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Special Edition
December 2007
California Oak Report
The Homestretch
California Oak Foundation’s (COF) mission is to preserve the
state's oak forest ecosystem. COF’s strategic goal since 2000 has
been to establish a legal, planning and scientific platform for oak
habitat conservation. The purpose of this effort is to guide informed
oak resource decision making by California citizens and public
officials through the 21st century.
The waning days of 2007 are an appropriate time to reflect on past
events and to prepare for the next steps. Selected highlights from the California Oak Report archives follow:
2000
Assembly Member Helen Thomson introduces COF-sponsored Oak Woodlands
Conservation Act. Assembly Bill 242 creates the Oak Woodlands
Conservation Fund to provide grants primarily for the purchase of oak
woodland conservation easements. In September, AB 242 stalls in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. In November, California voters approve
minimum $8 million seed money for the Oak Woodlands Conservation Fund
with the passage of Proposition 12 bonds.
COF registers strong objections to the Bickford Ranch (Placer County)
development proposal to remove 11,000 oaks and destroy 1,000 acres of
blue oak woodlands habitat.
COF registers strong objections to the Bahia project, City of Novato.
This 630-acre housing development would remove 6,400 oak trees, thus
destroying the lone blue oak forest in Marin County and the only known
occurrence of blue oak woodland salt marsh ecotone in California.
COF and the California Attorney General file amicus briefs supporting
Save Our Forest And Ranchlands successful lawsuit against San Diego
County General Plan amendments detrimental to 200,000 acres of back
country.
COF petitions the Board of Forestry to apply the California Forest
Practice Act to the conversion of oak woodlands where significant
habitat impacts occur. The Board declines.
2001
Assembly Member Helen Thomson reintroduces AB 242. Following passage by
the Assembly and Senate, Governor Davis signs into law the Oak
Woodlands Conservation Act of 2001.
COF and Mountain Lion Foundation file their "One California Forest"
lawsuit against the Board of Forestry seeking a summary judgment
declaring unlawful California's policy of failing to apply the Forest
Practice Act to conserve oak woodlands.
The US Forest Service adopts the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment
establishing management planning for eleven national forests covering
11.5 million acres. Oaks are specifically prioritized for forest wide
conservation. These priority Sierra oak conservation objectives and
standards are reaffirmed by the USFS in 2004.
Referendum voters overwhelmingly reject City of Novato approval of the
Bahia development project. In 2003 the Marin Audubon Society completes
purchase of the Bahia property and its distinctive blue oak woodlands
for $16 million. Audubon later transfers ownership of a majority of the
Bahia property to the Marin County Open Space District and the
California Department of Fish and Game.
The COF-supported Santa Clarita Oak Conservancy lawsuit against College
of the Canyons (Los Angels County) concerning valley oak removal for a
parking lot is settled. Terms of the settlement include a 75 percent
reduction in the original number of trees proposed for removal, an oak
replanting program with a ten year monitoring period and a 20 acre
conservation easement for adjacent valley oak habitat.
2002
COF, Sierra Club and Audubon Society join forces in filing a lawsuit
against Placer County over its approval of the Bickford Ranch
residential development project. The groups' primary concern is that
even when county general plans provide adequate protection for oak
woodlands, local jurisdictions like Placer County ignore their own
regulations.
Led by Endangered Habitats League, COF and other partners register
strong objections to the Saddle Creek (Orange County) project. The 600
acre site is adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest and the
development would remove more than 1,100 mature oaks and sycamores,
many over five feet in diameter. Several conservation organizations
form the Saddleback Canyons Task Force and eventually file suit against
the project.
Santa Barbara County adopts an oak tree ordinance for 770,000 acres of
agricultural land but the regulation lacks adequate oak woodlands
habitat mitigation criteria. Still, this oak conservation measure
establishes a precedent for agricultural lands in California.
