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PROTECT HUNTING
Our hunting tradition and wildlife habitat is under serious threat. Care about the future of our heritage?
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Check out the COHA
Field Wire.
Subscribe to our Field Wire email newsletter and receive immediate updates on issues critical to you and join the COHA Action Team. |
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| "Our Association believes that it is no longer enough to simply conserve and improve habitat, we must also get involved with the 'Decision Makers' that are determining the use of this valuable, renewable resource." |
Andy Wood,
President of the California Deer Association |
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Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
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With the migration and the 2011/12 waterfowl hunting season now in full swing, Lower Klamath NWR is in much better shape than 2010, with approximately 11,000 acres of flooded wetlands as of the end of September, compared with less than 1,000 acres flooded at the same point in 2010. In early 2011, with the memories of the disastrous 2010 still fresh in our minds, CWA and COHA commenced a coalition effort to work with USBR and USFWS to secure maximum 2011 water deliveries to the Refuge Complex. With the considerable help of heavy precipitation in the region, our joint efforts were met with immediate success. Since October 1, 2010, Lower Klamath NWR has received over 64,000 acre feet (AF) of surface water from the ADY canal and D Plant. To maintain this positive progress for the remainder of 2011 and beyond, the COHA/CWA partnership has re-elevated Klamath NWR Complex water deliveries to one of the top priorities of our water policy efforts.
Although the conditions are currently looking relatively bright up in the Klamath region, they could have even looked better. A complicating factor which reduced water deliveries to the refuges this year was the error made by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in projecting the winter snowpack and anticipated run-off. The NRCS projection, originally as high as 180% of normal, turned out to be actually 120%. Before the error was realized, the NRCS’ optimistic 180% projection triggered releases of water down the Klamath River out of Upper Klamath Lake in June and July that, had the snowpack been more accurate, would have stayed in the lake. Had that water stayed in Upper Klamath Lake, some of it surely would have been made available to the refuge this fall. Another factor which reduced the available wetlands this year was the lingering effects from last year’s overly dry conditions. When watering up the refuge wetlands this year, lands parched by the dry 2010 acted like a dry sponge, with much of the initial water being delivered refilling a depleted water table before showing up as surface water.
In June, COHA organized a meeting with new USBR Klamath Basin Area Office Manager, Jason Phillips. Attended by staff representatives from the USFWS, COHA, CWA, Ducks Unlimited, Audubon California and Cal-Ore Wetland and Waterfowl Council (COWWC), the half-day meeting and tour of refuge wetlands included discussion on the importance of conservation groups closely monitoring the current reevaluation of regulatory decisions (a.k.a. “biological opinions”) which direct top priority water deliveries for listed species needs; possible future changes to water allocations currently required to address listed species concerns; the importance and status of fall water deliveries; and the possibility of storing excess water on refuge wetlands, when available. This initial meeting with the new Klamath Project lead went well and the organizational, USBR and USFWS staff are now holding regular conference calls to discuss these refuge water issues and how we can collectively work to best address and influence them.
With our short-term game plan for maximizing Klamath NWR Complex water deliveries now in place, CWA and COHA are also focusing on the long-term by seeking Congressional support of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) – a hard fought comprehensive package of water related programs and projects recently agreed to by nearly 30 agencies, tribal environmental, agricultural and other interests. After decades of conflict and controversy between these interests, the KBRA calls for more equitable use of the Upper Klamath Basin’s limited water supply, and includes a maximum allocation of up to 95,000 acre feet of water annually for the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Regardless of the relative improvement in wetland acreage this year, refuge staff estimates that only 34% of the available wetlands within the Klamath NWR hunt area will be flooded by opening day, October 8th. As dismal as that may sound, 0% of the wetland hunt areas were flooded by opening day of 2010. |
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Joint Emergency Water Allocation Letter |
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Audubon - COHA Joint Water Allocation Letter |
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Joint Letter - USBR |
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El Dorado County – Hunting on Newly Acquired BLM Lands
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For the past seven months, COHA has attended several meetings regarding the long-term management plan on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Kanaka Valley acquisition, which includes nearly 700 acres of blue oak woodland and chaparral near the town of Rescue. Working with local hunters, COHA has requested that the area be open to archery and shotgun hunting for big game, wild turkey, dove, quail and other game species.
However, many local residents voiced safety concerns with allowing any hunting whatsoever. In response, COHA staff provided BLM with hunter safety data and reminded residents of BLM’s ability to place appropriate method of take restrictions on its property to ensure that hunting occurs in a safe manner.
