ConnectingCalifornia.org

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

overworked webmaster goes mad...starts posting loose news items...

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CENTRAL VALLEY-SIERRA NEVADA REGION-- ASSORTED WEBSITES:

PLUMAS AND SIERRA COUNTIES:

map of lands saved in the Sierra Valley; group is based in Quincy in Plumas County;

Story on 160 acre conservation easement in Sierra Valley

--Also see website for 2007-2008 annual report: lands saved in 07-08 include 160-acre Dan Balderston Ranch in Sierra Valley saved with a conservation easement, 725 acre conservation easement at the Turner Creek Ranch, and contracted to buy the 976 acre Mello Ranch near Loyalton in Sierra County. All total in the FRLT’s history, 12 properties totaling nearly 30,000 acres have been saved in Sierra Valley by FRLT and its partner groups.

High Sierra Rural.org

on the Sierra Valley, how Sierra County strongly protects its rural qualities, while Plumas county does not

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PLACER COUNTY:

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/PlacerLegacy/PlacerLegacyProperties.aspx

map of land preserved in Placer County

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/PlacerLegacy/~/media/cdr/Planning/PlacerLegacy/Acquisitions/2007%2008YearEnd4thQtrReport.ashx

table lists 2687 acres saved since year 2000; around 1500 acres of that total is conservation easements

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/PlacerLegacy/Accomplishments.aspx Placer legacy timeline

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/PlacerLegacy/~/media/cdr/Planning/PlacerLegacy/PrimaryWatersheds.ashx

map of watersheds in Placer County

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SOLANO COUNTY:

http://www.solanocounty.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=4865

1580 acre Rockville Trails Estates project in Solano County—9/25/2008

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MERCED COUNTY:

http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2001/march20art1.htm

3/20/2001: With a grant in excess of $11 million from the Packard Foundation, UC will acquire the 7,030-acre Virginia Smith Trust parcel northeast of the city of Merced…After acquisition, the university plans to set aside 5,030 acres as a conservation preserve that would protect vernal pool habitat in perpetuity. The remaining 2,000 acres would be used for the proposed new UC Merced campus on the southwest portion of the Virginia Smith Trust lands; the campus portion would include a 750-acre natural reserve of vernal pool habitat protected from development….Triggering the release of $15 million in state-approved habitat acquisition funds from the Wildlife Conservation Board to ensure the conservation of key wetland and vernal pool resources in the surrounding area.

http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2001/march20art1a.htm

The UC Merced campus is planned to have an area of 2,000 acres, consisting of: 1) a developed campus of 910 acres; 2) a 750-acre natural reserve, and 3) a reserve of 340 acres for future potential development. The Campus will ultimately host 25,000 students. The Campus Community will be a planned development of approximately 2,000 acres that will eventually have about 30,000 residents.

…Under the proposal, the new campus would be situated away from the most sensitive vernal pool areas of the VST site. The new proposal also calls for the University to create the first phase of the campus on the Merced Hills Golf Course, which is part of the VST.

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TULARE COUNTY:

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20081120/NEWS01/811200316/1002

Exeter and Porterville landowners are wary of state park proposals

11-20-2008: The state's proposal would create a 1,000-acre park near Porterville and a 2,300-acre park near Exeter. A third plan would set aside 500 acres of trails along the Kings River near the Tulare County line just below the Pine Flat Dam….Jack Shannon, whose 4,000-acre cattle ranch near Porterville has been in his family for five generations, found out about the proposed Deer Creek park near his property only a few days ago. On Wednesday he made the hour-long drive to Visalia to find out more about the project….Chad Noble's 3,000-acre ranch property would be bisected by the proposed Deer Creek park….

http://www.sequoiariverlands.org/pdf/IRWMP/WaterConflExistPlans_QualQuant_EconSocial_07_22_08.pdf

-- Land use issues in foothills- urbanization and development moving up from the valley, relying heavily on groundwater

--New development drawing water from other people’s wells- example: Shaver Lake

--Tulare County directing all growth to the foothills to protect agriculture

--Diverting runoff from the Kings River into the San Joaquin to avoid local flooding of Homeland Ranch (Boswell) which is prime agricultural land.

