Interested Donee Information

Background

To develop the Land Conservation Plan (Volumes I & II), the watershed lands were divided into 47 planning units. The Stewardship Council began by focusing on developing a basic understanding of the watershed lands, their existing conditions, resources, and Beneficial Public Values (Volume I of the Land Conservation Plan). Following this, the Council developed a set of "recommended concepts" to guide the preservation and enhancement of the Beneficial Public Values for each Planning Unit (Volume II of the Land Conservation Plan). The remaining steps required to meet the goals of the Land Conservation Commitment (as described in the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation), namely the implementation of the LCP, began in early 2008 and is expected to continue over the next five to six years as the Council completes the land conservation and conveyance process.

Interested Donee Registry

The Stewardship Council is responsible for developing and implementing land conservation plans for the permanent protection of more than 140,000 acres of watershed lands currently owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). These lands are primarily located within the Sierra and Cascade ranges.

As part of this land conservation effort, PG&E will make portions of the 140,000 acres of watershed lands available for fee title donation to organizations interested in preserving and enhancing the lands consistent with the six beneficial public values (BPVs): habitat protection, preservation of open space, outdoor public recreation, sustainable forestry, agricultural uses, and cultural and historic resources.

Public entities, including California Native American tribes, and conservation nonprofit organizations interested in receiving fee title donations or in holding conservation easements to the PG&E watershed lands are invited to register their interest via the Stewardship Council's interested donee registry. 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.

DONATION OF FEE TITLE

The Stewardship Council will recommend the donation of watershed lands when it is demonstrated by an organization that such a donation will contribute to the permanent protection of the watershed lands and the preservation and enhancement of the associated BPVs. The Stewardship Council will evaluate eligible organizations interested in receiving a donation of fee title prior to making a recommendation, to confirm that the organization possesses the necessary qualifications to accept a donation of watershed lands and to manage, steward and monitor those lands in the future. Specifically, the Stewardship Council seeks eligible organizations that demonstrate a primary interest in preserving and enhancing the BPVs on watershed lands, as well as the organizational and financial ability to achieve baseline land management and the preservation and enhancement of the BPVs.

DONATION OF CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

How To Participate

The first step in participating in the registry is to create a login and password. You will be asked to create a login, password, provide your contact information and your tax ID number. Please note that the registry is created from the same software the Stewardship Council uses for our youth grantmaking programs, but that this process is neither an application nor a grant program. This registry is informational only.

FAQ Interested Donee Registry

What types of organizations could receive fee title to land through the Land Conservation and Conveyance (LCCP) process?

As per the Settlement Agreement and Stipulation, lands that are deemed unnecessary for current and future operations and maintenance of PG&E’s hydropower projects and related delivery facilities can be transferred to an eligible and qualified recipient (or “donee”). The following are the types of organizations who are eligible to receive fee-title to the available watershed lands:

A nonprofit conservation organization

A federal, state or local governmental entity

A California recognized tribe 1

1 The Stewardship Council defines a “recognized tribe” as a federally recognized California Native American tribe or a non-federally recognized California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission to protect a California Native American prehistoric, archaeological, cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial place.

What is the role of the conservation easement holder and what type of organizations are eligible to hold a conservation easement?

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a qualified organization that restricts future activities on the land in order to protect the conservation values. Under California law, the following entities are qualified to hold a conservation easement:

• A tax-exempt nonprofit organization qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which has as its primary purpose the preservation, protection, or enhancement of land in its natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition.

• The state or any city, county, district, or other local governmental entity if otherwise authorized to acquire and hold title to real property.

• A federally recognized California Native American tribe or a non-federally recognized California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission with knowledge to protect a California Native American prehistoric, archaeological, cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial place.

To meet the requirements of the PG&E Settlement and Stipulation that conservation easements be placed on the watershed lands, and that the conservation easement holder have the experience and expertise to fully and strictly implement the conservation easement, the Stewardship Council is seeking entities that have established conservation easement programs including staff experienced in drafting conservation easements and working with landowners, and a systematic monitoring program with resources available to adequately monitor and enforce conservation easements in perpetuity.

What if my organization already submitted correspondence to the Council about an interest in owning or managing watershed land?
The Council logs and retains all formal correspondence. However, all eligible organizations interested in being considered for a potential donation of fee title or to hold conservation easements on the watershed lands are asked to formally identify their interests via the registry. The Stewardship Council strives to respond to all formal correspondence in a timely manner. However, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your organization’s interest in holding fee title or conservation easements on the PG&E lands, please contact Toby Perry, Land Conservation Project Manager at tperry@stewardshipcouncil.org.

If an entity has multiple offices (e.g. field offices, regional offices) should each office register?
Yes. Each field office or branch of an organization interested should register.

What are the next steps after an organization has registered their interest on the interested donee registry?
To achieve a conservation effort of this large scope and nature, the Stewardship Council is taking a phased approach to identify future landowners and conservation easement holders within the watershed areas. The Stewardship Council will contact entities that have registered interest within the planning units for which the land conservation and conveyance planning process has been initiated to confirm organizations’ interests and to provide further instructions. Registered entities will be required to submit a statement of qualifications to confirm their eligibility and describe their qualifications prior to further consideration by the Stewardship Council. In the interim, we encourage entities to stay informed about the work of the Council via our email announcements, the website, and public meetings.

RFQs

The Stewardship Council is seeking eligible and qualified organizations interested in becoming holders of conservation easements on watershed lands located in three distinct watershed areas: the Pit-McCloud River, Feather River, and Upper Mokelumne River Watersheds.

Please note that only state and local public entities, non-profit conservation organizations, and recognized tribal interests are eligible to be considered as conservation easement holders in this process. Moreover, eligible organizations must demonstrate they have the organizational and financial capacity to become conservation easement holders and protect these lands in perpetuity.

Pit-McCloud

   Pit-McCloud RFQ

   Pit-McCloud RFQ Attachments 1 & 2

Upper Mokelumne

   Upper Mokelumne RFQ

   Upper Mokelumne RFQ Attachments 1 & 2

Feather River

   Feather River RFQ

   Feather River RFQ Attachments 1 & 2

Land Conservation Program Funding Policy

The Stewardship Council’s has created a Land Conservation Program Funding Policy to help guide future planning and decision-making regarding funding of the long term management and stewardship of the watershed lands. The Stewardship Council’s Board of Directors adopted the following policy at a public board meeting in Sonora, Calif. on September 17, 2009.

   Land Conservation Program Funding Policy