Solar power plans for CA Desert from the feds and L.A....

Feds Target 1.7% of the land in California for Solar Power facilities (OK, 1.7 million acres), but say much less than that will be used

From the Fed's notice:
In California,  1,766,543 acres of land would be available under the solar energy development program alternative. Four SEZs would be identified: Imperial East (5,722 acres), Iron Mountain (106,522 acres), Pisgah (23,950 acres), and Riverside East (202,896 acres).

Public Comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIS):

The Draft Solar PEIS is now available for public review, as detailed in the “Notice of Availability for the PEIS” published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2010 (http://solareis.anl.gov/documents/docs/SolarDraftPEIS_NOA.pdf). The Notice provides information on dates, times, and locations of public meetings on the PEIS, and solicits public comments. Comments can be submitted using the Public Comment Form on the Solar PEIS website (http://solareis.anl.gov/involve/comments/index.cfm).

For More Information Information about the Solar PEIS is available on the Public Information website (http://solareis.anl.gov).

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MORE ON THIS ISSUE:

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Chu-Announce-Next-Step-in-Nations-March-toward-Renewable-Energy-Future.cfm

This press release says "reasonably foreseeable solar energy development is anticipated on only about 214,000 acres of the suitable and appropriate BLM lands in 6 western states."

MAP OF CALIFORNIA LANDS: http://solareis.anl.gov/documents/dpeis/maps/alternatives/Solar_DPEIS_CA_Statewide.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121604898.html

http://www.ca.blm.gov/tf5c
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20101217/BUSINESS/12160394/1006/news01/New%20program%20could%20fast-track%20solar%20projects
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http://www.ca.blm.gov/1f5c
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-16/u-s-selects-solar-power-zones-to-streamline-project-approval-process.html

12/16/2010--The Wilderness Society studied the 24 areas initially suggested by the BLM and this month and identified two that aren’t suitable for development, said Alex Daue, a spokesman for the society.
One is the 110,000-acre Iron Mountain zone in California, located between the Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert National Preserve.
“A couple of the zones are inappropriate for large-scale solar development,” Daue said in a telephone interview. “Iron Mountain should be taken off their map.”
The Wilderness Society plans to work with other environmental groups and the Interior Department to promote development at the solar zones it considers best suited for large-scale energy plants, Daue said. It will do so during a 90- day comment period that begins when the document is published in the federal register, he said.
“We support solar development on most of the zones and we want the BLM to ensure projects are built within those zones,” Daue said.


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Solar Project near Ridgecrest opposed by Fed's advisory committee:

http://www.ridgecrestca.com/news/x41610864/Steering-committee-opposes-solar-project
6/29/2010--Steering committee opposes solar project

Ridgecrest, Calif. —
The Bureau of Land Management Steering Committee, at its meeting Thursday, voted 12-1 to approve a letter stating its opposition to Solar Millennium's proposed solar-power-plant project. Committee Member Dave Matthews cast the dissenting vote.
…He said the committee members represent certain entities in the Indian Wells Valley. “We represent their beliefs of what they would like to see or what they wouldn't like to see.”
The committee's letter states the project would use approximately 600,000 gallons of water a day during construction, 200,000 gallons a day during operations and 191,000 gallons of propane a year.
The letter also stated a concern the project would disturb 2,000 acres of top soil known to contain spores that cause valley fever and the proximity of the disturbed soil to human population that includes children and the elderly.
…The committee's letter stated the draft EIS does not comply with CEQA and NEPA regarding full and frank discussion of alternative sites.
“Preference is to be given to land that has already had disturbance,” it said.
According to the letter, the Garlock alternative has such a disturbance and is not located nearly as close to communities and individuals as the proposed site.
“DEIS discussion of the site does not indicate it has the wildlife issues (ground squirrel, tortoise) that the RSPP has,” said the letter.
It also states the draft document does not comply with the state and national acts regarding full and frank discussion of alternative energy sources, and the southern project area sits squarely within the northern gateway to the El Paso Mountains — one of the most popular recreational destinations in the Desert District.

