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Sunday, February 18, 2024

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

Sunday, January 21, 2024

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:


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.


Monday, November 27, 2023

SCC 11/2023

Coastal Land Purchases on the Agenda Nov. 30

https://scc.ca.gov/2023/11/15/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-san-luis-obispo-november-30/
MEETING: 11/30/2023 at 10 Am in the SLO City Council chambers

CAYUCOS/SAN LUIS OBISPO, 748 ACRES: disburse up to $1,500,000 to the Cayucos Land Conservancy to acquire and transfer to San Luis Obispo County 748 acres of land containing Alva Paul Creek for addition to Toro Creek County Park located between Morro Bay and Cayucos
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2311/20231130Board05_Toro_Creek_County_Park_staff_rec.pdf

MONTEREY, 84 ACRES: disburse up to $2,750,000 to the Big Sur Land Trust to acquire the 84-acre Hiss Parcel in the City of Monterey
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2311/20231130Board07_Hiss_Acquisition.pdf

DEL NORTE COUNTY, 9 ACRES: Disburse up to $725,000 to the Elk Valley Rancheria for the acquisition of the 9.19-acre Bush parcel on Crescent Beach, south of Crescent City, in Del Norte County
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2311/20231130Board13_Bush_Parcel_Acquisition_Staff_Rec.pdf

NAPA, 57 ACRES: disburse up to $2,512,500 for the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to acquire approximately 57 acres of historic tidal marshland within the lower tidal reach of the Napa River in Napa County
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2311/20231130Board17_NapaRiverEstuaryAcquisition_Staff_Rec.pdf

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

WCB 11/2023

Some Expensive Wildlife Habitat Purchase Deals on the Agenda in November

Notice of Meeting of WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 9:00 a.m. Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814

MAPS AND DETAILS: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=216752&inline

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA:

7835 acres, BUTTE COUNTY: Chico State University Preserve (Càkawì ódiknonà) $1,480,000 grant to Chico State Enterprises to create a master management plan for approximately 7,835 acres of recently expanded Chico State University preserve properties located ten miles northeast of Chico.
https://www.csuchico.edu/bccer/
The BCCER was created with the purchase of the Simmons Ranch in 1999 and the Henning Ranch in 2001. It is owned by Chico State Enterprises.
MAP: https://www.csuchico.edu/bccer/_assets/documents/bccer-map-2018-4.pdf

86 acres, LAKE COUNTY: Keithly Preserve, $850,000 grant to Lake County Land Trust to acquire 86± acres of land for the protection of Clearlake shoreline wetlands, and Manning Creek, located in Lakeport in the Clearlake watershed.
https://www.cityoflakeport.com/news_detail_T14_R321.php

846 acres, NAPA COUNTY: Snell Valley Ranch, $1,800,000 grant to Napa County Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 846± acres located near the community of Pope Valley.
https://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/Project.aspx?ProjectPK=33038&PropositionPK=49

170 acres, SACRAMENTO COUNTY: Cosumnes River Ecological Preserve, Expansion 12 (Singh) $1,800,000. acquisition of 170± acres of land by CDFW for a cooperative project with The Conservation Fund as an expansion to CDFW’s ecological preserve located in Galt in the Sacramento River watershed.

761 acres, SANTA CLARA COUNTY: Malech Ranch Conservation Easement $1,200,000. Grant to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency for a cooperative project with the Moore Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Network for the acquisition of a conservation easement over 761± acres near Gilroy.
MAP: https://www.scv-habitatagency.org/DocumentCenter/View/1276/04
WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: Beneficial Reuse of Excavated Material $2,000,000 Santa Clara County To consider the allocation for a grant to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority for a cooperative project with USFWS and the State Coastal Conservancy to develop plans for beneficial re-use of tunnel excavated materials to accelerate up to 5,100 acres of tidal marsh habitat restoration in Santa Clara County.

3 acres, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander Section 6 (Schroeder) $91,000 subgrant federal funds to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and to consider a WCB grant to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, to acquire in fee 3± acres located near Watsonville.

