The county and state cattlemen’s associations both have
officially opposed the U.S. Fish
&
amp; Wildlife Service
”
California Foothills Legacy Area
”
proposal to buy conservation easements in a massive swath of
Central California.
The county and state cattlemen’s associations both have officially opposed the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service “California Foothills Legacy Area” proposal to buy conservation easements in a massive swath of Central California.
The San Benito County Cattlemen’s Association board of directors voted June 9 in opposition to the proposal “as written,” said the local organization’s president, Mike Johnson.
The California Cattlemen’s Association board – each association is entitled to a vote – on Wednesday elected to oppose the plan as well, said Stevie Ipsen, the state group’s communications director. There were about 70 board members at the meeting and a total of around 300 people, she said, while a statement from the cattlemen’s association noted how a “substantial margin” favored the opposition.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in May released its proposal to buy the conservation easements while stating intentions to protect endangered and threatened species – nearly 200 were identified – and prevent over-development.
The proposal outlines an 18 million-acre study area affecting 26 counties, including San Benito. Within that study area, the federal agency breaks down the proposal into four “focal areas” making up 3.4 million acres – one of which is the “San Benito Hills” that includes nearly 500,000 acres in the county.
Fish and wildlife has reported that it initially wants to buy easements on 900,000 acres in total. With an estimated cost of $1,000 per acre, the federal government would pay about $900 million to purchase the easements.
Those easements would carry restrictions on landowners. County and state cattlemen have expressed concerns about possible regulations placed on them once the federal government has legal means of access to properties.
“There’s a lot of stuff that needed to be addressed before it seemed anything could be done with it,” said Johnson, regarding the current proposal.
The statewide association’s vote followed the previous local opposition. There had been some confusion in recent weeks about the stance from the California Cattlemen’s Association because fish and wildlife promoted that the plan was devised with support from the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. That coalition is comprised of more than 100 environmental and agricultural organizations, one of which is the state cattlemen’s association.
Ipsen stressed how the state cattlemen never independently endorsed the idea.
“It certainly was confusing,” Ipsen said, adding how the organization still has a “good working relationship” with fish and wildlife.
She said the state group plans to release a statement later today with more details about the decision.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Chief of Refuge Planning Mark Pelz made a presentation about the proposal, first broached seven years ago, at the Sacramento group’s meeting Wednesday.
He noted how the state cattlemen’s association intended to send fish and wildlife a letter with recommendations for the federal agency. He also mentioned how the comment period remains open until July 15 and said his agency was “looking forward” to receiving feedback about prospective changes.
“We’re very open,” Pelz said. “We’re just starting the process. Clearly, there’s a lot of different viewpoints on what it should look like.”
Look back for more on this story. See the federal website summarizing the idea here.