COF petitions the Board of Forestry to increase retention standards for
California black oak and Oregon white oak on 7 million acres of private
timberland. The Board responds by passing an amendment allegedly
strengthening review of cumulative impacts to wildlife species due to
the cutting of deciduous oaks. COF remains dissatisfied that a minimum
timberland oak retention standard isn’t included.
The San Francisco Superior Court rules in favor of the Board of
Forestry in COF and Mountain Lion Foundation oak woodlands lawsuit.
After legal appeals fail, COF seeks legislative remedy for the lack of
Board of Forestry oak woodlands leadership.
2003
Senator Sheila Kuehl introduces COF sponsored Senate Bill 711 requiring
proportional habitat mitigation under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) for oak woodland conversions. SB 711 stalls in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
COF again petitions the Board of Forestry to increase California black
oak and Oregon white oak minimum timberland retention standards to
sustain these resources over time. By a one vote margin, the nine
member Board rejects minimum oak stocking standards for Sierra private
timberlands.
COF registers strong objections to the Larson reforestation and fuel
reduction project in the Stanislaus National Forest. Contrary to Sierra
oak standards, Larson would damage and kill thousands of California
black oaks due to indiscriminate aerial herbicide spraying. COF,
California Basket Weavers Association, California Native Plant Society
and others eventually sue US Forest Service.
Ahmanson Ranch (Ventura County), a 3,000 acre property with incredible
oak resources, is acquired for $135 million in bond monies.
2004
Senator Sheila Kuehl introduces Senate Bill 1334 (formerly SB 711)
specifying oak woodland mitigation alternatives for counties to achieve
proportional habitat mitigation under CEQA reviews. Following approval
by the Senate and Assembly, and upon receipt of 44,000 letters of
support, Governor Schwarzenegger signs Public Resources Code section
21083.4 into law.
Under legal duress, El Dorado County becomes the first local
jurisdiction to adopt general plan oak woodland habitat mitigation
measures compatible with CEQA requirements.
A conservation easement agreement is reached for the 82,000 acre Hearst
Ranch (San Luis Obispo County), which includes approximately 30,000
acres of dense blue oak and coast live oak woodlands.
California establishes the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The new
Conservancy's mission is to use state bond moneys to protect sensitive
habitat areas, reduce fire risks and improve tourism opportunities in
22 counties. The extensive blue oak woodlands of the Sierra Nevada
lower west slope form the Conservancy's western boundary and they will
be a prime beneficiary of the program.
2005
In a unanimous decision by the 4th District Court of Appeal, the
Endangered Habitats League, supported by COF and others, prevail in the
Saddle Creek development lawsuit. The Orange County project would have
removed several hundred large oaks.
The 2002 Bickford Ranch lawsuit is settled. Accords include
reimbursement by the developer of COF and co-plaintiffs legal expenses
totaling $850,000 and a $6.05 million mitigation payment to the
California Wildlife Foundation for the purchase of Placer County oak
woodlands (as of the end of 2007, the mitigation acres protected
through cooperation and additional funding from the county, Placer Land
Trust, United Auburn Indian Community, COF and Emigrant Trails Greenway
Trust, are triple that of the legal requirement).
US Forest Service designates black, blue, Engelmann and valley oaks
"management indicator species" for the four southern California
national forests. The 15 Sierra and Socal national forests are now
united in their priority management goals of sustaining and enhancing
oak resources.
The Sierra Nevada Alliance reports that California has a new boomtown:
The Sierra Nevada mountains. The report highlights that the blue oak
woodland habitats of the Sierra foothills, the largest contiguous old
growth forest remaining in the US, are most vulnerable to sprawl.
2006
Due to rampant development, COF initiates a focused effort to educate
Sierra foothill officials of the need to immediately design local oak
woodlands conservation and mitigation measures.
