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October 18, 2008 2nd Annual GAATE Foundtion fund raiser...SAVE THE DATE! To sponsor the event please go to the GAATE Fundraiser web page.
Supervisors’ CTS Process Discontinued
By Teri Bontrager, SBCFB Executive Director
In 2006 the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors initiated a process to determine if the County could create a plan or process that would allow numerous activities to continue, including farming and ranching activities, in a more streamlined fashion while simultaneously meeting the legal requirements of the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) with respect to the California Tiger Salamander. Santa Barbara Farm Bureau has been an active participant in this process since its inception. With the help of the California Farm Bureau Federation, Santa Barbara Farm Bureau retained Ronda Azevedo Lucas, of Central Valley Law Group LLP, to serve as production agriculture’s representative. I served as Ronda’s alternate in this process. Together, Ronda and I were responsible for representing the members of not only Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau but also the Central Coast Winegrape Growers’ Association and the Grower-Shipper Vegetable Association of Santa Barbara. Since its inception, production agriculture was skeptical of the need for this process at this time but also recognized the need to be an active participant in the discussions to ensure everyone understood agriculture’s importance to both the County and the salamander. After almost two years of nearly monthly meetings, the Board of Supervisors voted, unanimously, at its March 25, 2008 meeting to discontinue this process. We were fully supportive of this decision and submitted both written and oral testimony in favor of discontinuing the process.
With Ronda’s advice and more than 10 years experience working for agriculture in ESA related issues, we were able to use the process as an opportunity to educate local government officials and staff, state and federal staff and other stakeholders within Santa Barbara about the role agriculture plays in both maintaining and providing habitat for species. Unlike many other activities that may clear the land down to hard-pan and then cover the area with cement, asphalt, or some other impervious material not suitable for habitat, agricultural operations continue to provide habitat for species. Agricultural operations and species can and do co-exist, and in some instances, species thrive on actively managed agricultural lands. With these facts clearly articulated, we were steadfast in our determination to ensure the end product of this planning process did more than create a plan where agricultural operations are either earmarked for future development or habitat preserves.
Working with Ronda was also a learning experience for me which will serve all of Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. The ESA is a complex law which has numerous processes for meeting its legal requirements. However, before one can even determine the appropriate process, it is imperative that one fully understand his or her legal obligations and rights under the law. Private citizens have a single legal obligation under the ESA -- we simply cannot “take” listed species. The ESA defines “take” to include a number of things, but it always comes back to one critical criteria that is often overlooked. A take can only occur if the species is currently present. If there are no species on your property, you simply cannot “take” them. Therefore, you need not worry about violating the ESA.
However, if species are present, or you think they may be present and you would like to error on the side of caution, the ESA provides more than one avenue for obtaining permission to “take” species. Herein laid the crux of the debate the County’s process never fully resolved. We were not willing to create or participate in a plan that resembled a traditional habitat conservation plan. And, we did not have to utilize a habitat conservation plan at all because these plans are strictly voluntary agreements. Rather, we were seeking a process that utilized other provisions of the ESA that allowed more flexibility and strict timelines for completion. At the end of the day, we would have only agreed to a plan that recognized agriculture’s important role and ensured agricultural activities would be allowed to continue for the sake of keeping production agriculture, in all of its forms and cropping patters, viable in Santa Barbara County.
With the Supervisors’ decision to discontinue the process, the monthly meetings will no longer dominate the fourth Wednesday of each month. However, Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau will continue to use all opportunities to ensure production agriculture receives the recognition it deserves for both feeding the world and creating and preserving habitat for numerous species. The ESA education I received due to my working with Ronda in this process will continue to be put to use to protect your legal rights and your ability to remain in production agriculture.
Author’s note: Ronda Azevedo Lucas worked for the California Farm Bureau Federation for 10 years before leaving and becoming a partner in the newly-formed, Sacramento based law firm Central Valley Law Group, LLP. Her firm specializes in natural resource issues and can be reached at (916) 341-7400.
