Introduction

In November 2007, the Stewardship Council adopted a Land Conservation Plan (LCP) for the permanent conservation of over 140,000 acres of watershed lands currently owned and managed by PG&E and located in 22 counties in California. The LCP provides the framework for the future preservation and enhancement of these lands guided by six beneficial public values- outdoor recreation, sustainable forestry, agriculture, habitat protection, open space, and protection of cultural and historic resources.

For planning purposes, these lands were grouped into 47 different Planning units. Beginning in 2008, the Stewardship Council initiated work on the development of Volume III Land Conservation and Conveyance Plans for four of the planning units. The four planning units selected as pilot projects were:

• Bucks Lake, Plumas County
• Doyle Springs, Tulare County
• Kennedy Meadows, Tuolumne County
• McArthur Swamp, Shasta County

These four planning units were chosen because they each exhibit a unique set of land use and conservation challenges, as well as being well distributed geographically across the watershed lands.

On March 28, 2008, the Stewardship Council's Board of Directors approved a pilot process for conserving and conveying the land within the four pilot areas. This process is described in detail below.

Process

   Volume III Pilot Process - Adopted March 26, 2008 (211 kb)

The Stewardship Council will continue to place a high priority on soliciting input from stakeholders and interested entities across the Watershed Lands and will focus on building a land conveyance process that is fair, equitable, and responsive to public input. At the same time, the Stewardship Council will ensure that the land conservation and conveyance process satisfies the requirements of the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation, as well as the core values of the Stewardship Council (refer to LCP Volume I Section 1.2.3 for more information).

Preliminary work on the development of the pilot process began in late 2007. The Stewardship Council drew upon the pertinent knowledge and experience of individuals and organizations, including individual board members, land conservation organizations, and stakeholders representing diverse interests. The Stewardship Council also hosted public meetings in each of the four pilot areas in December 2007 and January 2008 to solicit community input on the development of the pilot process.

The following objectives guided the development of the pilot process:

• Consistency with the requirements of the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation, as well as the framework established in Volumes I and II of the LCP;
• Clear, efficient, and cost-effective process for achieving the goals and objectives of the LCP;
• Appropriate opportunities for engagement and involvement of all interested stakeholders and other interested parties;
• Well-defined tasks, outputs, and roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders;
• Flexibility to address site specific considerations and avoid a �one size fits all� approach; and
• Board approval at key decision points.

As the Stewardship Council developed the pilot process for the Volume III Disposition Packages, a new term evolved to more accurately describe the next phase of work, namely, the development and implementation of a plan to conserve the lands in perpetuity and convey conservation easements and/or fee simple ownership of lands. Accordingly, the Stewardship Council elected to replace the term "Volume III Disposition Package" with "Land Conservation and Conveyance Plan."

Moreover, in developing the pilot process, it became apparent that the process consisted of three distinct but interrelated tracks. These three tracks are:

• Planning;
• Transactional; and
• Regulatory.

Figure 1 (Download Figure 1 PDF) is a visual representation of the overall process that illustrates the key steps, sequence, and outputs. Figure 2 (Download Figure 2 PDF) describes the key tasks and outputs for each step in the process.

Figure 1: Pilot Process - Overview

Figure 2: Pilot Process - Key Tasks

Public Engagement

The Stewardship Council remains committed to ensuring that local communities, elected representatives, neighboring property owners, and other key stakeholders are fully engaged in the work of protecting and enhancing the Watershed Lands. To develop Volumes I and II of the LCP, the Stewardship Council implemented a comprehensive public outreach process to ensure that the planning process was informed by discussions with the people and organizations who know the lands best. Public outreach efforts included traveling extensively throughout the Watershed Lands to conduct community open houses, site visits, and dozens of meetings with stakeholder, agency, and Native American entities.

Opportunities for public involvement in the pilot process are highlighted in orange in Figure 1. The public will be encouraged to participate in the Planning Process for the LCCP through public planning workshops, direct collaboration with the Stewardship Council on select issues, and public review and comment on the draft LCCPs. The public will also have the opportunity to speak directly to the Stewardship Council Board of Directors during the meetings where the board considers approval of selected donees and adoption of the Final LCCPs. The CPUC will provide a further opportunity for the public to comment when it considers PG&E's applications for the actual land transactions and encumbrances.

All board meetings and public meetings will be noticed via the Stewardship Council's email distribution list and other means. In addition, the Stewardship Council will continue to use its extensive website as a communication tool throughout the pilot process.

Roles and Responsibilities

Figure 3 (Download Figure 3 PDF) describes the roles and responsibilities of key parties in the land conservation and conveyance pilot process, including steps requiring board approval. Synthesizing input from a diverse set of stakeholders, the Stewardship Council will "oversee and carry out" the Land Conservation Commitment. As detailed in Figure 3:

• Stewardship Council staff will prepare all LCCPs (Volume III of the LCP), and facilitate meetings, negotiations, and communications throughout the process.
• The general public, elected officials, government agencies, and tribal governments are encouraged to participate in the Planning Process by attending the LCCP planning workshop(s) and other public meetings, collaborating with the Stewardship Council on select issues, and commenting on the draft LCCP.
• The Stewardship Council Board of Directors will approve the selected donees and will adopt and approve all final documents.
• The selected donees will prepare the Land Stewardship Proposals and will participate in real estate negotiations, as facilitated by the Stewardship Council, with PG&E and/or other future landowners or easement holders.
• PG&E will be responsible for negotiating the terms of the land transactions in consultation with the Stewardship Council and for approving the final LCCP and securing the necessary approvals from the CPUC and FERC (where needed).

Figure 3: Pilot Process - Roles and Responsibilities

Timeline

Figure 4 (Download Figure 4 PDF) represents a conceptual timeline for the implementation of the land conservation and conveyance process for the four pilot planning units. The Planning and Transactional Processes will continue throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Depending on the length of the Regulatory Process, the Stewardship Council anticipates the final land transactions and encumbrances could be executed by the end of 2009 or in early 2010. However, the pace of developing the individual disposition packages will depend on a number of factors, including a variety of real estate and legal issues, as well as the ability to reach agreement with future landowners and/or conservation easement holders.

Figure 4: Pilot Process - Timeline