The first funds from the Bickford Ranch lawsuit are used to compensate
for the 700 acres of blue oak habitat destroyed at Bickford. In
partnership with other state and local organizations, the California
Wildlife Foundation pledges $1.9 million of its $6.05 million to secure
850 acres of Placer County blue oak woodlands and riparian corridors as
an investment in the future.
California Resources Agency’s Wildlife Conservation Board, the
Department of Conservation and Cal Fed spends $6.5 million to protect
remaining 4,250 acres of Llano Seco Rancho in Butte County. This
project, coordinated by COF, protects the remaining lands in an
18,500-acre Mexican Land Grant from development.
COF publishes Oaks 2040, which is based on objective oak
data and is designed to serve local and regional decision makers in oak
woodland planning and the development of conservation strategies. Oaks 2040
builds upon a statewide map of oak distribution and inventory created
by state/federal researchers by adding new layers of oak information.
2007
COF heightens its Sierra foothill oak resource educational efforts by
publicly commenting on all proposed developments in Amador County and
Calaveras County that significantly impact oak woodlands.
Regional/local groups prod Mariposa County to adopt meaningful new
general plan oak resource conservation measures and Tuolumne County
nears approval of an enhanced oak woodland mitigation ordinance. El
Dorado County prepares to institute the comprehensive oak woodlands
habitat conservation program called for under its updated general plan.
Placer County implements specific oak habitat mitigation measures that
are consistent with CEQA biological requirements.
The Wildlife Conservation Board reports that the state Oak Woodlands
Conservation Fund currently has about $19 million available for the 12
counties that have qualified for grants under the Oak Woodlands
Conservation Program. Another half-dozen counties are in the process of
preparing program applications.
The US Forest Service settles the 2004 Larson reforestation and fuel
reduction project lawsuit by permanently withdrawing the Stanislaus
National Forest plan. The suit was brought because of USFS violations
of the Sierra Framework black oak conservation priorities.
Based on the forest protocols of the California Air Resources Board,
CEQA opinions of the California Attorney General and local code
provisions COF begins to insist that CEQA greenhouse gas reviews
analyze and mitigate carbon biological emission impacts from the
removal of oak woodland resources.
Merchandise (click here for photo)
Candles by Siena Art & Design, hand
crafted using the finest ingredients available. Each candle is
attractively gift boxed. Burn time is estimated at 30-40 hours. 3" x 4."
Oak Leaf Beeswax
100% beeswax in natural golden color, honeylike fragrance. $17.95/$16.16 mbrs.
Scented Oak Leaf
Beeswax/high-grade paraffin. Sage Green, scented cedar and mint. $17.95/$16.16 mbrs.
Tree of Life
Beeswax/high-grade paraffin. Yellow, scented plumeria. $16.50/$14.85 mbrs.
The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada
366 pages of 2,800 original watercolor illustrations. Over 1,700
species of Sierra trees, wildflowers, ferns, fungi, lichens, fish,
reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, insects and other small animals
have been catalogued. $24.95/$22.46 mbrs.
A Field Guide to Plant Galls of California And Other Western States
by Ron Russo, published by U.C. Press
Identifies more than 300 species of galls. Information on host selection, growth and
development, predator and parasite defense, and uses. $24.95/$22.46 mbrs.
Native Oaks Note Cards
illustrated by Michael Lee from the Good Nature
Publishing poster, Native Oaks of California
Eight notes and envelopes, 4-1/4" x 5-1/2," ivory linen card stock. $12.00/$10.80 mbrs.
Past Issues of the Oak Report
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*
The
California
Oak Foundation
thanks subscribers to
The Oak Report for their
interest, input and support in
2007. We wish everyone a joyous
holiday season and a new year filled
with good oak regeneration, record acorn
crops, and intelligent ordinances and general
plans that
preserve oak
woodlands
and habitats.
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1212 Broadway, #842 Oakland, CA 94612 Tel. 510-763-0282
Fax: 510-208-4435 oakstaff@californiaoaks.org
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