The Stewardship Council is seeking those public agencies and non-profit organizations that have an interest in the future ownership and/or management of the watershed lands that are the subject of the Land Conservation Plan for the express purpose of preserving and enhancing the Beneficial Public Values in perpetuity. The Stewardship Council invites those entities to register their interest, and provide background information, via the Interested Donee Registry, which is now live on the website at www.stewardshipcouncil.org.
The Council will engage in additional outreach efforts in the near term to assure that all interested entities have been made aware of this opportunity. This information will form the basis of a donee database. It is important to note that this registry is informational only and does not confer any commitment between the Stewardship Council and any interested party for any parcel(s) of land.
Once reviewed for basic organizational attributes, each interested entity will be asked to respond to a series of questions regarding organizational and financial capacity relative to ownership and/or management of lands. Once registered, interested entities will be evaluated vis a vis a set of qualifying criteria. That process will result in the generation of a group of qualified donees that will be invited to participate in the disposition process. At the same time, the Stewardship Council will host a series of open community meetings to engage local stakeholders with an interest in the disposition process. These stakeholders, along with the qualified donees, will be critical to the development of the disposition packages for a particular parcel or parcels.
As the Council has done over the past two years, a high priority will be placed on getting input from local communities and interested individuals across the watershed lands, and building a disposition program that is fair, equitable, and responsive to community input. At the same time, the Council will ensure the disposition program meets the core values of the Stewardship Council as well as all regulatory and legal requirements.
Land Conservation Plan Background
The Stewardship Council has prepared a Land Conservation Plan (LCP) to guide the permanent conservation of more than 140,000 acres of watershed lands in California currently owned and managed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The development of the LCP was a complex undertaking. The Council spent nearly two years developing a baseline understanding of the watershed lands, their existing conditions, resources, and Beneficial Public Values. There are also numerous technical and legal considerations required by the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation, and the need for extensive stakeholder involvement. As such, it was determined that the LCP be organized into three separate Volumes.
Volume I of the LCP provides an overview of the process to be undertaken to preserve and enhance the Beneficial Public Values on the lands in perpetuity. Volume II provides a description of the baseline understanding of the existing conditions and resources on the watershed lands, as well as the process undertaken by the Council to develop a set of 47 “concepts” to guide the preservation and enhancement of the Beneficial Public Values, including recommended land planning and management actions. The remaining steps required to meet the original goals of the Land Conservation Commitment (as described in the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation) will comprise Volume III, including specific recommendations regarding future ownership and management of the watershed lands. The development of Volume III (which will include multiple documents) will begin in 2007 and continue over a number of years as the Council completes the land disposition process.
For more information, contact:
Elise Holland
Land Conservation Manager
Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council
303 Vintage Park Drive, Suite 150
Foster City, CA 94404
(650) 286-5150 (main)
(650) 286-5140 (fax)
www.stewardshipcouncil.org
