The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutLetter from Jim Nielsen - M&T Ranch - willdfire refuge STATE CAPITOL COMMITTEES P- 942649 VICE CHAIR,APPROPRIATIONS SACRAMENTO,ENTO,CA 94249-0002 VICE CHAIR,BUDGET (916)319-2002 .rg�. RULES FAX(916)319-2102 r V GL � " ��PnislafurG DISTRICT OFFICE 280 HEMSTED DRIVE,SUITE 110 REDDING,CA 96002 ¢'4 W (530)223.6300 ° m FAX(530)223-6737EMA {r►a ¢ti$� JJ MINTY assemblymember.nielsen@assembly.ca.gov ASSEMBLYMEMS REECO DD DISTRICT �MI 1 rRATION JUN 16 201D June 14, 2010 OROVILLE CALIFORNIA Greg Warner Project Director-Sacramento River, The Nature Conservancy 500 Main Street Chico, CA 95928 Jay Ziegler Director of External Affairs &Policy, The Nature Conservancy 2015 J Street, Suite 103 Sacramento, CA 95811 Pablo Garza External Affairs Manager, The Nature Conservancy 2015 J Street, Suite 103 Sacramento, CA 95811 Re: M&T Ranch/Llano Seco Wildfire Refuge Dear Sirs: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for attending the meeting in my Sacramento office on April 13, 2010, regarding the impact of the migrating gravel bar to the M&T Ranch/Llano Seco Ranch Pumping Plant and the City of. Chico's Sanitation Plant Outfall. Those attending the meeting were: Jay Ziegler, Pablo Garza and Greg Werner with The Nature Conservancy; Tamara Miller and Quene Hansen, P.E., City of Chico; Richard Thieriot,Llano Seco Ranch; Les Heringer, Jr. and Jim Gaumer,P.E., M&T Ranch; Jim Well, P.E., Ducks Unlimited; Mike Harvery,Ph.D, P.G.,Tetratech Engineering; and Barbara LeVake, Sacramento Valley Landowners Association. As stated in the meeting, my interest in the activities along the river date back to 1986, when I authored Senate Bill 1086, which established the Sacramento River Conservation Area. As envisioned in that legislation,this was an opportunity to develop a management plan for the Sacramento River based on the reasonable needs of the physical environment, the biological environment and the human environment. One of the founding principles of the Senate Bill 1086 process was to "use the most effective and least environmentally damaging bank protection technique to maintain a limited meander" where it is necessary to do so to protect vital public and private infrastructure. Clearly,we are JUN" x 2m Printed on Recycled Paper faced with such a case here, and it is imperative that all parties collaborate to structure a solution respectful of both environmental and economic objectives, as was the intent of Senate Bill 1086. Protecting hard points along the river is an essential component of that legislation's intended guidance, as reflected in the Senate Bill 1086 Handbook. The principal point that was raised by TNC,relative to its opposing the spur dikes (two of which would be placed on Shaw Ranch, which is protected by a TNC-held conservation easement) is their inability to amend a 20-year-old conservation easement. I would offer the following for consideration: • There is no statutory proscription, in either California statutory law or under the federal Internal Revenue Code,preventing the amendment of a conservation easement. • As a"public benefit"conservation organization, and particularly in light of its pioneering efforts to apply protection strategies on a geographic-area basis, rather than focusing on discrete, individually owned parcels, the Conservancy should evaluate the overall advantages to the public—environmental and economic—against any perceived diminution in the conservations values of the particular easement-protected property, Shaw Ranch. In the April 13 meeting, I had suggested that mitigation should be extended downstream as well,not just limited to Shaw Ranch. As pointed out at our April 13 meeting, the City of Chico located its sanitation plant outfall in this reach of the river 50 years ago. The two ranches located their pumping plant inlet at its present Iocation 15 years ago. At stake are 4,500 acres of wetlands that will be negatively impacted due to the threatened deprivation of water,which is contrary to the stated goals of the Sacramento River Conservation Area. Another consequence of a failure to act will be the economic losses to large farming operations critical to providing jobs and a substantial tax base to the county. Over 100,000 taxpayers, residents of the City of Chico,have already been assessed due to the Conservancy's lack of cooperation and the City having to relocate its outfall. It is apparent that after six years and over$4 million spent on studies and various alternatives to come to a sensible long-term resolution, the recommendation of spur dikes as the solution is clearly our best option. I look forward to hearing from you once the stakeholders who were in my office have had an opportunity to discuss this issue further. Please contact my executive assistant, Heidi Jensen at (916) 319-2002 if you have any further questions or would like to arrange a meeting. Thank you for your consideration and your attention to this matter. Sincerely, m Nielsen Assemblyman, 2nd District cc: Philip Tabas, Vice President/General Counsel, The Nature Conservancy Senator Diane Feinstein Congressman Wally Herger Senator Sam Aanestad Former Assembly Member Doug LaMalfa Former Assembly Member Rick Keene Lester Snow, Secretary Natural Resources Agency Mark Cowin, Director, Department of Water Resources Ben Carter, President, Central Valley Flood Protection Board Butte County Board of Supervisors Chico Mayor Ann Schwab Les Heringer, M &T Chico Ranch Jim Gaumer, Consulting Engineer, M &T Chico Ranch Quene' Hansen, City of Chico Projects Manager Tamara Miller, MPM Engineering Mike Harvey, Tetra Tech Jim Well, Ducks Unlimited Family Water Alliance Todd Manley, Northern CA Water Association Barbara LeVake, Sacramento Valley Landowners Association