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Commission pledges support for Pace Family Ranch conservation easement; asks for final edits
Summary
The commission agreed to sign a letter of support for a proposed conservation easement on the Pace Family Ranch, subject to legal review and edits to protect public access and clarify stewardship provisions tied to fuels mitigation.
Representatives from the Conservation Fund presented a proposal to place a conservation easement on the Pace Family Ranch and asked the commission to sign a letter of support for the federal Forest Legacy application.
Gavin Cagle of the Conservation Fund said the easement would keep the ranch in active grazing, prevent subdivision, and include a forest stewardship plan that recommends thinning and fuels mitigation. He said funding is expected from the federal Forest Legacy Fund, possible state matching sources and private foundations, and that the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands would hold the easement.
Commissioners raised questions about whether the easement would alter public access (it would not) and whether stewardship plans might unduly restrict future fuels treatments; Cagle said stewardship recommendations are flexible and can be modified. Commissioners asked staff to edit the template letter to include language that preserves historic public roads and to return a final version for signatures; a motion to support the Conservation Fund easement project pending legal review carried by voice vote.
Next steps: county staff will edit the template, provide the commission with a revised letter for signature and email a scanned copy with wet signatures to the Conservation Fund to support the federal application deadline.