--Yokohl Valley- proposing to build on a stream corridor,

--Shaver Lake development- will be looking for surface water

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KERN COUNTY:

http://www.cuddyvalley.org/blogs/nimby/?p=294

According to Tejon’s very own Draft Water Supply Assessment, this is how Centennial will look from the air. It’s beautiful. It’s like the tulip fields. Who needs wildflowers...

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/506919.html

7-26-2008: The PdV Wind Energy Project, proposed by enXco, would use 5,820 acres west of Rosamond to generate electricity for Southern California Edison.

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/pearsonville-ca/TPJ4IOKJ6DGJGT887

web comments on sale of Onyx Ranch

The windmills will be located on the southern-most section of the property, near the intersections of Jawbone Canyon and Kelso Valley Roads. Other areas closer to Lake Isabella will be olive orchards and vineyards. But whether the family gave some land to the BLM for OHV use, whether they held back any for themselves, and whether they kept the mineral rihts remains to be seen. They have always been responsible landowners, and so I can't see too much becoming tract homes.

http://www.kernsmartgrowth.com

http://www.kernsmartgrowth.com/notices.html

Pine Tree Wind Development Project by Wind Turbine Prometheus proposes a zone change from E (20) to A and A WE (Wind Energy) on 8,000 acres, along with CUPs to allow construction of a temporary batch plant, located 15 miles northeast of Tehachapi.

http://www.proland.com/antelope_valley.asp

Antelope Valley development booster website

http://gthompso.blogspot.com/2008/12/tehachapi.html

photos of Tehachapi region

http://www.cityofvernon.org/about_cov/2008NovGazette.pdf

vague city newsletter mentioning city purchase of portion of Onyx Ranch in the lower Sierra Nevadas

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA LOOSE WEBSITES:

http://www.savemountdiablo.org/SupportLandPreservationEfforts.pdf

Save Mount Diablo 11/20/2008 news:

Throughout the East Bay (not just around Mt. Diablo) another 30 to 35,000 acres will be acquired and hundreds of recreational projects will be funded during the next twenty years. …In the past twelve months Save Mount Diablo has protected six parcels (through acquisition and land use planning) totaling 399 acres. In addition we are about to transfer our 333-acre Chaparral Spring property to East Bay Regional Park District so that it can be opened to the public. We owned Chaparral Spring for fourteen years until the Park District was ready to manage it….Despite the economic downturn, development threats continue. We helped stop two attempts to break the County Urban Limit line and have responded to 42 other development applications, 14 of which have been largely completed. They range from a single house-site to the reuse of the 5,000 acre Concord Naval Weapons Station.
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http://gambolinman.blogspot.com/2008/12/bay-area-wild-places-and-open-spaces.html

pictures and text on bay area wild places

http://sfep.abag.ca.gov/sfep-newsletter/2002_02/cover.php

Blueridge-Berryessa Natural Area, wildlife and mercury mines

http://www.ebcnps.org/conservation.html

conservation issues in the east SF bay

http://steevsonja.net/gallery/Outdoor/Bay%20Ridge%20Trail%20Hike

pictures of the Bay Ridge Trail from Pantoll Station to the Golden Gate Bridge

http://www.sonoma-county.org/PARKS/outdrpln/pdf/orp_vol1-chap4.pdf

SF Bay area land preservation statistics and map of Sonoma County

http://openspacecouncil.org/projects/conservancy/baosc_conservancy_2003.04_farmland_priorities.jpg/image_view_fullscreen

9/2002-Coastal Conservancy’s map of Bay area priorities for agricultural land preservation

http://openspacecouncil.org/projects/conservancy/baosc_conservancy_2003.04_regional_priorities.jpg/image_view_fullscreen

open space, habitat, recreation value map of Bay area, 9/2002

SAN LUIS OBISPO--ASSORTED WEBSITE SCRAPS

http://www.uncoveredslo.com/news.php?viewStory=172076

Santa Margarita Ranch property on auction block Posted: Monday, December 8, 2008

http://web.archive.org/web/20010106072000/www.soarsanluisobispo.org/what.html

SOAR proposed in San Luis Obispo county, was rejected by voters in 2000

http://pge.modwest.com/pgereservations/trailschild.php?pid=2

PGE trails near SLO’s Montana de Oro park

LOOSE WEBSITE SCRAPS: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

http://www.uneco.org/cleveland_national_forest.html

cleveland national forest conservation fund, United Eco Action fund

http://www.uneco.org/cleveland_forest_info.html

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http://calwild.org/images/carnivore_map.gif

road impact on carnivore habitat in SoCal

RIVERSIDE COUNTY:

http://www.rctlma.org/

riverside county transportation and land use management agency

http://www.isocarp.net/Data/case_studies/475.pdf

RIVERSIDE COUNTY INTEGRATED PROJECT, 2 new freeways planned in Riverside County

ORANGE COUNTY:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/a-clockwork-orange/native-american-saga-part-2-so/