While full consensus on a hunting plan for the property has yet to be reached, many stakeholders have endorsed a plan to allow shotgun and archery hunting for all game species with a lottery to control hunter numbers during deer and spring turkey seasons. In addition, there would be limitations on automobile access during the winter months, as well as three day per week hunting. While BLM seems supportive of this compromise proposal, it has yet to fully endorse it.
The public input process on the management plan is expected to take several more months. In the meantime, the area will remain open for archery hunting. |
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Fight to Preserve Black Point Sports Club - Sonoma County
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COHA continues to work hard to preserve the outdoor tradition and hunting opportunity offered at Black Point Sports Club (BPSC) in Sonoma County. As of July 2011, BPSC’s new landlord and the entity in the lead on “restoring” the land back to tidal marsh – the Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) – had yet to break ground on the massive restoration project that would effectively eliminate the habitat and hunting that the club currently provides at Black Point. The price tag for SLT’s planned restoration into tidal wetlands is roughly $30 million – with state, federal and private dollars all needed to complete the package. However, completing this funding package has been delayed due to the lagging economy impacting private contributions and the state’s share at serious jeopardy due to the budget shortfall. Recognizing the fact that SLT will not be able to break ground on the project in the near-term, COHA, the Resource Renewal Center and others have recently helped the BPSC obtain a couple of one-year lease extensions through June 2012.
These lease extensions not only temporarily maintain the habitat and hunting opportunity offered at BPSC, but also buy the important additional time necessary to work options which may save BPSC in its current location or allow for relocation of the club. Along those lines, as one avenue, close friends of BPSC are acquiring a large block of land in the general area that could be available for the club to move to, should all other efforts to maintain the club in its current location fail.
Leased and managed by the BPSC, these lands currently provide critical year-round habitat for many avian species. The uplands provide important nesting habitat for several resident species of waterfowl – including mallards, cinnamon teal, gadwall, and Canada geese. Several raptor species also depend upon these uplands for nesting and foraging habitat, including the northern harrier and short-eared owl – both of which are species of special concern in California. These upland tracts also provide important nesting grounds for several small birds, including meadowlark, savannah and song sparrows, and red-winged blackbirds.
In addition to its substantial wildlife habitat values, for over 45 years, the uplands of BPSC have provided quality hunting, shooting and dog training opportunity for thousands of Bay Area residents. By offering several outdoor youth camps and hunter education classes each year, the Club also plays an important role in educating our youth about the importance of conserving our wildlife and the habitats they depend upon for future generations to enjoy. Although the proposed project hypes its recreational values, the fact is that the proposal would result in a serious net negative impact to the recreational and outdoor educational opportunity available to Bay Area residents and California’s general public. Finally, the habitat stewardship, levee maintenance, and substantial wildlife, recreational and educational benefits currently offered by the BPSC on the Dickson Ranch site come at no annual cost to the Department of Fish and Game or California’s tax payers.
For over five years, COHA staff has fought hard to save the habitat and hunting opportunity offered by BPSC from destruction in favor of conversion to tidal habitat. In addition to providing input on environmental documentation, efforts have included providing testimony at town hall meetings, several meetings with top DFG personnel and other involved state agency heads. |
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Contra Costa County – Proposal to Ban Archery Hunting and Shooting Killed
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On July 13th, COHA and representatives from Alliance member the “California Bowmen Hunters/State Archery Association” (CBH/SSA) attended the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting to oppose a proposed ordinance that would have categorically prohibited the use of all archery equipment on all public and private properties zoned residential or commercial within Contra Costa County.
After intense opposition from COHA, CBH/SAA, and other archery proponents, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors rejected the proposed ordinance. However, the Board did vote to send the issue to their Public Safety Committee for further discussion. The Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet on August 16th to determine what, if anything, the County needs to do to address possible archery related safety concerns within Contra Costa County. COHA will attend the upcoming hearing to ensure that the County does not unreasonably prohibit or limit archery in areas that are otherwise safe. |
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Protecting Mystic Lake
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This spring COHA was pleased to report that the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved the acquisition of a 92 acre conservation easement on the Ramona Duck Club that will provide the club with additional resources to fund important wetland habitat improvement projects. WCB is now facing an erroneous legal challenge relating to the easement from a local environmental group. However, it does not appear that the challenge will be upheld.
