AMERICAN PRECEDENT America was
the first nation in the world to create state and national parks. History tells
us that for every park or slice of protected open space - from Yosemite to our
local canyons - someone who lived nearby loved the land, stood up to defend it
and inspired others to join them.
WHAT TO SAVE The first task for conservationists is to decide what they want to save. This
can be done simply by drawing a line on a map. What makes a particular piece of
land worth saving may vary - it might be the site of an historic building or the
home to a spectacular piece of nature, like the redwoods. Or it may be a
landscape full of rare creatures like the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor.
LANDOWNER "RIGHTS" Contrary to popular myth, landowners do not have "a right to develop their
land." The U.S. Supreme Court has held that property owners have a "right to an
economic return" on their property. Many landowners eventually decide that it is
in their economic interest to sell the land for preservation rather than develop
it. For example, in the case of former oil fields, there are huge costs
associated with cleaning up the pollution from a century of oil drilling. If the
land is left as open space those costs plummet. When confronted with massive
clean-up costs, or the price tag of mitigation for other hazards like landslides
or the long delay from lawsuits, many landowners become willing sellers even if
they don't start out that way.
IDENTIFYING FUNDING SOURCES The second step is to identify funding sources. In the past, most state
preservation money has gone to northern California, leaving our region without
its fair share of public investment in parkland. For example, the California
Department of Fish and Game has created 93 "Wildlife Areas" (preserves in the
thousands of acres) north of Fresno but only 11 Wildlife Areas south of Fresno.
California State Parks has likewise favored northern California over southern
California by a margin of 2-1 in the creation of historic parks, state
preserves, state parks, etc. California is working to address this imbalance.
FUNDING AVAILABLE NOW There has never been more
funding available for protecting land than there is right now. Statewide
Propositions 12, 13, and 40, which passed overwhelmingly in the last few years, offer funding sources for open space acquisition. These
funds, totaling several billion dollars, are earmarked for park and open space
acquisition and cannot be spent on other state needs. There is also money
available for acquisition from the state and federal government in the form of
mitigation funds attached to various Transportation Acts. Large acquisitions are
usually a mix of funds from many different sources and agencies.
NATURAL RESOURCE VALUES Next, the natural resource value of the landscape must be documented and the
land identified as a potential acquisition on state and federal lists for
preservation. Initial steps have already been taken at the county, state, and
federal level to bring the Puente-Chino Hills to state and federal attention.
LEAD AGENCY Finally, a private or public agency must be identified that could spearhead the
purchase of the potential park. It could fit into the mission or interest of a
private group like The Nature Conservancy or a public agency like California
State Parks. Sometimes the resource protection agency itself has be educated
about the value of a particular landscape because there are so many demands made
on its funding by different groups. The "lead agency," the agency that will
probably eventually hold title to the land, generally carries out the
negotiations with the landowner, although others may participate as well.
Whether or not land is eventually saved usually depends on the willingness of
the public to organize on behalf of the land.
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NATURAL RESOURCE VALUES