 |
|
 |
| ||
|
River Gets Riparian Lift
Way up on the orchard-lined banks of the upper Sacramento River, an aggressive land acquisition program promises to both restore riparian habitat and enhance the Estuary watershed.
"The project allows us to purchase flood-prone agricultural land and return it to jungle," said Ramon Vega of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge.
Between 1988 and 1992, the Nature Conservancy, the State Department of Water Resources, U.S. Fish & Wildlife and Cal Fish & Game cooperatively acquired 22,659 acres along the river corridor at a cost of $34.1 million. Their goal? A riparian wildlife refuge extending approximately 100 river miles from Colusa to Red Bluff.
"Everyone told us there'd be no willing sellers," says Sabin Phelps of the Nature Conservancy, which now has a backlog of eager sellers waiting in the wings. "Right now, we need to let restoration catch up with acquisition."
Property management also needs to catch up, at least in the eyes of Richard Mallory who represents the 120-member Sacramento Valley Landowners Association. Mallory thinks acquisitions should be restricted to coincide with management capabilities, and worries about the lack of funds on the management and restoration side of the picture.
But the Nature Conservancy has already found substantial revenue for restoration in the sale of fruit, nuts and alfalfa from aquired lands not in the immediate restoration zone. "It's not like we're taking valuable crop land out of production," says the Conservancy's Tom Griggs. "That's a lot of anti-environment rhetoric."
Farming communities remain concerned about lost revenues from the property tax rolls, but in lieu of taxes impacted communities receive three quarters of one percent of the appraised value of acquired properties every year. "We need farmers and the farming community for this project to work," says Griggs.
Contact: Sabin Phelps (415)777-0487
[ ABAG HOME | SFEP HOME ]
Copyright © 2002, San Francisco Estuary Project