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Plus--L.A. Plans Solar "Ranch" in Owens Valley
FROM Eastern Sierra Land Trust-10/14/2010:

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announces plans for 3000 acre Owens Valley "Solar Ranch"

LADWP is preparing an Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch, which would provide 200 megawatts of energy from photovoltaic solar panels. Two potential sites are being considered for this 3000 acre development. The northern site is located northeast of Lone Pine, east of the Owens River. The second site is just east of HWY 395 and north of Owens Lake. More info about the upcoming scoping meeting and where to send comments can be found here: Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch.

http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp013701.jsp

A look at saving land in the South San Francisco Bay area...

greenfootnotes

Published by the Committee for Green Foothills—based in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties

http://GreenFoothills.org

and read all their newsletters for the past ten years here:
http://GreenFoothills.org

and read their blog for most current stuff:
http://www.greenfoothills.org/blog/

http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/262131-sargent-ranch-owners-file-for-bankruptcy

1/5/2010--The 6,500-acre Sargent Ranch just south of Gilroy, owned principally by Wayne and Marci Pierce under the Sargent Ranch LLC, is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings...
...Plans to develop the Sargent Ranch have long been unsuccessful. County zoning regulations, environmentalists and local politicians have thwarted plans for hotels, golf courses and housing developments for two decades.


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Excerpts from their latest issue, from Summer 2009:

http://www.greenfoothills.org/news/_PDFs/CGF_Summer09.pdf

arizona-based developer DMB announced in May that it was dropping plans for the proposed “El Rancho San Benito”, a 6,800 home mini-city near Hollister, due to the economic downturn. DMB cited the State’s budget woes as a major factor in its decision, as the project depended upon massive public expenditures for highway improvements. Left unmentioned by DMB was the role played by environmental organizations including Committee for Green Foothills, who had weighed in to demand compliance with environmental laws.

Just one week later, DMB unveiled plans for development of 12,000 housing units plus a million square feet of office space on Cargill’s 1,433-acres of former baylands in Redwood City. When fully built, this mini-city would add up to 30,000 people — the equivalent of another Belmont, San Carlos, Burlingame, Foster City, or Menlo Park — to Redwood City’s 75,000 residents. The so-called “Redwood City Saltworks” is not an infill project, nor is it smart growth!

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We saw that this spring in the wonderful news that the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has purchased the 966-acre Rancho San Vicente property overlooking Almaden Valley and very near to Coyote Valley in southern San Jose. San Vicente connects Santa Teresa and Calero County Parks

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San Mateo County has struggled for many years with the thorny issue of how to treat these tiny, substandard lots. Many are still undeveloped, and are still in common ownership. If each substandard lot were developed separately, the Midcoast area’s limited infrastructure, especially roads, sewer, and water, would be overwhelmed and its semi-rural ambiance would be lost.

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Half Moon Bay’s modern-day epic that evokes images of Odysseus’ perilous journey, choosing between Scylla and Charybdis, continues unabated. Last year, by a 4-1 vote (Councilman Jim Grady dissenting), the City Council decided against appealing a draconian federal lower court decision, which awarded developer “Chop” Keenan $40 million in damages over disputed wetlands on his 24-acre parcel known as Beachwood.

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the Committee is watching ...

--Solar power proposals for Santa Clara County owned lands, which could be a very good thing for buildings and paved parking lots, but inappropriate for undeveloped open space.

--Multiple proposals for sprawl in Gilroy, completely inappropriate given the good examples of rejecting sprawl in San Benito County and Coyote Valley.

--San Mateo County Planning and Consultants, now reviewing “Big Wave”, a massive office park and housing for developmentally delayed adults on agricultural lands and wetlands next to the environmentally sensitive Pillar Point Marsh.

Pinnacles Park may grow...

