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April 2007
California Oak Report
COF Scanning Local Oak Measures
The California Oak Foundation has begun a process of reviewing city and county oak woodland conservation measures to assess their oak woodland conservation value, consistency with California Environmental Quality Act mitigation requirements and the identification of key oak woodland habitat issues meriting immediate consideration by local officials. Summary examples:
To: Amador County Board of Supervisors
February 5, 2007
Oak Woodlands Conservation
The California Oak Foundation (COF) has recently reviewed the oak woodland conservation measures contained in the Amador County code and municipal codes of the cities of Amador, Ione, Jackson, Sutter Creek and Plymouth. Where they exist, these oak measures appear appropriate for issues related to street trees and trees on lots; they are wholly insufficient for the purposes of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. CEQA focuses on significant impacts to oak woodland habitat with feasible and proportional mitigation as needed. Oak sustainability over time is the goal.
Oak habitat connectivity between Sierra foothill oak woodlands and higher elevation black oak habitats is of great biological importance. The close proximity of the cities of Amador, Ione, Jackson, Sutter Creek and Plymouth requires that these cities respond collectively to the maintenance of high-quality oak habitat corridors east and west of Highway 49. Otherwise, foothill cities will be facing mounting concerns regarding direct and cumulative impacts to dozens of sensitive wildlife species that rely on these oak resources.
COF urges Amador County and its cities to carefully review the adequacy of local oak habitat conservation planning in developing the general plan and in future CEQA project legal compliance reviews.
cc: Cities of Amador, Ione, Jackson, Sutter Creek and Plymouth
To: L.A. County Department of Regional Planning
February 5, 2007
Gorman Post Ranch NOP
The California Oak Foundation (COF) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Gorman Post Ranch notice of preparation (NOP). COF has concerns regarding the NOP oak woodlands assessment and planning.
1. The project Oak Tree Report inventoried single-trunk oak trees 6 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) or greater and multiple stem oaks 12 inches dbh or greater. These diameter standards are inconsistent with state law.
Public Resources Code §21083.4 requires mitigation for all oaks "5 inches or more in diameter at breast height," including multi-stem oak trees. Furthermore, COF challenges Los Angeles County to provide the biological rational for the establishment of the discriminatory multi-trunk oak standard, particularly as it applies to sensitive wildlife species.
To: Glenn County Board of Supervisors/Planning Division
March 7, 2007
Glenn County Oak Woodlands Management Plan
The California Oak Foundation (COF) is currently reviewing implementation of the Oak Woodland Conservation Act of 2001. COF’s examination indicates that Glenn County is the only county that initiated an Oak Woodlands Management Plan (OWMP), then failed to approve that plan. Below are COF’s observations regarding the historical reasons for opposition to a Glenn County OWMP:
1. "Rural counties by and large have voluntary guidelines for oak woodland management rather than ordinances. This has led to a curious phenomenon, illustrated by Glenn County. Its 1994 resolution to adopt guidelines refers to the "importance of private property rights" and economic viability four times but the guidelines never refer to the need to leave stumps to sprout or to plant new trees" (Light and Pedroni 2001).
Past allegations that a voluntary Glenn County OWMP would abridge private property rights or inhibit economic viability are specious. In fact, failure to adopt an OWMP denies Glenn County landowners the opportunity to exploit the full range of economic options available to them. Contrary to limiting economic viability, conservation easements provide a means for willing participants to enhance the long-term economics of their working operations. This is evidenced by the support for rangeland conservation easements by the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition and its affiliated organizations.
2. The 2003 rejection by Glenn County of potential Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) oak resource conservation funding is surprising, given that in May 2003 Glenn was the beneficiary of $671,000 in WCB grants to the Sacramento River Partners to acquire and restore 132 acres of riparian and aquatic habitat. While the same criticisms leveled against the OWMP were applicable in this resource case, no such flawed claims were made or considered.
3. Public Resources Code §21083.4 mandates that California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigated negative declarations and environmental impact reports are limited to counting tree planting for no more than 50 percent of oak woodland mitigation. Consequently, conservation easements are a major mitigation component for CEQA projects where significant oak woodland impacts occur.
COF urges the Northern California Regional Land Trust in partnership with local organizations and individuals to revisit the legitimate merits of a Glenn County OWMP and resubmit a plan to county officials based on new information and changed conditions. We are confident that an objective reconsideration of the issue will result in Glenn joining six other counties currently preparing an OWMP and 11 counties, including Tehama, that have approved plans.
To: Calaveras County Planning Department
April 2, 2007
Re: Oak Woodland Cumulative Impacts
The California Oak Foundation (COF) is writing to comment on a statement contained in a Stockton Record article (March 27) regarding the North Vista Plaza development. According to the Record the Planning Department wrote, "it is impossible to say how the project will contribute to the cumulative loss of oaks over time, because Calaveras County never obtained baseline data on how many oaks the county had in the first place."
If accurate, this remark clearly indicates that Calaveras County doesn’t understand its oak woodland obligations under state law. Determining North Vista Plaza oak woodlands cumulative impacts isn’t dependent on the County establishing baseline oak data; the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines specifically address cumulative impacts criteria.
The CEQA Guidelines set forth the minimum elements necessary for an adequate analysis of cumulative impacts: (1) a list of past, present, and probable future projects producing related or cumulative impacts, including, if necessary, those projects outside the control of the agency; (2) a "summary of the expected environmental effects to be produced by those projects....," and (3) a "reasonable analysis of the cumulative impacts of the relevant projects." (Guidelines, § 15130, subds. (b)(2), (3).) Furthermore, it is wrong as a matter of law and fact to conclude that cumulative impacts are addressed by maximizing mitigation measures for the project at hand (Environmental Protection Information Center, Inc. v. Johnson (1985) 170 Cal. App. 3d 604).
Review of past, present and future projects finds a great many developments have directly or potentially will impact Calaveras County oak woodlands. COF urges Calaveras County to reevaluate its CEQA oak woodlands cumulative impacts interpretation and move speedily to adopt oak resource conservation measures consistent with state guidelines and statutes.
Announcements
The California Wilderness Coalition’s Celebration of the Passage of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act on Friday, April 13 in San Francisco.
Planning and Conservation League’s 2007 Annual Environmental Legislative Symposium on Saturday, April 14 in Sacramento.
Butte Environmental Council’s 28th Annual Endangered Species Faire, May 5 at Cedar Grove in Bidwell Park, Chico.
California League of Conservation Voters’ 25th Annual Environmental Leadership Awards Gala, Friday, June 1 in Redwood City.
Sierra Nevada Alliance’s 14th Annual Conference, August 3-5, at North Lake Tahoe.
Merchandise
The Oak Woodland Bird Conservation Plan by Dr. Steve Zack and co-published by California Oak Foundation and Point Reyes Bird Observatory. California oak woodlands rank among the top three habitat types in North America for bird richness. This book is a guide for conservation policy and action on behalf of oak woodland habitats and wildlife. 126 pages, paperback, $12.00, members $10.80.
For the months of March and April, mention this ad and your cost will be $5.00 plus tax, shipping and handling ($2.50 Media, $5.00 First Class).
New to Our Website
To Prune Or Not To Prune by Rosi Dagit and A. James Downer
A study of 62 coast live oaks, before, during, and after transplantation.
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Fax: 510-208-4435 oakstaff@californiaoaks.org
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