Sierra Conservancy bill moves to governor's desk

Ag Alert ^ | September 1, 2004 | Christine Souza

[hedgetrimmer]

California Farm Bureau Federation vigorously opposes a measure approved by the Legislature last week that calls for the creation of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, an added layer of government that could impact members in 22 counties throughout the Sierra Nevada region.

"We are extremely disappointed," said Bill Pauli, California Farm Bureau Federation president. "This legislation is contrary to the governor's California Performance Review and deserves to be vetoed."

For almost four years, Farm Bureau and other business groups have worked to oppose legislation that would create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy and further increase government ownership of private lands. The government currently owns 72 percent of the land area in the Sierra Nevada.

The stated purpose of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy is to serve as a central forum for coordination and planning of conservation efforts throughout the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy would fund grants and projects across the region. Proponents say, the agency's goals are to protect sensitive areas, reduce the risk of natural disaster, including fire, and increase recreational and tourism opportunities.

"This conservancy represents a fresh approach to addressing its unique needs and challenges," said Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, a co-author of the bill. "Rather than the typical Sacramento-knows-best paradigm, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy will empower local communities to identify needs and set priorities for a future we can all be proud of."

Farm Bureau disagrees.

"When is enough, enough? Isn't nearly three-quarters of the land area enough for conservation purposes? Seventy-two percent of the land in this region is already owned by the government," said John Gamper, CFBF director of taxation and land use. "If the state continues buying more land and taking it off of the tax rolls, then there isn't going to be a tax base to provide essential services needed by the citizens of the region."

The Sierra Nevada bill, Assembly Bill 2600, by Leslie and Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, could be detrimental to the livelihoods of landowners in the rural counties of the Sierra Nevada, the Farm Bureau contends. Impacted counties include: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba.

Valerie Zentner, El Dorado County Farm Bureau executive director, has fought conservancy legislation for a number of years and said that it will adversely affect the people of the state.

"The creation of a Sierra Nevada Conservancy is bad for farmers and ranchers, bad for business, bad for local governments and bad for the state's taxpayers," Zentner said. "It ensures that government continues to grow and yet provides no assurances that the conservancy will actually accomplish anything of value in the Sierra."

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Gamper said, has the authority to provide grants to other state agencies, local governments and non-profit groups to acquire land. If the land is acquired and not managed properly, he said, it could impact the neighboring operations.

Opponents of AB 2600 have expressed concern about the loss of local control because the conservancy is not bound by local general plans or zoning ordinances.

"Our fundamental concern is increased government ownership of private land, especially in El Dorado County where over 60 percent of the land area is already owned by the government," Zentner said. "The county's struggling local government and our members simply cannot afford the loss of any more land from property tax-paying status and the accompanying reduction in services."

As a "remedy," in the last set of amendments to the bill, it stated that the Sierra Nevada Conservancy shall coordinate with local governments and consider their general plans, but Gamper noted that the conservancy will remain as the overarching authority.

The conservancy's board will be comprised of 13 members and of those, six will be locally elected county supervisors. The governor will appoint five other members and the Legislature will appoint two public members to represent statewide interests.

"Timber-dependent counties such as El Dorado simply cannot accept further government restrictions on our largest agricultural commodity. Existing regulations have reduced the number of sawmills to one. Any further intrusion could be the final blow to an historic industry that provides quality wood products and employment in El Dorado County," said Norman Krizl, El Dorado County Farm Bureau president. "Governor Schwarzenegger has been supportive of agriculture in California. We can only hope that he hears our message that timber is an agricultural commodity and deserves the same support as all other agricultural pursuits."

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill was forwarded to Schwarzenegger, who has 30 days to sign the legislation. Since Schwarzenegger's Resources Agency played a key role in crafting the bill, it is expected that the governor will sign the measure into law.

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item. (Top)

[SierraWasp]

Brian Sussman on KSFO just reported that AS signed the SNC bill today!!!

Don't know where he's getting that info from... as I can't find ANY blaring congratulatory HEADLINES... ANYWHERE!!!

This give a whole new meaning to "Republican" "Catastrophic Success!"

[farmfriend]

He really did do this in stealth didn't he. Tells us he recieved a lot of "don't do it" letters.