The PCL Insider: News From The Capitol

THE ROAR OF ROLLBACKS? FUTURE OF WILDERNESS PROTECTION AT STAKE IN OFF ROADER CONFRONTATION

Imagine yourself deep in the heart of darkness. Suddenly your ears ring with the deafening sound of a gas engine. In a flash, a man in plastic body armor emerges from the dense undergrowth, straddling a four-wheeled contraption and cranking the throttle wildly.  Before you can shout, "Jumping Joseph Conrads!" he plunges back into the pristine wilderness, past a fading, weathered sign that reads "Keep Out – Sensitive Ecological Area."

Sounds like a work of fiction?

Sadly, it's not. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these destructive joy rides into protected areas occur every year and they're likely to become even more commonplace if powerful industry groups get there way at the state Legislature this session. 

That's because California's Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) program is set to expire on January 1, 2008 and OHV industry representatives are lobbying hard to undermine its vital protections.

Oh, the Horror!

The popular OHV program was initiated over thirty-five years ago to prevent and repair off highway vehicle damage to California's wilderness, wildlife, and waterways through funding of law enforcement and habitat restoration.

To ensure that our wilderness areas are protected when Californians take to the outdoors, PCL will be working in conjunction with the California Wilderness Coalition and other key wilderness proponents in a campaign to protect the OHV program.

In addition, we'll be calling for increased restoration funding for public lands, creation of ecological improvement grant programs for designated non-OHV trails, and allocation of Off Highway Vehicle local assistance grants to improve management of recreation opportunities for California's precious public lands.

If you believe that Joseph Conrad's appeal for "restraint" still applies in the wild west of the OHV world, contact Tina Andolina at tandolina@pcl.org, and help put the brakes on illegal vehicle incursions into natural areas.   

LOCALS LEARN TO WIN LAND USE CAMPAIGN AT PCL'S ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATIVE SYMPOSIUM

When a big, bad development proposal comes to your town, how do you feel? Assuming you're like most folks we know, you've probably found yourself stuck in a cycle of anger, frustration and powerlessness.

If that's the case, get ready for PCL's "How to Organize a Winning Land Use Campaign" workshop at this year's Environmental Legislative Symposium.

Workshop moderator Autumn Bernstein of the Sierra Nevada Alliance will lead a panel of experts in a discussion of new strategies and tools that local activists are using to retake control of their communities, stop harmful developments, and promote a positive vision for their community's future.

Get ready for this interactive session as part of our all-day "How To" extravaganza on April 14th at the Sacramento Convention Center. Hear the latest policy updates in the morning and expand your activist skill set in the afternoon.

See the full program, including all ten "How To..." workshops, five policy panels and keynote presenters.

Registration is now available. Reserve your seat today!

LOVE IS SOMETHING IF YOU GIVE IT AWAY - BUREAU OF RECLAMATION OFFERS VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT TO 600 SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AGRIBUSINESSES

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) announced last week that it had developed a new proposal to resolve the toxic water fiasco it created nearly fifty years ago when it began pumping water to agribusinesses in the western San Joaquin Valley.

The solution: (Drum roll please...)

Hand over federal assets and clean-up oversight to wealthy corporations!

(We thought you'd appreciate their logic).

Under USBR's proposal, ownership of the federally-owned San Luis Reservoir and accompanying water delivery facilities would be transferred to the Westlands Water District.  Ownership of this Central Valley Project reservoir would mean increased water rights to Northern California rivers.  

USBR would also agree to pardon Westlands for the remaining $490 million debt the District still owes for the construction of their water delivery system – money that has already been spent using taxpayer dollars. 

Westlands, nominally a public agency, is the public face of 600 agribusinesses that use federally supplied water to irrigate 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings Counties.

Decades of intensive irrigation on these lands has flushed naturally-occurring toxic chemicals into nearby waterways and deformed large populations of migrating waterfowl. The federal government agreed to provide a solution to this chemical conundrum when it began providing water in the early 1960s, but they have yet to do so.

