IMPLEMENTING THE CONSERVATION LANDS NETWORK
Collaboration and coordination are the keys to achieving the bold vision of the Conservation Lands Network (CLN). Bay Area conservationists, having already conserved 1.2 million acres, are no strangers to the type of collaboration and outreach that builds consensus and results in success. The CLN represents a tangible shared vision for coordinating actions and strengthening the political will vital to make this vision a reality.
The region is well on its way toward implementation with 44% or 970,000 acres of the CLN already conserved (approximately 200,000 acres of protected lands are in the baylands and outside of the study area). With 125 individuals from 43 agencies and organizations involved in the creation of the Conservation Lands Network, there is a solid foundation of support for its implementation.
The steps to implementation cross five broad categories – land conservation, stewardship, public policy, outreach and education, and funding.
1. Land Conservation: Count Both Public and Private Lands
The Conservation Lands Network, by necessity, includes both public and private lands. It is not feasible or desirable for resource agencies and nonprofit conservation organizations to purchase land or conservation easements for all of the unprotected areas of the CLN. Working lands will be an important part of the Conservation Lands Network. For example, approximately 670,000 acres of unprotected land within the CLN are rangeland (see map), presenting the opportunity to work with ranchers to ensure these lands continue to provide vital habitat.
Choosing to conserve one’s property is a landowner’s prerogative. The Conservation Lands Network does not change that. Where there are willing sellers, the purchase of fee interest or conservation easements is one way to implement the CLN. A variety of tools are needed to build the CLN.
1. Conserve key parts of the Conservation Lands Network through outright purchase or acquisition of conservation easements from willing sellers. Easements should state biodiversity conservation as one of the purposes, and easement holders should have the financial resources to monitor and enforce the terms.
2. Support ranchers and forestland owners to sustain the economic viability of their operations so their lands continue to provide valuable habitat. Selling a conservation easement can offset operating costs of working lands. Voluntary landowner technical and financial assistance programs for natural resource management encourage landowners to enhance or restore wildlife habitat on their lands.
3. Restore riparian ecosystem functions by conserving and restoring stream and riparian habitat, and by establishing stream buffers that are as wide as possible. Streams are integral to ecosystem health, and nearly all have been severely degraded. Riparian areas are especially important in an era of climate change, as they offer cool, shady areas as refugia from increasing temperatures, and connect many ecological zones, giving plants and animals room to move. See Chapter 5: Fine Filter: Riparian Habitat and Fish for more extensive recommendations.
- Restore watershed functions by encouraging the development of comprehensive, multi-stakeholder watershed plans that forge the partnerships vital to coalescing action around large, complex issues.
- Focus on conserving stream headwaters, which are especially important for stream health. Many headwater areas are used as grazing land, underscoring the importance of support for ranchers.
- Make riparian buffers as wide as possible to maximize the ecological functions these areas support. Buffers can be established by purchasing fee interest or conservation easements from willing sellers or through policies.
- Remove barriers to fish migration, restore stream channel complexity, and secure seasonal water releases – all actions vital to the restoration of healthy assemblages of native fish populations.
- Implement the recommendations of the Recovery Plan for the Evolutionarily Significant Unit of the Central California Coast Coho Salmon and Priority Recovery Actions for the Central California Coast Steelhead Distinct Population Segment.
4. Maximize conservation investments by aligning local initiatives, including mitigation of development impacts, with the CLN. Coordinate efforts early to maximize the benefits.
2. Stewardship: Manage for Diverse Biological Resources and Ecological Processes
In addition to conserving land, stewardship, monitoring, and adaptive management are essential to maintain and restore the ecological processes on which biodiversity depends.
1. Provide technical and financial support for sound stewardship on private lands. Studies indicate that many public and private rangelands lack a management plan. Numerous programs are offered for ranchers by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), US Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, University of California Cooperative Extension, and the USDA Farm Services Agency. CAL FIRE, USDA Forest Service, and University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension offer financial and technical assistance to forest landowners.
2. Provide additional funding for stewardship of public lands. Stewardship funding has never been adequate, and has been far outpaced by acquisition funding.
3. Adopt and implement best management practices for public and private range and forest lands. The NRCS, UC Cooperative Extension, and resource conservation districts all have grazing land best management practices. CAL FIRE and the USDA Forest Service have best management practices for forest lands.
