• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Audubon Chapter Appeals Willms Ranch Parcel Split

December 20, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

 

Burrowing Owl

Stanislaus Audubon Society has appealed a decision by the Stanislaus County Planning Commission to allow owners of the historic Willms Ranch to split the 2,384 acre property into 42 parcels without requiring an Environmental Impact Review.

The crux of the argument for the Audubon Society is the failure of the Willms’ proposal to address significant environmental issues, especially those involving agriculture and wildlife. The Planning Commission accepted the Willms’ argument that further studies would be needed only if permits are issued for homes to be built. Stanislaus Audubon is arguing in part that the split is tantamount to a trigger for building and houses are almost certain to follow.

The Audubon chapter also claims that wildlife studies of the property were far too cursory, and omitted use of the property by Bald Eagles. Members of the chapter have seen Bald Eagles foraging over the property. While Bald Eagles are better known for frequenting lakes and rivers, they also often feed on carrion in grasslands and pastures.

The appeal cites a December 6, 2007, letter from the Department of Conservation that notes forty acre parcels are too small for cattle grazing and will likely result in “hobby farms.” That prospect alone is sufficient to require an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) says Audubon. Willms’ attorneys argued that the split was for reasons of “agricultural finance,” but Audubon countered that such a reason doesn’t negate the “fair argument” of the Department of Conservation.

Members of the Planning Commission emphasized the importance of property rights, but that argument, though important, ignores fundamental issues when agricultural land is split. If property rights were the only issue, we wouldn’t need country supervisors and planning commissions. The San Joaquin Valley is no longer the home of limitless resources and endless horizons. More than ever, we need to plan carefully and consider the consequences of every planning decision.

The Willms Ranch hosts any number of wildlife species and most would agree its highest and best use is for cattle grazing. Burrowing Owls, Lesser Nighthawks, Bald and Golden Eagles, and Prairie Falcons are only a few of the bird species that frequent the area. Add badgers, Tiger Salamanders and other denizens of nature, and the inventory of wildlife is both impressive and sensitive.

The Willms’ tentative map shows a network of roads going to every new parcel. The plan certainly looks like a trigger for housing. The Audubon argument points out that the “agricultural finance” argument put forward by Willms’ attorneys depends on increased land values from the enhanced prospects for development.

The American Farmland Trust has argued that ranchettes are a threat to agriculture in the northern San Joaquin Valley. It’s difficult to see how hobby farms represent much less a threat. At the very least, the proposed Willms parcel split  should receive a thorough Environmental Impact Review.

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Willms Ranch, Willms Ranch parcel split

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design