California Rangeland Conservation Coalition

Steering Committee -
This committee oversees the work of the Coalition, serving as the core. The steering committee will also be responsible for internal communication and planning for the long term success of the Coalition. In addition, members will provide oversight and direction to the CCA Rangeland Conservation Director, whom is tasked with carrying out the Coalition goals.

The committee includes founding Coalition members and committee chairs. The committee has equal representation of partners, including ranching, environmental, and agency constituents.

Legislative Committee -
The committee works on federal and state issues that are critical to the long term success of the underlying principles of the Coalition. The committee supports cooperative goals that will financially assist and encourage voluntary conservation on private lands, in addition to preserving the longevity of the ranching industry. Priorities are centralized on the area defined within the resolution and goals specified within the Coalition’s action items. Key issues for the first have of 2007 has been the development of the 2007 Farm Bill, Williamson Act Subvention Funding in the Governor's Budget, and Landowner Incentive Program and Private Stewardship Grant funding in the federal budget.

Research Committee -
At the Rangeland Coalition Summit in January there was unanimous agreement to establish a Research Committee. The goals of the new committee focus on the purposes and needs of the Coalition, including: to compile and distribute current and relevant scientific literature, to review current issues and recommend priorities for future research, to provide advice and referrals in response to requests from other committees, to develop guidance on monitoring and assessment of rangeland health, and to seek funding opportunities for Coalition research priorities.


		"The protection of our state’s most valuable natural resources is highly dependent on working partnerships between conservation interests and landowners" - Mark Nelson, California Cattlemen's Association

	Steering Committee - Interagency Coordination Committee - Outreach Committee Legislative Committee - Research Committee - Focus Region

	The committees below have been established in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Coalition. Anyone representing an entity that is a signatory on the resolution is invited to participate on the interagency coordination committee, outreach committee, research committee, focus region committee, or the legislative committee. The destiny of our Coalition is dependent upon the dedication of all our partners. The committees need members in order to effectively educate the public and communicate with our Coalition partners, coordinate processes, and successfully advocate changes in the Legislature and Congress. Most importantly, we need to ensure all partner voices are represented in committees.

	Steering Committee - This committee oversees the work of the Coalition, serving as the core. The steering committee will also be responsible for internal communication and planning for the long term success of the Coalition. In addition, members will provide oversight and direction to the CCA Rangeland Conservation Director, whom is tasked with carrying out the Coalition goals. The committee includes founding Coalition members and committee chairs. The committee has equal representation of partners, including ranching, environmental, and agency constituents.

	Interagency Coordination Committee - The committee is working to improve coordination between state and federal agencies to reduce the paperwork necessary to obtain permits. Current state and federal permitting requirements make implementing voluntary restoration and habitat improvement projects difficult for agencies and landowners. Currently, the committee is in the process of developing a Safe Harbor Agreement for ranchers within the Central Valley and Interior Coast Ranges. The agreement will cover a host of species dependent upon rangeland and will explicitly list the routine ranching practices covered. California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are very committed to seeing this agreement come to fruition. It would be the first of its kind, with the CDFG under the Local Voluntary Program (FGC 2086). A pilot agreement in Tehama County and portions of Glenn, Butte, and Shasta Counties is expected to be unveiled in the Fall of 2007.

	Outreach Committee - The Outreach Committee created the research binders which participants at the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Summit in January 2007 received. The binder contains a variety of research on lessons learned from grazing California’s grasslands. These binders were made possible through a University of California Cooperative Extension, Renewable Resource Extension Grant. In addition, significant support in identifying and securing the research to include within the binder was provided by University of California Cooperative Extension advisors Sheila Barry and Theresa Becchetti. Currently the committee is working on an outreach piece that can be utilized by conservation organization partners to highlight to their membership the benefits of working with ranchers through the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. The piece will be used as an insert in respective conservation organization publications or as a tri-fold brochure to distribute at events.

	Legislative Committee - The committee works on federal and state issues that are critical to the long term success of the underlying principles of the Coalition. The committee supports cooperative goals that will financially assist and encourage voluntary conservation on private lands, in addition to preserving the longevity of the ranching industry. Priorities are centralized on the area defined within the resolution and goals specified within the Coalition’s action items. Key issues for the first have of 2007 has been the development of the 2007 Farm Bill, Williamson Act Subvention Funding in the Governor's Budget, and Landowner Incentive Program and Private Stewardship Grant funding in the federal budget.

	Research Committee - At the Rangeland Coalition Summit in January there was unanimous agreement to establish a Research Committee. The goals of the new committee focus on the purposes and needs of the Coalition, including: to compile and distribute current and relevant scientific literature, to review current issues and recommend priorities for future research, to provide advice and referrals in response to requests from other committees, to develop guidance on monitoring and assessment of rangeland health, and to seek funding opportunities for Coalition research priorities.

	Focus Region Committee - The committee has worked with The Nature Conservancy to develop a map which identifies areas within the Central Valley and Interior Coast Ranges that have high biodiversity value and conservation action in the immediate future. The committee assembled the most current and complete data for species and vegetation systems representative of rangeland ecosystems. Please see Focus Region for results.