http://auburnjournal.com/detail/144340.html

MAP: http://geocommons.com/overlays/68765

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TDLT buys 122 ac in Martis Valley,

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/12/3623207/preservation-trust-buys-martis.html#ixzz1MoxyPCwl
Approx. location: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=39.29957,-120.10657&z=14&t=T

52 acre Big Gun preserve
http://www.placerlandtrust.org/news-detail.aspx?title=Big+Gun+Preserve+Protects+Endangered+Species&newsID=49

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IN EL DORADO COUNTY:

1/18/2011
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/18/3330966/talks-begin-on-public-uses-for.html
The Bureau of Land Management acquired the 695-acre property near Rescue just beyond Folsom Lake in 2010.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/kanaka_valley.html

land ownership map: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/folsom/kanaka_valley.Par.75978.File.dat/ownership.pdf

topo map: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/folsom/kanaka_valley.Par.29358.File.dat/topo.pdf

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IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

IN ALPINE COUNTY:

20 acres from Wilderness Land Trust to USFS
http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/news/ilderness_land_trust_acquires_20_acres_to_add_to_the_mokelumne_wilderness/

http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org/news/wilderness-land-trust-permanently-protects-20-acre-private-inholding-as-part-of-the-mokelumne-wilderness/

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IN MADERA COUNTY:

Topping ranch conservation easement—1362 acres
http://yubanet.com/regional/Sierra-Nevada-Conservancy-Board-Approves-10-Million-in-Bond-Funded-Watershed-Protection-Projects-in-the-Sierra.php

2990 acre conservation easement, by Sierra Foothill Conservancy
http://www.californiaoaks.org/html/current_issues.html

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IN TULARE COUNTY:

152 acre Dry Creek and 1819 acre Homer ranch preserves,
http://www.thesungazette.com/articles/2011/05/18/news/news04.txt
http://www.sequoiariverlands.org/map/nature-preserve-map.html

50 acres added to US BLM's Atwell Island preserve in 2010
http://www.alcnet.org/projects/overview/california/atwell_1
Atwell Island Land Retirement Demonstration Project,

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IN KERN COUNTY:

434 acres donated by National Audubon Society to feds, 3/10/11
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2011/471xtra_wild_adds.html

Eastern Sierra Trail access lawsuit...

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Pleasant Valley Trails Lawsuit ----- Information Needed

6/29/2010--Alpine County--Sometimes the only access to public lands is across private property.

It is a long-settled principle of law that public use of a path over private property for a specified period of time creates a public easement that is permanent and cannot be revoked by subsequent owners. We recently received the following notice from a citizens group in the Sierra Nevada south of Lake Tahoe regarding access issues. If you have information that might help them and are interested in helping out, please get in touch with the people mentioned in the alert. Thanks.

Pleasant Valley is a beautiful meadow south of Lake Tahoe that for well over 100 years had served as a major access point into Alpine County high country, including the Pacific Crest Trail and the Mokelumne Wilderness Area. Access to Pleasant Valley was gated shut by a private landowner in 1999 who no longer
wished to have hikers, anglers, and others cross his land. In the years following the trails' closure, Friends of Hope Valley (FOHV) worked hard to persuade the landowner to voluntarily reopen these trails for public use, but after eight years of working for an amicable resolution this gateway to public lands remains closed. With no other recourse, FOHV has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in an effortto reopen the trails.

FOHV is working to find members of the public who accessed the Pleasant Valley trails in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Potential witnesses will be interviewed by FOHV's legal team, possibly deposed by the defendant's lawyers, and may be asked to testify in court in Sacramento. The deadline to discover witnesses is fast approaching and is essential to building the case for the trail's historic use.

The public's right to access public trails, even if people have to pass through private land to reach them, is firmly grounded in California state law. Any land in California that was used by the public for five continuous years before March 1972 cannot lawfully be closed to public access at the whim of the landowner. There is ample evidence demonstrating lengthy historical use of Pleasant Valley for hiking, fishing, and other recreational uses, including prior use by the Washoe tribe for more than a century.

Securing trail users from the 1950s, '60s, and '70s as witnesses is crucial to asserting the public's legal right to access these pristine trails. Hikers, anglers and others who used Pleasant Valley from 1950-1980 are asked to contact Friends of Hope Valley by emailing info@hopevalleyca.com or to call FOHV's lawyer, Matthew Zinn of Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP, at 415-552-7272 as soon as possible. For more information about the Friends of Hope Valley lawsuit,visit http://www.hopevalleyca.com/issues.html.

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Northern Sierra Partnership Launched

February 2009--5 conservation groups have joined in an effort to protect more than 100,000 acres in California's northern Sierra Nevada. The groups will work to attract $75-$100 million in private conservation funding to leverage $225-$300 million in federal, state and local funds. Other goals are to build regional support for land and water conservation, address the impacts of climate change, encourage sustainable economies in the northern Sierra, and serve as a model for nonprofit collaboration in other regions.

Click on map to enlarge

http://www.northernsierrapartnership.org/

http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22704&folder_id=1705

Click to enlarge program area map.