11 acres, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander Section 6 (Sterling) subgrant $407,000 in federal funds to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and to consider a $143,000 WCB grant to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, to acquire in fee 11± acres located near Watsonville.

7589 acres, SISKIYOU COUNTY: Shasta Timberlands Working Forest Conservation Easement $5,697,000 . Grant to Pacific Forest Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 7,589± acres located northeast of McCloud. Total price of the easement is $5.7m.
MAP: https://www.pacificforest.org/conservation-project/shasta-timberlands/#:~:text=Shasta%20Timberlands%20is%20also%20integral,Creek%20trailhead%20to%20the%20summit.

8085 acres, TRINITY COUNTY: Lone Pine Ranch, Phase III $3,925,000. Grant to the Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 8,085± acres of land and five miles of frontage on the main stem Eel River south of the community of Kettenpom. The CA Coastal Conservancy is adding in $3.9m to the price,
MAP: https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2021/2105/20210527Board14_Lone_Pine_Ranch_Acquisition_Ex1.pdf

1026 acres, EL DORADO COUNTY: El Dorado Ranch, Expansion 4, $2,700,000. Grant to American River Conservancy for a cooperative project with the California Natural Resources Agency and Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 1,026± acres located 10 miles southeast of Placerville in the Cosumnes River watershed. Also contributing to the total $4.7m price: CA Natural Resources Agency, $1m, and CA Sierra Nevada Conservancy, $1m
https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2022120383
The ARC already owns 3,157 acres contiguous to the property to be acquired under this project.
https://www.arconservancy.org/wildlifearea/


EASTERN SIERRA:

40 acres, INYO COUNTY: Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery $0. Transfer of 40± acres of land by CDFW to Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation located in the city of Independence. This is a no-cost transfer.
https://thesheetnews.com/2021/11/19/hatching-a-plan/


CENTRAL COAST:

40 acres, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY: Carrizo Plains Ecological Reserve, Expansion 7 (Yang) $110,000. acquisition of 40± acres of land by CDFW as an expansion to CDFW’s North Carrizo ecological reserve located 56 miles west of Santa Margarita in eastern San Luis Obispo County. WITHDRAWN


SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Ballona Wetlands Restoration Planning $2,805,000 Los Angeles County To consider an allocation for a grant to CDFW to revise and recertify the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project EIR and complete final designs for Sequences 1 and 2, which will create and enhance salt marsh and brackish marsh by excavating new tidal channels, lowering adjacent marshplain, installing new culverts and water control structures, removing invasive vegetation, and planting native species within the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in Los Angeles County

670 acres, RIVERSIDE COUNTY: B Canyon $14,854,320. Grant to the Western Riverside Regional Conservation Authority to acquire 670± acres on the south side of State Route 91, west of the city of Corona. Also contributing funds: WRRCA $6.67m

640 acres, RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Western Riverside MSHCP Wolfskill  Subgrant $2.7m in federal funds to the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), and consider a $1,456,000 WCB grant to RCA, for a cooperative project to acquire in fee 640± acres, a key linkage between large blocks of conserved lands located east of the city of Moreno Valley. RCA is providing $64k of the purchase price.

1291 acres, SAN DIEGO COUNTY: Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, Expansion 6, $30,000,000 San Diego County To consider the acceptance of a USFWS grant for a cooperative project with The Nature Conservancy to acquire 1,291± acres located just north of Otay Lakes within Proctor Valley. Total price is $60 million, Also contributing: US Dept of Homeland Security, $25m; USFWS $2.5m, Nature Conservancy $2.5m
MAP of existing preserve: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Rancho-Jamul-ER

Thursday, September 14, 2023

SCC 9/2023

A Few New Coast Parks for California!

