| Surge for the Sierra: Governor approves massive conservancy posted 9/27/04 forwarded by Julie Kay Smithson
" .... the conservancy will be the largest in the state in terms of land mass, overseeing 25 million acres from the Pit River watershed in the far northeast corner of the state to the southern tip of the Sierra in Kern County."
"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws." - Mayer Amschel Bauer (Rothschild)
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something in your life." - Winston Churchill
(Note: There are ten articles here that all 'connect the dots'.) September 24, 2004
By Dave Moller
davem@theunion.com
The Union
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Grass Valley, CA 95945
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Standing on a wide gravel bar with the Bear River flowing gently by him, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill Thursday to the sound of bipartisan applause. "California is where the conservation movement began, and today we are happy to continue this noble tradition," Schwarzenegger said. "This is the kind of thing we can do if both parties work together." The conservancy will lobby for money to bolster the Sierra's ecology and economy, and Nevada County residents are actively seeking to land its headquarters in Nevada City. It was formed by state assemblymen Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, and John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who stood beside the governor as he signed the history-making bill just outside of Colfax. "Bipartisanship takes a big risk to be successful," Laird said. He applauded former Nevada County Supervisor Izzy Martin and her fellow Sierra Fund members Joey Jordan and Shawn Garvey of Nevada County for being instrumental in forming the conservancy. "This is a historic moment for the Sierra," Garvey said just before Schwarzenegger's speech, "and his name will be connected with the Sierra just like Theodore Roosevelt's and John Muir." Leslie insisted that members of boards of supervisors in the Sierra's counties be included on the conservancy board, and the final version of the law honored his efforts. The conservancy "was built with the radical idea that people who work, live and raise their families here are the front-line stewards of the land," Leslie said. "This is a great vehicle to bring conservation money to our area to make sure there's clean water and work done on really necessary projects," said Janet Cohen, executive director of the South Yuba River Citizens League in Nevada City. "The Sierra is a huge chunk of California, and it's been brutally underfunded," Cohen said. "This is where the water and trees come from and where people recreate. It's been overlooked for years and years." "The key thing was having some local representation," said Inyo County Supervisor Linda Arcularius. She and Supervisor Bob Meacher of Plumas County both lauded Leslie's efforts, "but we wouldn't have had this if Laird hadn't gotten involved," Meacher said.
Several hundred people attended the ceremony, which was under heavy security for the governor. According to Schwarzenegger's office, the conservancy will be the largest in the state in terms of land mass, overseeing 25 million acres from the Pit River watershed in the far northeast corner of the state to the southern tip of the Sierra in Kern County. The Sierra Fund said the range produces 65 percent of the state's water but received only 1 percent of the $1 billion water quality bond money available in 2002. The Sierra's population is expected to triple by 2040, according to Sierra Fund figures. What's Next? The Sierra Nevada Conservancy will have to be put into the state's 2005-06 budget with a start-up cost of $755,000. The conservancy board must be picked, with Schwarzenegger selecting five members, the legislature choosing two, and six more coming from the county boards of supervisors across the Sierra. A location for the conservancy headquarters must be found. Several towns are already vying for it, including Nevada City. http://www.theunion.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/NEWS/109240066&template=printpicart
Additional researched, important reading:
Regions Working Together for a Better California (60-page .pdf file - a VERY important read) http://www.calregions.org/pdf/crnpub-regionsworking.pdf
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Bills Schwarzenegger Signed Or Vetoed On Thursday [excerpts] Sacramento, California - Some of the 26 bills signed into law Thursday by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: CONSERVATION EASEMENTS: -- The public will have access to more information about major land sales for conservation easements. AB1701, by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.
PACIFIC OCEAN: -- The state will create a Cabinet-level Ocean Protection Council to coordinate state policy for protecting the Pacific Ocean. SB1319, by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco. -- Fishing boats will have to give up bottom trawling in designated areas off the California coast. SB1459 by Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego.
TAXES: -- Property owners who donate land would be able to claim a 55 percent credit on income and corporation taxes when they donate land to the state, local governments or nonprofit organizations. AB2722, by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.
More: http://www.foxreno.com/news/3756611/detail.html
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Is Governor Ignoring Veterans?
