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U.S. EPA GRANT BOOSTS PROTECTION OF VERNAL POOLS THROUGHOUT CENTRAL VALLEY

Release Date: 5/11/2000
Contact Information: Leo Kay, U.S. EPA, 415-744-2201

     New funding part of public-private program to protect vital wetland habitats

     SAN FRANCISCO   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $100,000 grant to the Trust for Public Land to protect vernal pools in the Central Valley that are increasingly being threatened by development.
         
     Three million of the original 4 million acres of vernal pools and related ecosystems have been destroyed since the 1800s a 75 percent loss.  Losses have resulted from agricultural development and construction of water supply projects, mining and suburban sprawl.  The remaining 1 million acres is either fragmented or severely degraded.  

     "What's exciting about this work is that EPA is helping local partners get ahead of the curve, and protect ecologically important lands before we lose them to over-development," said Felicia Marcus, the EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.  "EPA's hope is that we can help support locally led efforts to deal with Central Valley concerns about sprawl."

     "The EPA grants we administer provide great opportunities for Central Valley land trusts to successfully complete land conservation projects that protect critical resource lands," said Elizabeth Byers, the Trust for Public Land's Western Region Land Trust Program Director.

     Vernal pools form in landscape depressions filled by rainwater, groundwater, or overland flows.  These seasonal wetlands come alive during winter and spring with uniquely adapted wildflowers, insects, shrimp, and other wildlife many found nowhere else on earth.  A number of the fairy shrimp species and plants are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.  

     With EPA funding, the Trust for Public Land preserves vernal pools and rangelands in the Central Valley by helping land trusts undertake large-scale conservation projects and protecting farmlands, rangelands, and at-risk habitats, especially vernal pools.  This grant builds upon the successes of past EPA grants to the Trust for Public Land, which total $195,000 since 1998.

Highlights of the vernal pool program from the past three years include:

               Cosumnes River -- Sacramento County:
          The EPA teamed up with The Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Packard Foundation, the State Water Resources Control Board and others to purchase the nearly-pristine 13,000-acre Howard Ranch.   The ranch will bring the total of protected acreage within the watershed to approximately 40,000 acres.
   
               Four Creeks Land Trust:
          The Four Creeks Land Trust in Visalia received a $40,000 grant. The funds help to acquire the 725-acre Herbert Ranch. The ranch contains over 500 acres of a contiguous vernal pool/grassland ecosystem adjacent to a valley oak riparian corridor.  This was the largest unprotected vernal pool prairie complex between Visalia and the Carrizo Plain. The grant will also be used for restoring Herbert Ranch; a vernal pool inventory in Tulare and Kings counties; and an oak riparian corridor plan for the Tulare Valley.

               The Sierra Foothill Conservancy:
          Working in Fresno and Madera counties, the Sierra Foothill Conservancy received a $35,000 grant from this program to host a conservation easement and estate planning seminar for foothill landowners last December. The grant has enabled the land trust to hire staff and pursue new acquisitions, including the 80-acre Tivy Mountain Preserve.

               The Solano County Farmlands and Open Space Foundation:  
          A $40,000 grant helped to preserve the 13,000-acre Greater Jepson Prairie Ecosystem, which includes native and perennial grasslands and vernal pools. The foundation owns and manages the 1,566-acre Jepson Prairie Preserve.

     The funding announced today is part of a broader effort by the EPA's Pacific Southwest office to support more livable, sustainable communities in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.  Over the past two years, the EPA has funded more than 30 projects to help communities plan smarter ways to grow in the future.  The projects cover many activities, from information sharing to regional planning support and watershed protection.

     The Trust for Public Land is a national non-profit land conservation organization that works to preserve important open space through willing seller acquisitions. Over the past 28 years, TPL has protected more than one million acres of land nationwide. TPL's Western Region Land Trust Program facilitates information sharing, provides technical assistance, and administers grant programs for land trusts in California, Hawaii and Nevada.

     For more information about the EPA's livable communities program in the Pacific Southwest, contact Sara Russell at 415/744-1029.