MEETING AGENDA
https://scc.ca.gov/2023/08/30/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-healdsburg-september-14/


SANTA ANA RIVER PARK IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY: disburse up to $354,000 to augment the Conservancy grant of $2,087,500 previously authorized (8/22/2019) to the City of Riverside for (1) the acquisition of four acres at 5200 Tequesquite Avenue in the City of Riverside in Riverside County
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board03E_City_of_Riverside_SAR_Parkway_Staff_Rec.pdf
MAP: https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2019/1908/20190822Board10_Santa_Ana_River_Parkway_Ex2.pdf

OJAI IN VENTURA COUNTY: disburse up to $400,000 to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy to acquire a 44.38-acre property that includes the Riverview trailhead, Ventura River Preserve, in unincorporated Ventura County.
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board03N_Riverview_Acquisition.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board03N_Riverview_Acquisition_Ex2.pdf

EEL RIVER IN TRINITY COUNTY: disburse up to $3,950,000 to The Wildlands Conservancy to acquire approximately 8,085 acres of the Lone Pine Ranch property at the confluence of the Eel River mainstem and Kekawaka Creek in Trinity County
The project represents the final phase of the acquisition of the formerly private 26,600-acre Lone Pine Ranch for the purposes of preserving and restoring fish and wildlife habitat, providing public access and recreation, and protecting open space and natural resources. When added to the TWC’s adjacent 3,000-acre Emerald Waters Reserve, this acquisition will result in the permanent protection of 29,600 acres of land along the Eel River. ...Acquisition of the Lone Pine Ranch is part of a landscape scale conservation strategy in the Eel River Watershed, complementing conservation land holdings by the Golden State Conservancy at Eel River Ranch and McKee Ridge Ranch and conservation easement acquisitions by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation through the Eel River Peninsula Project upstream of the Lone Pine Ranch.
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board05_Lone_Pine_Ranch-staffrec.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board05_Lone_Pine_Ranch_Ex1.pdf

NAPA COUNTY: disburse up to $2,375,000 for the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to acquire 56.8 acres of historic tidal marshland within the lower tidal reach of the Napa River [POSTPONED]

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO BAY: disburse up to $1,188,000 to Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to prepare a draft master plan for approximately 1,550 acres of conserved lands in Coyote Valley, Santa Clara County.
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board12_Coyote_Valley_Conservation_Areas_Master_Plan.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board12_Project_Location_Map_Ex1.pdf

SAN LUIS OBISPO: disburse up to $1,570,000 to the California Rangeland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over the 1,014-acre Wong Asuncion Ranch in unincorporated Atascadero
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board18_Wong_Asuncion.pdf
MAP: http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board18_Wong_Asuncion_Ex1.pdf

LOS CERRITOS IN ORANGE COUNTY: disburse up to $31,852,000 to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority for the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project, 103.5 acres of wetlands in Seal Beach formerly known as the Hellman Ranch
https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2309/20230914Board21_Southern_Los_Cerritos_Wetlands_Final_v2.pdf

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

WCB 8/2023

Upcoming CA State Wildlife Land Purchase Grants

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD August 24, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Preliminary Agenda Items
Preliminary agenda: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=213634&inline
MAPS and Details: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=213795&inline

IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY:

LuginBuhl Ranch $500,000 Siskiyou County
grant to Siskiyou Land Trust for a cooperative project with Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 320± acres located on the Upper Sacramento and Shasta River watershed near Mount Shasta. Total price: $2.5 million, with $2m from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy

Hart Ranch Conservation Easement - Rabbit Hill $1,475,000 Siskiyou County
grant to American Farmland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 3,354.5± acres located near the community of Montague. Total price: $1.475m

Hart Ranch Conservation Easement – Soda Springs $1,250,000 Siskiyou County
grant to American Farmland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 2,578± acres located near the community of Montague. Total price: $1.25m

Feather River Wildlife Area, Shanghai Bend Unit Transfer $0 Sutter County
transfer of 142± acres of land by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to Sutter County to own, operate, and maintain in perpetuity for purposes of public access, public recreation, and habitat preservation. The property is located along the Feather River with 19± acres in Yuba City and the remaining 123± acres

Tahoe Forest Gateway (Leidesdorff) $2,250,000 Placer County
grant to 40 Acre Conservation League for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 650± acres located in Emigrant Gap in Placer County. Total price: $3m, with $750,000 from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy

Dos Rios Norte $22,665,000 Sutter County
grant to River Partners to acquire 1,522.93± acres located approximately five miles east of Knights Landing. Total price: $22.6m.