http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/2004/articles3/is_governor_ignoring_veterans.htm
Governor's Office: 916-445-2841 or governor@governor.ca.gov
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Schwarzenegger approves conservancy, signs 20 other enviro bills
September 23, 2004 By Jim Wasserman, the Associated Press Colfax, California - Arnold Schwarzenegger chose a woodsy mountain setting Thursday to sign legislation establishing a 25 million-acre Sierra Nevada Conservancy, while also signing nearly 20 other bills to protect the Pacific Ocean, curb smog and clean up blighted urban land. With numerous strokes of the pen, Schwarzenegger opened 1,100 miles of car pool lanes to hybrid cars, established the nation's first Cabinet-level Ocean Protection Council in state government and barred cruise ships from burning garbage and dumping sewage inside state waters. He also banned commercial fishing fleets from bottom trawling along designated parts of the California coast and required 100-foot firebreaks around homes in mountain wildfire zones. "California is setting a standard for other states and badly needed reforms at the national level," said Karen Garrison, a San Francisco-based director of ocean programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Schwarzenegger used a public ceremony on the banks of Placer County's Bear River to sign the conservancy bill. It aims to attract up to $30 million in new funding to save open space and working ranches, improve water quality and guard against Sierra Nevada forest fires from the Oregon border to Kern County. The governor, spotlighting his administration's environmental initiatives since taking office last November, told an estimated 200 mountain residents, officials and environmentalists before inking the conservancy legislation, "I think today we are delivering the grand jewel." Schwarzenegger called the conservancy a model of bipartisan effort, saying it's what "we can accomplish if both parties work together." The conservancy will give the mountain region a united voice to lobby for state money, said Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who co-authored the legislation with Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City. The conservancy will have power to buy conservation easements, make grants and loans to public agencies, nonprofit organizations and Indian tribes to protect ranch land and promote recreation and tourism. It joins eight others in place for the state's 1,100-mile coastline, Lake Tahoe region, San Joaquin River, Baldwin Hills and Santa Monica Mountains. Schwarzenegger championed the idea in his campaign last year, giving momentum to an idea that had long languished from infighting. "That was the minute this went from an idea that was never going to go anywhere to winning," said Elizabeth Martin of the Nevada City-based Sierra Fund, a key force behind the conservancy. Schwarzenegger also championed the idea of opening the state's freeway car pool lanes to up to 75,000 single-occupant hybrid cars that get at least 45 miles per gallon. Affecting mainly drivers of Honda Civics and the Toyota Prius, the bill he signed Thursday will take effect January 1, but still requires federal approval because federal funds helped build the car pool lanes. A bill is pending in Congress to authorize the move. The bill's author, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, said the bill "eases our commutes, saves us money at the pump, reduces our dependency on foreign oil and cleans our air all at the same time." Opponents argued that opening car pool lanes to hybrids would undermine their true purpose: encouraging people to ride together. Schwarzenegger also signed a bill requiring smog checks for all cars built after 1976, despite opposition from his friend Jay Leno, host of the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno." The bill's author, Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Santa Clara, said Leno called her twice to complain about the bill, fearing it would expose his extensive collection of vintage cars to smog checks. Lieber's legislative director, Marva Diaz, said Leno preferred the state's old regulations that stopped smog checks for cars when they reached the age of 30. In a statement, Leno publicist Dick Guttman said the comedian "arrives at conclusions in such matters as a private citizen and does not express them to the media, or for that matter, to me." Among several ocean-related bills, Schwarzenegger approved creation of a high-level Ocean Protection Council inside state government to coordinate state policy toward the Pacific Ocean and steer millions of dollars in grants to state and nonprofit groups for ocean research and protection. Council members would include the secretaries of the state resources and environmental protection agencies and the chair of the State Lands Commission. The legislation also establishes the Ocean Protection Trust Fund to steer state money to ocean projects, starting with $10 million from the state's tidelands oil revenue fund this year to seed the trust. The government council was a key recommendation last year in a study of world oceans by the Pew Oceans Commission. Supporters say state funds could help retire commercial fishing boats, fund fish population research and help stop storm water runoff into marine reserves where fishing is banned. On the Net: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: http://www.governor.ca.gov/ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/09/23/state1956EDT0154.DTL ===== U.S. STATES/REGIONS Schwarzenegger Names Activist To Head California Environmental Agency
November 19, 2003 From "This Week Worldwide" Water Environment Federation - "Preserving & Enhancing the Global Water Environment" California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was sworn into office November 17, announced November 12 that he would name Terry Tamminen, a longtime environmental advocate, as secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. (Schwarzenegger, an internationally famous Hollywood actor, recently defeated former incumbent Governor Gray Davis in a recall election initiated by citizens groups.) Tamminen is executive director of Environment Now (Santa Monica, Calif.), a private foundation whose mission includes preserving and restoring California's environment, according to a statement released by Schwarzenegger's office. He also founded and for 6 years was executive director of Santa Monica Baykeeper (Marina del Rey, Calif.), an environmental advocacy organization, the statement says. According to promotional information issued by Santa Monica Baykeeper, which lists Tamminen as a board member, the organization since 1998 has been involved in a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles over the alleged "millions of gallons of sewage that the City has spilled to local waterways in recent years" due to sewer system overflows. In addition, according to the information, the organization, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council (New York) and other advocacy groups, has filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in order to have pollution limits established for 150 waterbodies in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Besides forming Santa Monica Baykeeper, Tamminen has co-founded similar "waterkeeper" programs in other parts of Southern California, including Orange County and the cities of San Diego, Ventura, and Santa Barbara, according to the Schwarzenegger press statement. Tamminen attended California State University at Northridge and the University of Queensland, Australia, the statement says. His appointment must be confirmed by the California Senate, the statement notes. For more information, contact Schwarzenegger's office at 916-445-2841 or governor@governor.ca.gov. WEF's news archive (weekly, back to January 5, 2000): http://www.wef.org/MemberZone/WefReporter/Archive/index.jhtml http://www.wef.org/MemberZone/WefReporter/Archive/2003/wefreporter.1119.jhtml ===== http://www.sierrasun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040923/News/109230006 http://www.government-grants-i.com/resources/ecological-grants.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/24/BAGQP8UE3N1.DTL http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/archives/2002/september/248.htm http://www.infowars.com/print/nwo/schwartz_roths.htm
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