Collaborating to Conserve

Northern Sierra's rapid growth threatens open space and drinking water
Nearly half of the land in the northern Sierra is privately owned, and threatened by the rapid pace of change in California. Population growth is driving an influx of new home, golf course, and ski resort development to the region, jeopardizing the source of clean drinking water for much of California and imperiling precious habitat.

Five conservation groups join forces
In October 2008, TPL and four other conservation organizations — Feather River Land Trust, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Sierra Business Council, and The Nature Conservancy — joined forces to create The Northern Sierra Partnership (NSP), a unique alliance whose goal is to protect 100,000 acres of the northern Sierra's highest-priority land and waters over the next five years.

Comprehensive plan secures resources for future generations
By developing a comprehensive plan that integrates land protection, restoration, policy development and community enhancement projects, TPL and its partners are working to ensure that the Sierra's remarkable natural, cultural, and recreational resources-and California's drinking water-will be protected for future generations.

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Help keep motorized vehicles out of Northern Sierra Nevada National Forest sensitive habitat, watersheds and unprotected wilderness; Letters Needed NOW!

Eldorado National Forest

Route Designation

Comments Needed

DEADLINE: October 22

(ACTION ITEM)

The following comes from Vicky Hoover at the Sierra Club.

The Forest Service, which has recently called unmanaged motorized vehicle recreation a major threat to America's spectacular public lands, is changing over to a national off-road vehicle (ORV)-management system of allowing recreation off-road vehicle use on designated routes only, instead of general cross-country use anywhere except where specially prohibited. To make this major (and long needed!) change, the Forest Service has undertaken the enormous task of designating off-highway travel routes on all National Forests. Each forest is dong separate planning. Here in California, right now, the Eldorado National Forest (which is just south of Lake Tahoe and north of the Stanislaus National Forest) has released its Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to confine vehicle use to specifically designated roads and trails. The comment period for this plan ends Oct. 22.

The public has an unprecedented opportunity RIGHT NOW to write to keep motorized vehicles out of sensitive habitat, watersheds and unprotected wilderness. Here are some general talking points to put into your OWN words, to begin your comment letter, before you ask for adoption of Alternative E, with two important changes:

** The law requires the Forest Service to minimize damage from off-road vehicles. It does NOT require the Forest Service to fulfill ALL the demand for motorized routes that now exists or may ever exist.

** When figuring out where motorized routes of travel should be the Forest Service should keep in mind the needs of the MANY, many visitors to the Forest who do NOT come for motorized-vehicle recreation. They shouldn't discriminate against people who wish to hike or families who want to go for a walk from a campground without being disturbed by noise, dust, or pollution of off-road vehicles. (There are two relatively small wilderness areas on the Eldorado Forest, the Desolation in the north, and the Mokelumne in the south. These don't accommodate all the visitors who just wish for some short and quiet walking places, without the challenge of accessing wilderness.)

** The Forest Service must consider how any new motorized route they add to their travel system contributes to the problem of fragmenting habitat for wildlife. (Since wildlife cannot speak up for themselves, the Forest Service must take special care to assure that providing for human recreation minimizes the harm to wildlife, both plants and animals.) Special concern must be given to sensitive species.

In addition, the Forest Service must be careful not to allow more routes in the travel system than the agency has the staff and funding to monitor, manage, restore, AND enforce. One of the problems of off-road vehicle use has been precisely the lack of adequate monitoring, restoration of impacts, and enforcement of regulations. The agency must consider how THIS plan will facilitate those essential management actions.

Specifically: Urge the Forest Supervisor to adopt Alternative E, with the following important changes:

· Alternative E should adopt the seasonal closures and over-the-snow requirements of Alt. C: "Seasonal closure on all designated system trails and native surface roads from Nov. 1 through April 3. Wheeled motor vehicle over-the-snow travel allowed on surfaced roads only with 12 inches of snow or more and no ground contact." These closure dates can be shortened by the Forest Supervisor if dry weather warrants opening the forest to vehicles.

· In the Rubicon River area, Hunters Trail (11E09), Gray's (aka Frey's) Trail (11E04), Deer Creek Trail (14E11) should not be designated for motorized use. Reason: The Rubicon Canyon is an historic hiking/backpacking/fishing area. Hunter's is one of the most popular hiking trails on the Georgetown District. Because it is relatively level, it is one of the easier trails for the very young, the elderly or infirm. Fishermen use the trails to access the excellent trout fishing in the Rubicon. Motorized use conflicts with traditional quiet recreation in numerous ways. Dirt bike noise echoes in the canyon, spoiling the natural quiet. Tell the Forest Service motorized use of these trails will create/continue significant user conflicts.

Important: Point out that Alt. E also reduces damage from the other leading "threats" identified by the Forest Service: Fire, noxious weeds, and habitat fragmentation.

Comments on the Travel Management DEIS will be accepted until October 22, 2007. Comments may be submitted by mail to:

Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo

Attn: Travel Management DEIS

100 Forni Road

Placerville, CA 95667

By email to: comments-pacificsouthwest-eldorado@fs.fed.us

By fax: 530-621-5297

Or by leaving a message on the project hotline: 530-295-5666.

Click here for more information on the Eldorado's DEIS.