---------------------------------------

IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

Big Morongo Springs $1,850,000 San Bernardino County
grant to Native American Land Conservancy to acquire 60± acres of land for the protection of a flowing spring located in Big Morongo Canyon. Total price: $2m, with $150,000 from Native American Land Conservancy.

Western Riverside MSHCP Barth $115,000 Riverside County
grant to the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (WRCRCA) to acquire 20± acres located just east of the city of Temecula. Total price: $330,000, with $214,000 from USFWS.

Western Riverside MSHCP Johnson $371,000 Riverside County to acquire 10± acres of land located in the city of Hemet (withdrawn from agenda)

------------------------------------------

IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA:

Walt Ranch $7,000,000 Napa County
grant to Land Trust of Napa County for a cooperative project with State Coastal Conservancy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and The Conservation Fund to secure permanent conservation of 2,300± acres in the Napa River watershed. Total price: $24.5m, with $6.5m price reduction by the owner, $7m from CA State Coastal Conservancy, and $4m from the Moore Foundation.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/walt-ranch-napa-land-trust-17695256.php

-----------------------------

IN THE CENTRAL COAST:

Basin Ranch $8,593,200 Monterey County
grant to Big Sur Land Trust for a cooperative project with the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County to acquire 5,105± acres located in the Salinas River watershed. Total price: $8.68m, with $86,000 from Big Sur Land Trust.
https://www.land.com/property/5105-acres-in-Monterey-County-California/5584354/

Steelhead Preserve $1,625,000 Ventura County
grant to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy to acquire 21± acres in the Ventura River watershed by expanding the adjacent Ventura River Steelhead Preserve located about seven miles north of the city of Ventura. Total price: $1.625m.




Thursday, May 25, 2023

SCC 6/2023

SOME BIG COASTAL PRESERVATION DEALS IN JUNE!

AGENDA:

TO WATCH ON ZOOM:

LAND PURCHASES IN GREEN SHADING

DATE: Thursday, June 01, 2023
TIME: 10:00 A.M
LOCATION: California Natural Resource Agency, 715 P Street, Room 2-221 A-C
Sacramento, CA 95814

HUMBOLDT: $5,500,000 to California Trout, Inc. for the acquisition of the 175-acre Prior Ranch for the Elk River Habitat Restoration Project

HUMBOLDT: $4,500,000 to the Hoopa Valley Tribe to acquire approximately 10,300 acres of real property known as the Pine Creek Tract, in the Klamath River watershed (current owner: New Forest, bought in 2018 from Soper-Wheeler. Hoopa tribe will pay a total of 14.1 million))

MENDOCINO: $2,000,000 to the Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 11,692 acres of the Rana Creek Ranch in upper Carmel Valley

MENDOCINO: amend the Conservancy’s revenue sharing agreement with The Conservation Fund for the 16,000 acre Big River/Salmon Creek Forests. State will receive $3.1 million.

SONOMA-NAPA: $1,500,000 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 654-acre McCormick Ranch Property in the Mayacamas Mountains

SONOMA: $515,200 to the Pepperwood Foundation to reduce wildfire risk at 1054 acres out of the 3200 acre Pepperwood Preserve

MONTEREY: $1,090,000, including $970,000 of grant funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation to acquire a conservation easement over 24 acres of agricultural land, floodplain restoration and coastal access along Tembladero Slough, between Castroville and Salinas River State Beach.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: $910,000 to the Land Conservancy of SLO County to acquire a conservation easement over the 736-acre Warren Ranch located in the upper San Simeon and Santa Rosa Creek watersheds