In return for the sweetheart deal now being proposed, Westlands Water District would relinquish 40,000 acre-feet of their annual water supply from San Luis Reservoir and absolve USBR of their responsibility to resolve the contamination problem. The latest cost estimate to physically engineer a solution is estimated at $2.6 billion.  In other words, this forty-year-old environmental disaster would be under the supervision of the corporations, who are entirely reliant on the tainted fields for disposing of their subsidized runoff.     

So, again, who benefits from this deal?

Representative Jim Costa (D-Fresno), whose district includes Westlands, believes that taxpayers will be the big winners if the lovers' pact proceeds. "It's not like the Bureau of Reclamation can just walk away from (its obligation to resolve the contamination issue). It's a far better deal for the taxpayers," Costa said in an article in the Contra Costa Times.

Seems almost too good to be true.

Here's what you're not hearing in the USBR proposal: If the federal government remained primarily liable for the clean-up of the contaminated lands, Westlands agribusinesses would still have to repay USBR to fix the toxics problem. So, the agribusinesses wouldn't really assume any new obligations.  They would, however, receive ownership of one of the most important water facilities in the federal Central Valley Project, a mammoth public works project ostensibly owned by all U.S. citizens.

This isn't the first time Westlands' reputation has been tarnished for putting profit over ethics.

Last month, after announcing the purchase of 3,000 acres of land along the McCloud River that would be flooded under a USBR proposal to raise Shasta Dam, Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham acknowledged that their "purpose in buying the property was only to ensure there would be no additional impediments if the Bureau of Reclamation concludes it's feasible to raise the dam."

Birmingham failed to mention that Westlands would be a primary benefactor from a taller Shasta Dam and that taking more water from Lake Shasta through the California Delta to Westlands Water District threatens the ecological health of the largest estuary in the Western Hemisphere.  As owners of the San Luis Reservoir, Westlands would have right to more of that water secured by a taller Shasta Dam.  San Luis is the main storage facility for Shasta Lake water after it flows southward from the Delta.  

"This would be the first time that corporate agribusiness water contractors had water rights to North Delta water. It would certainly be an unprecedented turning point in California water history," points out PCL's Water Program Manager, Mindy McIntyre.

The Bureau of Reclamation is floating the concept paper of this proposal on Capitol Hill over the coming weeks.  McIntyre and the rest of the PCL team will be keeping an eagle eye on this Valentine's Day deal. We'll keep you posted!

SHOW THE STRENGTH OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT – SIGN UP YOUR ORGANIZATION AS AN AFFILIATE OF PCL 

For over forty years, the Planning and Conservation League has empowered our grassroots members and protected California's environment through advocacy at the State Capitol and throughout the Golden state.

Our campaigns succeed because we represent a true "league" of concerned and dedicated organizations, united for the common cause of a more livable California.

By standing together, we remind decision makers that the future of California depends on the protection of our state's environment as well as the maintenance of a healthy economy and social equity.

That's why we're inviting your organizations to become official "affiliates" of PCL.

The benefits of your affiliate status include:

* Staying apprised of the most current and relevant environmental legislation via PCL Action Alerts and the straight-talkin' PCL Insider: News from the Capitol;

* Getting assistance from PCL staff as time allows with respect to state level activities;

* Receiving information on local legislative meetings, workshops, and the annual PCL Environmental Legislative Symposium;

* Seeing your organization proudly displayed as a PCL affiliate on every letter that we send to a California decision-maker.

There is no cost to show your affiliate status. We recognize that each affiliated organization remains distinct in its mission and membership. PCL will never claim to speak on your behalf without your express permission.

Join the ranks of affiliate organizations including the Mountain Lion Foundation, Hills For Everyone, Breathe California, Sierra Nevada Alliance, Laguna Greenbelt, Inc., Big Sur Land Trust, and The Trust for Public Land.

For more information on becoming an affiliate, please contact Melanie Schlotterbeck at mschlotterbeck@pcl.org or by phone at 909-606-0801.

*** Remember: The deadline for members of the State Legislature to introduce bills for the 2007 session is tomorrow: Friday, February 23. ***