Native American Saga, Part 2: So Many Bones, So Little Time

12/14/2008: Tribes fight over bones at Bolsa Chica

SAN DIEGO COUNTY:

http://theabf.org/featurearticle05.htm

On their attempts to purchase of 4000 acre Desert Cahuilla property…AKA the Freeman property

In May of 2006, the Anza-Borrego Foundation was presented with an extraordinary opportunity. Joining a coalition of conservation organizations, we could help purchase 4,000 critical acres in the area – which are “checkerboarded” with land already owned by the State of California.
Eventually, this foothold could include as many as 15,000 acres of new and largely pristine parkland. Over twenty-three square miles!... The Desert Cahuilla area occupies more than 16 square miles of land located north of S22, between the park’s east boundary and Highway 86….With the collapse of the conservation purchase of the Desert Cahuilla property, the stage is now set for California State Parks to acquire the property from TheTrust for Public Land. Initially, the project is subject to a two-stage vote by the Public Works Board: a July 14th vote to “select” the site, and an August 10th vote to
authorize the final purchase of the property.
What is unresolved, at least at this early stage, is how the property will be classified. It could be incorporated into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, or it could be added to Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation area.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY:

http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/assessor/

San Bernardino assessor maps

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LOOSE WEBSITE SCRAPS: WATER WARS

http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/delta_update.htm

December 15, 2008
Biological Opinion Issued Service Delivers Delta Smelt (OCAP) Biological Opinion to Bureau of Reclamation.

News Release

Complete biological opinion (PDF 8.3 MB)

Official signed version (non-OCR)

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http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/

Governor’s panel calls for Peripheral Canal again

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http://blog.aklandlaw.com/2008/06/articles/ceqa/california-supreme-court-affirms-the-legal-adequacy-of-the-calfed-eir-provides-guidance-on-evaluation-of-alternatives-and-level-of-detail-for-first-tier-eirs/#more

Calif supreme court rules in favor of CalFed EIR

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http://pronevada.blogspot.com/2008/07/where-are-environmentalists.html

water project for Vegas starves north Nevada

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LOOSE WEBSITE SCRAPS: DIGITAL MAPPING

http://www.calands.org/about.php

Calif. Protected areas database/ greeninfo network

http://www.parkinfo.org/

maps of calif parks

http://greeninfo.org/images/active_images/about/publications/Protected_lands_parkinfo.pdf

http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GatewayHome.html

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

SMMC-MRCA 1/7/2009

National Park Service May Take Over Cold Creek Preserve in Malibu Mountains as Part of 1200 Acre Deal

and other L.A.-Area Mountain Preservation Projects

from 1/7/2009 Meeting of the Mountains Restoration and Conservation Authority

http://mrca.ca.gov/attachment.asp?agendaid=162
Transfer of 945 acres now owned by the Mountains Restoration Trust to the National Park Service and 304 acres to the MRCA [Attachment 1] [Resolution] [Staff Report] [Map 2] [Map 3] [Map 4] [Map 5] [Map 6] [Map 7] [Map 8] [Map 9] [Map 10] [Map 1]

acquisition of APN 4416-002-014 (approximately 0.33 acres) in the Pacific Palisades
[Map 1] [Map 2] [Staff Report] [Resolution] [Attachment ]

use of Santa Monica Mountains Open Space Preservation Assessment District No. 1 funds for additional option payments on APNs 5565-003-036, 037, 038, 039, 040, and 041 , Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. [Map] [Attachment 1] [Attachment 2] [Attachment 3] [Attachment 4] [Map 2] [Map 3] [Map 4] [Staff Report] [Resolution]

$1.5 million for Ballona Creek accessways
[Staff Report]

grant from the Conservancy Fund to restore approximately seven acres of habitat in the Gopher Canyon tributary of Browns Canyon owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and acceptance of said funds, unincorporated Los Angeles County.
[Staff Report] [Resolution]

