Patience Key to Using Nevada Act to Protect Land
By Bartholomew Martin

Photo by Kathi Hussman

NEVADA: Thanks to a unique piece of federal legislation, and despite pressure from a growing population, 300 acres in western Nevada will now be preserved by a conservation easement brought about by the American Land Conservancy.

The easement represents the first successful attempt at harnessing the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Designed to promote conservation, the Act offers a new public funding avenue specifically for those interested in conserving both the ecology and the agricultural character of Nevada. Yet, this funding source may require more patience by landowners and more expertise by land trusts than a typical publicly funded easement—as its novelty and complexity significantly slows down the process for receiving funds.

The Carson Valley borders the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains and includes fertile soils, the latter of which has supported a vibrant agricultural community for over a century. This landscape, however, is now drawing settlers with different interests. A burgeoning local economy, led by recreational opportunities, has created substantial development pressure in the area. Even so, long-time Carson Valley ranch owners David and Kathi Hussman successfully protected a large portion of their ranch from ever being developed by selling their development rights to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.

Passed by Congress in 1998, the Act generates revenue by selling public land with low ecological value around the Las Vegas metropolitan area to private developers. The resulting revenue then funds a variety of public initiatives in Nevada—including the conservation of ecologically and agriculturally valuable land. The American Land Conservancy approached the Hussmans about pursuing an easement on their ranch the same year the Act was passed, but it took some time for them to view the federal act as a viable option.

First, while the Act empowers the federal government to take action on behalf of local interests, it did not immediately provide the funding necessary for administrating action. As one BLM spokesperson stated, “There originally was no staff assigned to manage the Act.” Second, the local BLM office responsible for putting the deal together for the Hussmans had never purchased an easement before. It took some time for them to familiarize themselves with the rights and obligations inherent to such an agreement. Finally, the nomination process demanded by the Act takes considerably longer than most other public funding processes by requiring state and local government review, along with federal oversight, prior to acceptance.

Jim Elias, the Great Basin program director of the American Land Conservancy, said that the extraordinary vision and patience of the Hussmans was pivotal in arranging the easement and overcoming the obstacles. He also noted that, for land trusts interested in acquiring funding from this unique source, “It’s a long tough row to hoe, especially for easements.” He is hopeful, however, that future efforts will be more efficiently executed now that the Hussmans have cleared a path. The BLM is similarly hopeful about speeding up the nomination process, now that the required administrative structures are in place and the necessary institutional knowledge is growing.

Learn more about the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act

(posted 3/21/07)

The Jewel of the Ka’u Coastline

Photo of Ka'u District coast by Francesca Dalleo, Land Trust Alliance

HAWAII - “What you see here you don’t see in the rest of Hawaii. Or the rest of the world,” says John Replogle, Hawaiian native, board member of the Hawaii Island Land Trust, and field coordinator for The Nature Conservancy. A cowboy for 30 years on the Big Island before dedicating his career to conservation 3 years ago, Replogle loves to explain why this area is so special.

The Ka’u District is enormous in Hawaiian standards - the size of the entire island of Maui or Oahu. The district contains a variety of habitat, from prehistoric rainforest to dry lava desert, windblown grasslands and rugged rocky coastline. Kau’s coast is the longest undeveloped shoreline in the Hawaiian Islands, stretching 80 miles from South Kona to South Point and on to Volcanoes National Park. Two areas with the most pristine and critically important habitat include: Punalu’u black sand beach, nesting grounds for the endangered green sea turtle; and Honu’apo Bay and tidal wetlands, where the Hawaiian monk seal, the state’s most endangered animal with only 1,400 left in the wild, has been spotted.

Replogle says, “The ancient Hawaiians were some of the first great conservationists.” They recognized the importance of the natural world to their way of life and that the mountains, land, and ocean are all connected, and man needs access to them to be healthy and survive. For 2,000 years native Hawaiians have retreated to the coast for some of their most important cultural traditions, such as to the beaches for luaus and the ocean for fishing and canoeing.

Photo of Honu'apo Bay by Francesca Dalleo, Land Trust Alliance

When Replogle was growing up, Honu’apo Bay and its surrounding tidal wetlands were part of a sugar plantation. Once the plantation closed and the land was put up for sale - 225 shoreline acres for $3.4 million - it was dangerously close to becoming residentially zoned and overdeveloped like the Kona coast of the Big Island.

Fortunately, members of the community in nearby towns - Na’alehu and Pahala - weren’t about to let this happen.  Forming a community group, Ka Ohana O Honu’apo, and working with the Hawaii Island Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and The Trust for Public Land, they secured county, state and federal funds to purchase the land from a private developer. They also received donations from private sources, such as the $40,000 given by new landowners in the area.

Replogle explaining plans for the estuary to a local conservationist.

Last December when Ka Ohana O Honu’apo organized a Ho`o`laulea (celebration) for the community at a local park, they raised $14,000 towards protecting Honu’apo Bay in the donation box at the entrance, an impressive feat in such a sparsely populated place with only 6 people per square mile. Replogle remarks, “People came out and gave their hearts, even people who have moved away from Ka’u many years ago came through for their Aina (land).”

The land has now been turned over to the State of Hawaii from The Trust for Public Land, and will eventually be turned over to the County of Hawaii. Long term plans for it include re-establishing the natural habitat in the estuary, which was damaged during its plantation days, and creating a nursery for fish as well as a possible breeding habitat for the ai`o, the endangered Hawaiian Stilt bird. They also plan to partner with the Department of Parks and Recreation to create and manage the largest park in the state of Hawaii. The park will contain trails for hiking and camping areas, and most importantly, leave plenty of coastline open for Hawaiians to enjoy as they always have. (posted 4/26/06)

Placer Land Trust Offers a Vision for Balancing Growth and Conservation
by Mary Ellen Kelly

Vernal pools in Placer County. Photo courtesy of Placer Land Trust.

CALIFORNIA - How do you balance the demands of rapid population growth with the need for preserving critical open space? A solution that’s working in Placer County, one of California’s fastest growing areas, is collaboration. By teaming up with developers and city planners, the Placer Land Trust recently recorded a conservation easement on 227 acres owned by the City of Roseville.

This is the third successful project of the land trust’s new West Placer Habitat Protection Program, and the fourth project they’ve completed with a public agency as landowner. Through this program, the Placer Land Trust has preserved upland habitat, vernal pools, annual grasslands and grazing land. More (posted 12/21/05)

The Zimmerman Family

Ranching Stays in the Family Thanks to Easement

CALIFORNIA - As a founder of the Tomales History Center, Mary McCullough Zimmerman appreciates tradition. In fact, the house where she and her husband Merv live is the former Halleck School, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1862 on the ranch overlooking Tomales Bay. (posted 12/18/03) More