by Mike Chapel 
USDA Forest  Service

The California Biodiversity Council will hold its fall meeting in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Regional Council of Rural Counties on September 20, 2000, in Rohnert Park. In 1998, the California Biodiversity Council made a commitment to build stronger relations with local government. Annual meetings with RCRC began that year and are continuing to help foster closer working relationships with county governments.

The two councils will meet all day September 20 and conclude with a social hour and dinner that evening. The RCRC Annual Conference will extend to September 22. Additional information about the September 21–22 RCRC conference is provided on page 7.

The Biodiversity Council will start the day with a brief business meeting, which consists of a report from the Council’s Executive Committee and announcements from Council members. Following the business meeting, the RCRC supervisors will join the Biodiversity Council.

Proposals for changing management of off-highway vehicles (OHV) in California will be the first subject discussed at the joint meeting. The California Department of Parks and Recreation will provide an overview of legislative and other proposals that have advanced during the 1999-2000 legislative session. A panel of stakeholders will give their impressions of the proposals, including the effects on OHV users, the environment, and local government. The session will close with a facilitated, open discussion among the CBC and the rural county supervisors on the merits of current proposals to restructure off-highway vehicle uses. More information about off-highway vehicle reform is provided on pages 12 and 13 in this newsletter.

The remainder of the morning will be devoted to discussing the Best Funding Practices for Watershed Management, a set of proposals from the Biodiversity Council’s Watershed Work Group. The WWG will present its work to consolidate and streamline processes for transferring state and federal funds to local watershed programs and projects. Secretary Nichols will lead an open discussion of the work by the WWG, possibly leading to endorsement of the proposals by the Biodiversity Council. Please see page 3 for more information about the Best Funding Practices for the Watershed Management.

Following a lunch break, staff from the Regional Council of Rural Counties will present a summary of legislation related to watershed management that has been considered during 1999–2000.

The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to discussing issues and projects in the Sierra Nevada. First, the CBC and RCRC will discuss methods for improving local government participation with public land use planning. A panel of rural county supervisors will start by describing their involvement with public land use planning of several geographic scales. The sizes of these projects range from the Sierra Nevada Framework Project, which involves 11 million acres of National Forests, to locally-based watershed and other projects. Supervisors will offer descriptions, assessments, and suggestions to improve future involvement. The remainder of the session will be dedicated to an open discussion with the CBC and RCRC about methods for improving local government participation in public land use planning.

An informational discussion on methyl mercury contamination in the Sierra Nevada will be the concluding topic. Methyl mercury was imported to the Mother Lode region during the gold rush to aid with the extraction of gold during mining operations. Much of this material remains in mines and nearby watercourses and is found in the tissues of resident fish. This discussion will address ongoing studies of mercury contamination and current agency actions on the issue. More information about methyl mercury in the Sierra Nevada is on page 9.