FOR BROKEN MRCA LINKS:

1/7/2009: https://web.archive.org/web/20110115052229/http://www.mrca.ca.gov:80/attachment.asp?agendaid=162

Monday, January 5, 2009

Bay Area Conservation Priorities Map

this document was found at: http://www.markwestwatershed.org/documents/Cornell_Winery_Documents/MarkWestCreek%20As%20Priority%20Conservation%20Area/008%20ABAG%20Region%20Priority%20Conservation%20Areas%20Map%2011x17%20&%20Table.pdf

http://www.markwestwatershed.org/

Friday, January 2, 2009

A New Year's 2009 Message from Rare Earth News

Dear Friends,

Rare Earth News is an on-line journal tracking the measurable progress of ongoing projects to make California the greenest state in the nation. We also cover the politics and lawsuits that are part of this massive undertaking. While large groups often grab the spotlight, a lot of great work is being done by grassroots environmental groups across the state. We aim to point that out; they need your support.

The projects we cover include:

--acquisition and preservation of the California "Mega-Park", an interconnected 1000-mile California park system, that preserves our farmland, working forests and wildlife habitats from expanded urban sprawl;

--creation of a rail transit system that will directly compete with cars to significantly cut air pollution;

--construction of clean power projects using solar and wind energy to attain independence from not only hostile foreign nations but also from greedy oil companies and their monopoly on fossil fuels, and

--removing the concrete from our urban creeks and rivers and implementing zero-waste technologies to stop the pollution of our natural areas and ocean with chemicals and trash.

By tracking our successes, we can make certain we continue moving forward, not falling backward, as sometimes happened under the Bush administration. With the election of Barack Obama as President, I am hopeful that we finally have a president and congress that care about domestic issues, the environment and global warming; people we can work with, rather than fight against.

HERE IS A SHORT SUMMARY OF 2008'S BIG STORIES:

In 2008, we saw some of the biggest enviro-wreckers go broke.

At Least 90,000 acres were Preserved statewide in 2008. See Our 2008 Update to the California Conservation Lands Inventory:
http://rare-earth-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/at-least-90000-acres-were-preserved-in.html%20

On the North Coast, we have new management at Pacific Lumber that promises to end clear-cutting and bring back sustainable, long-term logging practices. In Mendocino County, land trusts have acquired huge tracts of forest company lands formerly held by Georgia-Pacific.

In the Bay area, strong urban growth boundaries in each county are keeping urban sprawl in tight control, while voters and land trusts are making sure that threatened properties and "development rights" are being bought up to expand the Bay Ridge trail system and keep farmlands green.

On the Central Coast, both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties have newly progressive majorities on their boards of supervisors. (Environmentalists have vowed to fight two large projects pushed through by the lame duck supervisors.) In Ventura County, we have one of the toughest systems of urban growth boundaries, which has preserved a farmland greenbelt between nearly every city.

In largely built-out L.A. County, construction of the 55 mile Backbone trail in the Santa Monica Mountains is complete. Two of the biggest developments on natural lands are stopped in their tracks. The Newhall Land Company is bankrupt, its parent having defaulted on a billion dollar loan. Newhall controls over 100,000 acres northwest of the L.A. sprawl. In early 2008 the state supreme court rejected an appeal from Playa Vista; their 110 acre project in West L.A. near the Ballona Wetlands is stopped cold. Several key wildlife corridor parcels were also saved this year, completing the Los Cerritos and Palos Verdes preserves. Meanwhile, baby steps were made to unpave and restore rivers in order to clean up urban storm water pollution and voters approved a sales tax hike to fund more rail transit.

In the Central Valley, lawsuits flared against the biggest timber owner Sierra Pacific Industries; Stanislaus County voters decided to take control of sprawl, and the biggest sprawl project there went bankrupt. The state launched an ambitious plan to create 13 new parks in the Central Valley. Finally, the state killed the Auburn dam project on the American River.

In the desert and South Coast, proposed wind and solar farms created both the opportunity for clean energy and controversy over threats to wildlife and huge power lines through existing parks. The feds, also, however, proposed to convert even more of the desert to military base land, a much-more destructive possibility. And finally, both the state and federal governments put the nail in the coffin to a tollroad through a coastline state park.

It's been a very exciting and interesting year at Rare Earth News and the California Mega-Park Project.

---Rex Frankel, the editor