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Rep. Farr Introduces Bill For Los Padres National Forest

11/30/2009
http://caluwild.org

http://www.farr.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=606

Earlier this month, Rep. Sam Farr (D-17) introduced H.R. 4040, a bill that would designate areas in the northern portion of Los Padres National Forest as wilderness. The bill also designates stretches of Arroyo Seco, the Carmel River, and the San Antonio River as Wild & Scenic. Finally, the bill would also establish the area as a separately funded unit of the forest. Los Padres National Forest stretches from Big Sur all the way into Los Angeles County, and the issues faced in the north can be quite different from those farther south, so the bill makes sense in that regard. Rep. Farr has posted more details about the bill on his website. In other news from Rep. Farr’s district: As we reported in our August-September Update, Rep. Farr had introduced a bill, H.R. 3444, that would make Pinnacles National Monument a unit of the National Park System.

At a Congressional hearing the National Park Service spoke out in opposition to the legislation. Steve Whitesell, associate director for park planning, testified, “The term 'national park' has generally been reserved for units that contain a variety of resources and encompasses large land or water areas to help provide adequate protection of the resources. Pinnacles National Monument does not include the full range of resources usually found in national parks.” Mr. Whitesell also requested that committee delay renaming any units until the National Parks Second Century Commission has made its recommendations regarding simplifying the naming of units. NPS is hoping to reduce the number of titles for the lands that it manages. I

n support of his proposal, Rep. Farr testified to the uniqueness of Pinnacles: “It is one of the few regions in the world that boasts a Mediterranean climate; it serves as home for dozens of federally protected species; it has a long, rich cultural history; it serves as a center for geological science, it's an area of unspoiled beauty; and opening this summer thanks to the use of Land and Water Conservation Fund to purchase the Pinnacles Ranch the Pinnacles Campground is now within the boundaries of Pinnacles National Monument, and is managed by a concessionaire." He also said that an adjacent landowner might be willing to sell 18,000 acres, bringing the monument’s size to 44,000 acres total.

A National Park at Pinnacles in Monterey?

Pinnacles National Monument to Become a National Park? from http://www.caluwild.org 9/3/2009--A few weeks ago, Rep. Sam Farr (D-17) introduced a bill, H.R. 3444, which would make Pinnacles National Monument a national park. When originally designated in 1908 by Pres. Teddy Roosevelt, the Monument was only 2,000 in size. Since then, it had grown to nearly 26,500 acres, of which 16,000 is designated wilderness. Rep. Farr's bill would add another 2,900 acres of wilderness and rename the entire wilderness area after the Hain brothers, early homesteaders in the area, and whose efforts led to the Monument's designation.

Another threat to SW side of SF Bay wetlands...

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As Expected, 12,000 Homes proposed on Cargill's Salt Ponds on Southwest Side of SF Bay

Lands were not part of $100 million state purchase 5 years ago
--Project backer drops another Huge project farther south in San Benito County

http://www.savesfbay.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dgKLLSOwEnH&b=673127&ct=6996129

Developers propose up to 12,000 homes along bayfront at Redwood City

5/13/2009— The project, which DMB will submit to the city next Tuesday, includes a mixture of condominiums, apartments and attached housing on half the 1,433-acre site. There also would be 1 million square feet of office space, retail shops, a fire station, and a trolley system that would connect residents with downtown Redwood City and its Caltrain station, slightly less than a mile away across Highway 101.

The other half of the site would remain undeveloped. Roughly 440 acres would be converted back to tidal wetlands, and another 250 would become parks, baseball fields and soccer fields…. Ironically, although DMB rolled out details of the Redwood City plan Tuesday, only last week the same company announced it was withdrawing another huge housing project on the Santa Clara-San Benito County line, citing the poor economy.

That project, El Rancho San Benito, was to have been a new city with 6,800 homes. But DMB said the job prospects and growth patterns are not the same on the Peninsula. "Each project we do is unique and has different attributes. Decisions about Rancho San Benito are completely independent from Redwood City," said Bruno.
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More on Wetlands in San Mateo County:

http://baynature.org/articles/oct-dec-2008/raising-bair-island


story on restoration of 1400 acre Bair Island in San Francisco Bay, includes adding 2 feet of dredged bay mud to make it possible for shallow water plants to grow...

http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/bair.html

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Large Ranch South of Pinnacles National Monument May Sprout Oil Wells

Friday, August 08, 2008

http://www.pinnaclenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=247399

An Ojai-based oil company could start drilling in San Benito County within months, if county planning commissioners approve the project.