ORANGE COUNTY: $575,000 to the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy for restoring 44.8 acres of degraded wetlands at Newland Marsh in Huntington Beach


Monday, April 24, 2023

SCC 4/2023

State to Fund Preservation of Two Forested Parcels

https://scc.ca.gov/2023/03/23/coastal-conservancy-public-meeting-in-san-rafael-april-06/

Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $41,200 to the Mattole Restoration Council to complete preacquisition activities for 52 acres of wetland, riparian, grassland, and forested habitat on the North Fork Mattole River in Humboldt County. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board03A_Lower_North_Fork_Mattole.pdf

Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $7,000,000 to the Land Trust of Napa County to acquire 465 acres of the 2,300-acre Walt Ranch Property for habitat preservation, biodiversity protection, climate resilience, improving wildlife corridors, and public access and tribal cultural uses compatible with natural resource protection in the Capell Valley of Napa County, California. SCC 4/6/2023
http://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2023/2304/20230406Board05_Walt_Ranch_Acquisition.pdf

WCB 5/2023

State To Preserve 25,000 Acres in May Meeting

Notice of Meeting

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD May 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814

Bates Ranch $2 million Santa Clara County
cooperative project with the Peninsula Open Space Trust and the Moore Foundation to acquire 735± acres to provide a critical wildlife corridor from Mount Madonna County Park to Uvas Reservoir, near the city of Gilroy

Devil's Canyon $1,600,000 Los Angeles County
grant to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to acquire in fee 120± acres

White Tate $642,200 San Diego County
grant federal funds to the Escondido Creek Conservancy, to acquire in fee 48± acres near the city of San Marcos

Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement $0 Siskiyou County
To consider WCB entering into a Property Transfer Agreement on behalf of CDFW for future acceptance of 7,027± acres of land from Klamath River Renewal Corporation after dam removal and restoration as a no-cost acquisition located near the town of Hornbrook

Bently Junction Ranch $4,220,000 Mono County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy to acquire 2,333± acres located near Bridgeport

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Rana Creek Ranch $24 million Monterey County
grant to The Wildlands Conservancy for a cooperative project with the State Coastal Conservancy to acquire 11,691± acres located in Carmel Valley



review of price

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Fay Creek Ranch $3,336,929 Kern County
two grants to Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) for a cooperative project with Sierra Nevada Conservancy to acquire 2,285± acres near the community of Weldon in Kern County. At close of escrow, WRC will direct the seller to convey the southwestern 1,039± acres to the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation and the northeastern 1,246± acres to the Tübatulabal Tribe’s nonprofit organization for long-term stewardship



Monday, January 30, 2023

Karuk Tribe Gets Land Back on Hwy 96

Biden and Congress Return 1000 Acres to North Coast Tribe


On January 6, in a rare act of unity for a very divided federal government, President Joe Biden signed into law an act returning the center of the world to the Karuk Tribe. Eight years in the making, the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act took roughly 1000 acres of land hugging the shores along the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers near the border between Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties and placed it in trust for the Tribe.

The land has previously been managed by the US Forest Service. In 1850, the California legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians which, among other things (including establishing indentured servitude and laying the groundwork for genocide), facilitated the removal and displacement of Indigenous Californians from their ancestral lands. By the time that the first seeds of what would become the US Forest Service were planted in the late 1800s due to exploitation of the forests by miners and loggers, the original stewards of the lands that would come to be managed by the federal government had already been forcibly removed. For perspective, the Tribe’s ancestral territory encompasses over one million acres, 95 percent of which is currently occupied by the US Forest Service, so although this act of land return is cause for celebration, it is a mere fraction of the territory historically inhabited by the tribe...

MAP: https://huffman.house.gov/download/huffman_legislativemap-katimiinarea_08-09-2021

https://www.yournec.org/feds-return-center-of-the-world-to-karuk-tribe/

LA meetuphikes.org

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