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California Oak Report
July 2001
Assembly Bill 1602 establishes the California Oak Conservation Act of 2001. The bill requires the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to prepare a report on the status of all species in the genus Quercus and the tree species popularly known as tanoak. The CDF report will include:
- Review of existing information on California oaks to determine the status of oak resources and changes over time.
- Assessment of the threats to oak resources, including biological threats, management practices and land use conversions.
- Inventory and evaluation of existing state/local oak resources protection and policy efforts.
CDF will submit its status report to the Oak Conservation Advisory Committee which will review the report and develop policy options for oak conservation. The committee will present its findings to the CDF Director, who will then make policy recommendations to the Board of Forestry, Legislature and Governor by January 1, 2003. COF petitioned state forestry officials for this action in November 1999. The bill is sponsored by the Resources Agency and Department of Forestry, with support from the California Oak Foundation, California Association of Winegrape Growers, California ReLeaf, California State Association of Counties, County of Marin, National Audubon Society-California, Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land and others.
Relationship of current Senate and Assembly oak legislation:
- SB 31 and AB 62 provide emergency assistance for dead/dying oaks resulting from sudden oak death disease;
- AB 242 focuses on oak species growing on woodlands and the long-term stewardship of healthy oak woodlands through specific land use management incentives;
- AB 1602 will analyze all issues related to oaks growing on both woodlands and timberlands. The bill will also review the status of the widespread non-oak species tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus).
Support for Assembly bills 242 and 1602 may be registered by contacting Senator Dede Alpert, Chairwoman, Senate Appropriations Committee at senator.alpert@sen.ca.gov. Appropriations Committee will hear both bills on July 9.
Placer County
The California Oak Foundation has written the City of Rocklin Planning Department to express concern regarding potential oak ecosystem impacts from the Clover Valley Lakes project. This 622 acre subdivision proposes to remove at least 7,100 trees. Rocklin's lack of meaningful oak conservation standards, coupled with cumulative oak habitat impact issues, is another indicator of what goes on at the local level as the Board of Forestry refuses to protect the oak resources of the state:
Dear Rocklin Planning Department:
The California Oak Foundation recommends that the Clover Valley Lakes tiered environmental impact report include a detailed analysis of the following issues:
- A more through review of biological resources at risk. The Clover Valley Lakes (CVL) FEIR states that, "One of the objectives of the wildlife survey is to determine the potential for special status wildlife species to occur in the project area." The outdated project wildlife surveys observed the special status species Cooper's hawk and western pond turtle on site. However, both the CVL DEIR/FEIR failed to mention that the California Natural Diversity Data Base also lists black swift, California red-legged frog, foothill yellow-legged frog, osprey, and yellow warbler as special status species occurring in Placer County. All of these special status species share a preference for the oak woodland habitat attributes that characterize the project site. A further indication of the biological richness of the CVL woodlands are the reported presence of other oak habitat dependent wildlife species, including coyote, deer, mountain lion, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk and wild turkey.
- Examination of the assumption that planting oaks mitigates development impacts to mature oak woodland habitat values over time. This premise has no legal or scientific basis. In fact forthcoming studies, such as the University of California's Modeling the Effectiveness of Habitat Loss Mitigation in Blue Oak Woodlands with Tree Planting, demonstrate that simply planting trees is often not a reasonable or feasible oak habitat mitigation measure.
- Discussion of the concomitant impacts from CVL buildings, fences, streets, pipelines, transmission lines, cars, children and pets on the wildlife habitat value of forested "open space" areas after development of the property.
- Assessment of the cumulative impacts to oak woodland habitat continuity from the CVL project in conjunction with the adjacent Bickford Ranch, Twelve Bridges and Whitney Oaks projects. Together these developments involve the removal of tens of thousands of oaks.
COF looks forward to a complete analysis of oak ecosystem-related issues in the forthcoming Clover Valley Lakes Project TEIR.
Sincerely,
Janet S. Cobb, President
CALIFORNIA OAK FOUNDATION
News Briefs
Sacramento County - Although the land is officially off-limits to development under the county's 1993 general plan, thousands of acres of oak woodlands south of Highway 50 are the focus of intense speculation by developers. Folsom recently received permission from the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission to extend its sphere of influence to 3,600 acres of oak covered ranch land just south of Highway 50. The designation is considered the first step toward annexation and development.
Sudden Oak Death - Buckeye trees are the latest species to be infected by the virulent organism, joining black oak, coast live oak, tanoak, Shreve's oak, huckleberry, rhododendron, madrone, arrowwood and California bay laurel. The contagion was recently discovered in woodlands east of Napa, which is substantially drier than the coastal areas where it was known to thrive. This discovery has raised concerns that SOD is moving inland, to dry regions that some biologists thought were safe.
Please see the web site at www.suddenoakdeath.org for latest information.
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