Five Oaks officials own the land, a 13,000-acre cattle ranch near the Monterey County border south of Pinnacles National Monument. Nahabedian Exploration Group officials have the mineral rights.

If exploration is successful, Nahabedian officials would drill 18 wells on 16 acres, Slavich said.
"All the wells are close together and they are right next to the Monterey County line," said Byron Turner, assistant director of planning and building for San Benito County.

Off-Roader "Heaven" May Be a Path to There

The 48-square-mile area in Fresno and San Benito counties is closed abruptly after a study finds dangerous amounts of the carcinogen asbestos are being stirred up.

By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 2, 2008

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/inland/la-me-asbestos2-2008may02,0,5897268.story

For the off-road warriors of Northern and Central California, few wild landscapes are as enticing as the Clear Creek Management Area, with its deep canyons, scampering feral pigs, rainbow-hued flowers and giant rock formations.

But on Thursday, a 48-square-mile swath of the Diablo Mountains in San Benito and Fresno counties was labeled a virtual death zone where five visits a year over three decades could lead to lung cancer and other crippling diseases.

The recreation area was abruptly closed for the foreseeable future by the federal Bureau of Land Management, after a three-year by the Environmental Protection Agency found that dangerous levels of asbestos dust were being stirred up by motorcycles and other off-road vehicles.Any human use -- even camping and hiking -- was deemed potentially dangerous, especially to children, and outlawed until the BLM develops a new plan for the area.Clear Creek, which registers 35,000 visits a year, has long been known as the largest U.S. deposit of asbestos, a natural mineral and known human carcinogen. It harbors an EPA-designated toxic Superfund site, the former Atlas asbestos mine. Previous studies over several decades found high levels of asbestos in the area, but the results were not as conclusive as in the new 160-page assessment, EPA officials said Thursday.

For the last three years, the BLM has closed the area from June to October, the dustiest months. Closing the site year-round was "an extremely tough decision," said bureau Field Manager Rick Cooper. "But my first priority must be protecting the health of visitors and employees."The bureau, which first studied Clear Creek asbestos in 1992, has warned visitors in parts of the area to avoid breathing dust and drinking water from the creek. BLM employees are required to wear respirators on dusty days and to decontaminate after each visit.

But off-roaders have largely ignored the warnings. Don Amador, the western representative of the BlueRibbon Coalition, a national off-road group, said his group was raising funds to challenge the closure in court.The type of short-fiber asbestos in the region, known as Coalinga chrysotile, he contended, is "not a health risk." Noting that the management area, which has 800 miles of trails, has been named one of the top 10 off-road areas in the nation by motorcycle magazines, he added, "We are in for a long, hard battle."

The EPA and other federal agencies, however, have found that chrysotile asbestos is toxic.Moreover, officials said, they found other types of asbestos -- including tremolite and actinolite -- all known carcinogens. To collect samples, EPA technicians rode the area's rugged trails on dirt bikes and in SUVs with the windows down, taking 300 samples in February, September and November. They wore backpacks with small air pumps and filter intakes at shoulder height, close to the torso to simulate effects on children.The asbestos fight is not the first to roil the recreation area. In 1985, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the San Benito Evening Primrose, a wildflower found only in the Clear Creek area, as a threatened species, touching off a 20-year battle between environmentalists and off-roaders over how to protect it.After a lawsuit by the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society, off-road use was officially restricted to 242 miles of trails to protect the primrose and other fragile species, although enforcement reportedly has been spotty.Thursday's complete closure seems likely to divide environmentalists, many of whom are attached to the area's hiking, rock climbing and bird-watching pleasures. "I'm not sure the decision is wrong," said Brian LeNeve, a native plant society activist who led the battle for the primrose.