4. Implement long-term adaptive management plans to assess and improve management effectiveness. Ongoing monitoring is the only way to fully comprehend species and ecosystem responses to management actions. Consistent sources of funding are needed for monitoring programs.
5. Encourage the expansion of wildlife- and fish-friendly farming practices and programs. Cultivated agricultural practices are not always compatible with biodiversity values, but programs such as the Fish Friendly Farming certification program can help farmers reduce or even eliminate impacts.
3. Public Policy: Adopt and Enforce Strong Policies to Conserve and Maintain Biodiversity
Land use and regulatory policies are important tools for protecting resources and many supportive policies are already in place. Streams within the Coastal Zone, as defined by the 1976 California Coastal Act, have the strongest protections. Slope ordinances limiting development on steep hillsides reduce sediment and contaminants flowing into streams. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process administered by Regional Water Quality Control Boards under the federal Clean Water Act improves water quality. The creation of biological resources overlay zones in general plans can reduce impacts of development.
1. Encourage the inclusion of the Conservation Lands Network in city and county general plans as well as transportation plans. The push to develop a regional Sustainable Community Strategy by the Joint Policy Committee to comply with the greenhouse gas emission reductions mandated in AB32 and SB375 is a great opportunity to use policies to implement the Conservation Lands Network.
2. Encourage federal, state, and local governments to enforce existing policies and adopt new regulations where needed to limit development on sensitive lands, encourage compatible forestry and agricultural uses, require stream and watershed protection during forest and agricultural operations, reduce sedimentation and nonpoint source pollution, and mandate buffers along stream corridors.
3. Coordinate the application and enforcement of land protection policies within city, county and regional agencies to maximize efficiency and ensure consistency.
4. Encourage the adoption and enforcement of policies that offer incentives to ranchers to stay in production. The Williamson Act is a good example of a policy providing tax breaks for lands in agricultural production.
5. Support the inclusion of stormwater management plans in city and county general plans to reduce sediment and non-point source pollution in runoff.
6. Support collaborative programs (such as the Collaborative Creek Improvement Program) that focus on reducing sediment and non-point source pollutants in runoff.
4. Outreach and Education: Spread the Word
The Upland Habitat Goals Project included representatives from resource agencies, conservation nonprofits, universities, landowners, and environmental consulting firms early in the process of creating the Conservation Lands Network. A Partner Outreach Plan guided outreach to many more stakeholders for information and input. These steps laid the groundwork for the sustained effort needed to get the information and tools in the hands of those who can make the CLN a reality.
1. Inform policymakers and funders about the Conservation Lands Network and their roles in seeing it come to fruition.
2. Coordinate with existing habitat and water quality programs such as the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, and the Subtidal Habitat Goals Project to communicate the project goals and how agencies, organizations, landowners, and individuals can work together to reach them.
3. Partner with Resource Conservation Districts, Natural Resources Conservation Service, California Rangeland Trust, and similar organizations to communicate project goals and available resources to ranchers and farmers.
4. Encourage implementing partners to draw a connection to the Conservation Lands Network and its goals when announcing conservation projects and initiatives.
5. Funding: Create New and Expand Existing Funding Sources
An objective of the Conservation Lands Network is to assist conservationists with the allocation of limited resources, including funding. To make the CLN a reality, it is imperative to use existing resources efficiently – and increase the amount of funding available.
1. Increase public and private funding for existing programs that support land and conservation easement acquisition and habitat restoration. Such programs include the San Francisco Bay Area Program of the California Coastal Conservancy, California Wildlife Conservation Board, California State Parks, California Department of Conservation, regional open space and park districts, and federal grant programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund. New sources include bonds, local funding measures, and budget appropriations at all levels.
2. Increase funding for voluntary incentive programs that offer technical and financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners interested in improving the habitat value of their lands. These programs are offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, CAL FIRE, US Fish and Wildlife Service, UC Cooperative Extension, California Department of Fish and Game, and the Farm Services Agency.
3. Provide consistent funding for stewardship, monitoring, and adaptive management – all essential to maintaining and improving the management of public and private lands. Managing for invasive plants, in particular, is critical to maintaining biodiversity, but requires long-term funding to be effective.
4. Ensure adequate funding for the research needs identified during the goal-setting process to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the Conservation Lands Network in future updates.
