California Flood Future Report Finalized

After roughly five years of collaboration with the County Engineers Association of California (CEAC) and CSAC staff, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final version of California’s Flood Future: Recommendations for Managing the State’s Flood Risk. This comprehensive look at statewide exposure to flood risk outlines actions for addressing barriers to improved flood management. It also identifies the immediate need for more than $50 billion to complete flood management improvements and projects. These flood management projects include operations and maintenance and other identified actions.   The report also estimates that more than $100 billion of additional investment is needed for flood management projects that are not yet specifically identified.  The statewide data included in the report validates longtime assertions by counties that financial investment in local flood control infrastructure statewide is long overdue.  This information will be relied on by CSAC and counties to support requests for state and federal investment in flood control infrastructure statewide.  

CSAC staff and members of the CEAC Flood Control Statewide Needs Assessment Team provided significant input into the development of the report and will be significantly involved in the second phase of this project when implementation measures and investment strategies are formulated.

California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management are looking for interested parties to fill several positions on the California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC).  This committee provides recommendations on recreation fees for both agencies for lands within the state of California. The Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are seeking nominations to fill 11 positions on the 11 member Pacific Southwest Region (R5) California Recreation RAC. Nominations for these positions will be accepted through December 8, 2013. 

To obtain a nomination packet, visit the Forest Service website or contact Frances Enkoji at (707) 562-8846. Additional information about recreation fees and REA is available here. You must submit a complete nomination packet in writing by December 8, 2013.

CARB Approves Cap and Trade Forestry Offsets 

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced this week that it approved the first California forest carbon credits issued under the cap and trade offset protocols.

The Willits Woods project developed by Coastal Ridges, LLC was issued 1.2 million Air Resources Board-approved carbon offset credits. Coastal Ridges, LLC is located in Willits, California and the Willits Woods project covers approximately 19,000 acres in Mendocino County. According to CARB, carbon offsets accepted by the CARB come from sectors not covered by the cap-and-trade program, and must be additional — that is, above and beyond the carbon that would have been stored in the forest if it had been managed on a ‘business-as-usual’ basis. 

Offset credits approved by CARB can be used by companies to comply with California’s cap and trade program. Each offset credit generated under a CARB protocol is equivalent to one metric ton of carbon dioxide.  The Forest Offset Protocol was one of four offset protocols approved by the ARB in 2011. Credits are issued based on the number of metric tons of carbon sequestered in trees in the forest that are specifically managed for each offset project. In order to qualify for the carbon credits, projects under the forestry protocol must be managed for the purpose of carbon storage for at least 100 years. In addition, the forest management plan will provide wildlife habitat and provide the fullest range of improved watershed benefits.

More information regarding the Forest Offset Protocol can be found here.