But, he added, "I am also not a fan of the government protecting us from ourselves. . . . Even with the EPA final report, I would go to Clear Creek again with no worry."

Emily Roberson, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, praised the EPA effort as "meticulous in data collection and analysis. It is a much greater health hazard than previously thought. And the BLM is going to have to be very careful if they open it up."

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The Story straight from the Fed's website:

The Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) in San Benito and Fresno Counties is located on one of the largest naturally occurring asbestos deposits in the world. The rugged terrain overlaying this 31,000-acre serpentine deposit is a popular and challenging riding spot for off-road motorcyclists. The naturally barren slopes, bald ridges, chaparral and rare plants are also enjoyed by rock collectors, botanists, hikers, hunters and campers, including families with children. Thousands of visitors each year use hundreds of miles of criss-crossing routes, a legacy of historic mining activities in the area.
The CCMA is managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Within the boundaries of the CCMA is the Atlas Asbestos Mine Superfund site. In 1991, EPA signed the Record of Decision (ROD) selecting the cleanup remedy for the Atlas Mine. In the ROD, EPA designated the CCMA as one of four geographic areas that comprise the site, but did not propose a cleanup action for the CCMA. Instead, EPA stated that it would evaluate whether the BLM’s plans for management of CCMA were adequate to protect public health from exposure to asbestos found in the CCMA’s soil and air. BLM has designated the area as hazardous, and asbestos warning signs are posted at entry points and on bulletin boards.

In 2004, as part of the evaluation of the Atlas Mine cleanup for possible delisting of the site from the federal Superfund list, EPA initiated an asbestos exposure and human health risk assessment for the CCMA. The goals of the assessment were:
To update the 1992 BLM Human Health Risk Assessment by using current asbestos sampling and analytical techniques, and
To evaluate risks to children because families are frequent visitors to CCMA.
BLM will use the information provided in the assessment to evaluate management and use alternatives in an upcoming environmental impact statement for managing the CCMA. The final Clear Creek Management Area Asbestos Exposure and Human Health Risk Assessment report was released by EPA on May 1, 2008 and is summarized on this website, please use the tabs at the top to navigate among the pages.

http://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/noa/clearcreek/index.html

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Nature Conservancy transfers “Pinnacles Gateway” to National Park Service

Ranch popular with condors and campers now officially part of National Monument

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/press/pinnacles042506.html

Pinnacles, Calif.—April 18, 2006—The Nature Conservancy announced today the transfer of 1,967-acres of prime California condor habitat to the National Park Service for incorporation into Pinnacles National Monument. The Pinnacles Ranch provides the only access point on the Monument’s eastern side and the only campground servicing the now 26,425-acre park. The property supports a wide array of wildlife such as deer, bobcats, mountain lions, foxes and an estimated 148 species of birds, including 13 California condors.

Located just 40 minutes south of Hollister, a fast-growing Silicon Valley “bedroom” community, the ranch was vulnerable to ranchette-style development. The Nature Conservancy purchased the land for $5.3 million in February 2005 to safeguard it while the National Park Service sought funding through Congress. The agency secured the money through the Land Water Conservation Fund in fall 2005 and took possession of the ranch in March 2006.

“The support of Senators Feinstein and Boxer and Representative Farr was essential to achieving this win-win outcome,” said Peggy McNutt, regional director for The Nature Conservancy. “Representative Farr took up the cause of Pinnacles Ranch many years ago. His commitment constituted the turning point in a years-long effort to protect this important habitat for the California condor. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein was uniquely positioned to secure funding for Pinnacles and we are thrilled that she did so.”

While Pinnacles National Monument is comprised mostly of the distinctive volcanic rock formations for which it is named, the ranch brings diverse natural communities within the boundary, including native grasslands and valley oak woodlands, two increasingly rare habitat types in California.

The National Park Service and Ventana Wilderness Society, partners in a major condor reintroduction effort, have released condors from the Monument since December 2003. The release pen is located directly adjacent to the Pinnacles Ranch and biologists quickly discovered that the condors favor the property’s open fields and oak-dotted hills for forage and roosting.