After a long fought battle the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has approved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Ramona Duck Club to expand the Club’s parking and trailer facilities, and add a trap range. COHA staff provided testimony in support of the CUP at several County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meetings. The Ramona Duck Club is now free to move forward with the planned expansion.
Last summer, COHA worked with private wetland owners and managers in the Mystic Lake region to address the latest threat to come their way – a notice from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (SARWQCB) that required the submittal of a monitoring plan and schedule, as well as the submittal of an agricultural nutrient management plan. The intent of the SARWQCB order was to address nutrient discharges to Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake. To assist the Mystic Lake private wetland managers with this effort, COHA called contacts at the SARWQCB to discuss with them the fact that, although the wetland region in question is technically zoned as agricultural, the lands are not in agricultural production and are managed as wetlands. Further, COHA pointed out that the desired wetland vegetation is generated by water application timing and depth and that no nutrients or fertilizers are applied, nor is any livestock present on any of the areas. COHA also was in continual contact with the Western Regional County Agricultural Coalition – the private entity responsible for assisting the SARWQCB with program implementation – to seek their support of exempting the wetlands area from the order. When all the spade work was done, the Mystic Lake wetland owners were able to easily obtain an exemption from the notice by the SARWQCB.
Located in Riverside County – a region with a near desert climate and the highest growth rate in our state – the future of Mystic Lake wetlands largely hinges upon identifying and securing long-term water supplies and warding off the looming crush of urban sprawl. Fully aware of these pressures, COHA is working proactively work with DFG, private wetland managers and other partners to proactively address both of these concerns.
For the past few years, COHA has worked closely with CWA and Mystic Lake wetland interests to address a proposed development currently being considered by Riverside County which would build homes and infrastructure five hundred feet from the border of public and private wetland areas. Although COHA and our partners put much time and effort into trying to scale back this misguided development proposal, the overwhelming political and economic pressure to support the proposal resulted in Riverside County Board of Supervisors approving the housing development earlier this year. |
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Suisun Marsh - Bay/Delta
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COHA staff continues to work closely with the Suisun Resource Conservation District (SRCD) on a variety of issues of concern to private wetland owners and managers in the Suisun Marsh at all political levels. On the legislative front, COHA is monitoring several water related bills which could have an impact on the Marsh.
This year, as in the past, COHA’s efforts also include seeking assistance for one of the most difficult issues facing private wetland managers in the Marsh – the need for public funding to cost-share with private landowners on maintenance and repair of exterior levees. To address this concern, COHA continues to collaborate with SRCD on ways to secure long-term public dollars to assist Marsh landowners with levee maintenance, and has strongly evaluated the possibility of future legislation which would help to earmark state funding for this purpose. However, the lingering severe state budget crisis has fully precluded any serious legislative push at this time. |
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Grasslands - San Joaquin Valley
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In 1992, President George Bush signed into law the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) which mandated “guaranteed" water deliveries to federal refuges, state wildlife areas and private wetlands within the Grasslands Resource Conservation District. Seventeen years later, COHA continues to work with Grasslands Water District (GWD), the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) in order to maintain full annual deliveries of “Level 2??? water and to obtain the funding necessary for the acquisition of “Level 4" water supplies for the Grasslands.
With Level 4 water acquisition already a serious on-going problem, the Grasslands CVPIA water picture recently appeared to get even darker. With the state headed for another dry year, and powerful San Joaquin Valley agricultural interests scheduled to receive only a small percentage of their needed deliveries, GWD and COHA got word that USBR was considering cutting into the CVPIA Level 2 water deliveries to ease their pain. Further, they were urging DFG to do the same with their Level 2 allocation. In response, COHA and GWD immediately set up a conference call with the DFG Director and his Chief Deputy to discuss the issue and note our opposition. During the call, DFG was quick to point out that the CVPIA contracts were tightly written, and that the Department had no intention to reallocate CVPIA “mitigation" water for agricultural purposes. Taking nothing for granted, the following day at the Senate Rules Committee confirmation hearing of DFG Director, Don Koch, COHA testified in support but noted our very serious concerns regarding the possible reallocation of CVPIA wetland water for other purposes.
In early February, COHA was also asked to provide expert testimony at a special hearing of an Independent Review Panel assembled by USBR at the direction of Congress to address Level 4 water acquisition. COHA was pleased to provide substantial testimony regarding the history, intent, and resource benefits of the Act. COHA also used this opportunity to familiarize panelists and those in the audience with the solid biological basis and detailed analyses of documented wetland water use and needs behind the CVPIA’s “Refuge Water" provisions. COHA was clear to point out that the need for the wetland water is even greater today than it was 17 years ago, and that funding necessary for CVPIA wetland water acquisition must be elevated in priority.