“The Nature Conservancy applauds the landowners for choosing to make the ranch available for addition to Pinnacles National Monument,” said Christina Fischer, project director for The Nature Conservancy. “We are delighted to have played a part in ensuring that this land will remain natural and protected for the benefit of condors and people alike.”

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A Look at the Nature Conservancy's Mount Hamilton Project

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/preserves/art6323.html

San Antonio Valley. Photo © Gary N. Crabbe Join Great Places! Join the Great Places Network today and receive exclusive member benefits, including monthly e-updates on our conservation work in California. Fast Facts Location: East of San Jose and the San Francisco Bay, between Highway 101 and Interstate 5, in the southern Diablo Range. Size: 1.2 million acres. At Stake: Streamside forests, oak and sycamore woodlands, vast grasslands and seasonal wetlands that support migrating birds, bobcats, mountain lions, endangered San Joaquin kit foxes, tule elk, red-legged frogs, western pond turtles, steelhead and endangered bay checkerspot butterflies. Threats: Expanding development, incompatible agricultural practices, proposed infrastructure projects. Results: 81,000 acres in acquisitions and easements for a total of 300,000 acres protected by the Conservancy and its partners.

Hikers in Mount Hamilton.
Photo © Grant Johnson

Encroaching development and proposed infrastructure projects threaten to fragment the last significant expanse of open space between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Great Central Valley.

Time stands still on the southeastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the wild west of Old California quietly unfolds toward the Great Central Valley. Tule elk graze in secluded valleys among colossal oaks. Rainbow trout and red-legged frogs navigate canyon streams. Cougars prowl the high ridges of the Diablo mountain range, and kit foxes scamper across open grasslands.

Straddling six counties and 1.2 million acres, The Nature Conservancy’s Mount Hamilton project supports a wide variety of natural communities that have graced Central California for centuries. But this last significant expanse of wilderness between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley is feeling the pinch of a growing population. New housing developments creep toward the project’s outer rims every year, and proposed infrastructure projects for rail lines, freeways and water projects threaten to carve the expansive wilderness into pieces. The Nature Conservancy is pursuing a number of strategies to protect Mount Hamilton and preserve its biological richness for future generations.

Ring of Conservation

The Conservancy launched its Mount Hamilton project in 1998 with the acquisition of two large ranches totaling 61,000 acres. Since then, we have worked cooperatively with landowners to acquire land or restrict development on key private properties situated among the region’s many public parks. As these private and public parcels merge into larger, contiguously conserved landscapes, they will eventually form a ring of protection around Mount Hamilton. This will allow ranchers to preserve their way of life and give native plants and animals the open space they need to survive. Protection of Mount Hamilton’s watersheds provides the additional benefit of keeping the region’s water supply clean.

Lifeline for Wildlife

The Nature Conservancy is also working with partners to preserve the upper Pajaro River floodplain. Located between Gilroy and Hollister, this 20,000-acre spread of agricultural lands, perennial streams and seasonal wetlands is the most defensible, undeveloped wildlife corridor remaining between the inland Diablo Mountains and the coastal Santa Cruz mountain range. Preserving it will allow animals to travel safely between the two ranges, giving large mammals the territory they need to maintain a genetically diverse population.

Here, the Conservancy’s strategy is two-fold: to protect the immediate banks of the upper Pajaro River, and to create an additional buffer by limiting the use of adjacent lands to wildlife-friendly agriculture.

Smart Planning

As California’s population grows, demands for new public works projects increase as well. Three such projects — proposals for new reservoir, a new freeway and a new high-speed rail line — threaten to fragment the Mount Hamilton wilderness and undermine the long-term health of its native plants and animals. The Nature Conservancy is working with many organizations and to ensure that the environmental impacts of these proposed projects are scientifically rigorously studied, and that the projects — should they go forward — be sited along existing transportation corridors or in already-developed areas.

With your help, The Nature Conservancy can preserve a vital part of Old California for future generations, while allowing a new California to blossom.