COHA is also currently working with USBR staff and GWD on preparing the background detail necessary to initiate federal legislation which would, if passed, appropriate to the USBR the substantial funding necessary to acquire Level 4 water. Pursuant to the CVPIA, these wetlands were supposed to receive annual water deliveries necessary for full wetland development (i.e. "Level 4" water) by 2002. However, to this point, budget limitations have resulted in the responsible resource agencies not acquiring long-term water to meet the statutory mandate. COHA hopes to have this detail ready to take to potential authors on Capitol Hill later this summer. CVPIA water deliveries are an absolute top priority, and COHA will continue to work closely with GWD on this important issue.
COHA also continues to work with the Grasslands Water District and landowners to seek ways to insure that lands currently or previously enrolled in the federal water bank program can qualify for assistance under one of the measure’s many conservation programs, and to ensure that California Waterfowl Habitat Program (Presley) funding remains available during the current fiscal crisis to address Grasslands wetland needs. |
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Tulare Basin - Wildlife Management Area Approved/Federal Easement Funding Authorized
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In September 2009, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) approved funding to acquire the first three conservation easements which will protect 1,042 acres of private land easements in the newly established Tulare Basin Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in California’s southern San Joaquin Valley. COHA was pleased to play a major role in approval of the TBWMA in order to expedite efforts to preserve and restore critical wetland habitats in the region which has suffered the greatest percentage loss of this habitat type in North America. Funding for the purchase of the conservation easements was obtained from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which allocates the revenue from federal duck stamp sales. The easements, which will be purchased only from willing sellers, will leave lands in private ownership and on the local tax tools, while also ensuring they will provide their habitat benefits to waterfowl and other wetland–dependent species for generations to come. Additional perpetual easements will be acquired from willing sellers as additional funding becomes available.
The Tulare Basin WMA was recently approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in an effort to provide permanent protection for 22,000 acres of private wetlands and associated uplands in southern Tulare county and northern Kern county. The project area includes existing private wetlands and associated uplands adjacent to the Kern National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the Tulare Lake drainage. Historically, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater wetland west of the Mississippi and provided habitat to hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl annually. Over the past century, however, the Tulare Lake has vanished due to flood control projects and water diversions for agricultural and municipal uses. Today, Kern NWR and the few remaining privately owned and managed wetlands provide are recognized by the Central Valley Joint Venture and North American Waterfowl Management Plan for their international importance to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway.
COHA played an important role in obtaining approval of the Tulare Basin WMA. In 2006, COHA President, Bill Gaines, helped secure necessary congressional support for the proposal on Capitol Hill. One year later, with the package struggling for final agency go-ahead, COHA helped obtain necessary Service approval by meeting with then Service Director Dale Hall to discuss the project and the relative importance of the Tulare Basin in national conservation priorities.
Other private stakeholders who helped bring the Tulare Basin WMA to fruition and secure the approval of the MBCC funding include California Waterfowl and the Tulare Basin Wetlands Association (TBWA). Previously, COHA staff teamed up with the TBWA to persuade the Service to approve final planning documents including the Environmental Assessment for the WMA.
The new Tulare Basin WMA project area includes existing private wetlands and associated uplands in southern Tulare and northern Kern counties, in the general vicinity of Wasco, California and Kern National Wildlife Refuge. Historically Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater wetland west of the Mississippi and provided habitat to hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl annually. While Tulare Lake has vanished due to water diversions for agricultural and municipal uses, remaining private wetlands have been recognized in the Central Valley Joint Venture and North American Waterfowl Management Plan for their importance to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway.
COHA also worked with the State Legislature to obtain language in four separate Bond Acts currently being considered which would provide critically needed funding to continue the California Waterfowl Habitat Program (a.k.a. Presley) for an additional ten years in the Tulare Basin. Similar language inserted by COHA staff in a bond act nearly ten years ago allowed the Tulare Basin to enter into this program for the first time. With the ten-year Presley contracts now in their eighth year, and the state fiscal crisis only worsening, COHA is busily fighting to obtain new funding to continue this private wetland program in this important waterfowl region. (See State Legislation, “$100 Million for Central Valley Wetlands”). |
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Downladable Press Release |
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