By Mary D. Nichols,
Secretary for Resources, and
Co-Chair, California Biodiversity Council

This August the California Biodiversity Council will travel to Alturas. While up on the Modoc Plateau, the Biodiversity Council will learn about the spread of western juniper, the impact it has had on the environment, and approaches to managing this invasive species. The CBC will also examine approaches to cooperation between federal and state agencies regarding range management. While these subjects are quite important, there is another very important reason for visiting the Modoc Plateau: Nancy Huffman.

Nancy, a Modoc County Supervisor, has been a stalwart member of the CBC and attended almost every Council meeting over the past decade. Coming from Tulelake, northwest of Alturas, she has logged thousands of miles—and countless hours—driving and traveling farther than anyone else to Council meetings in every corner of the State. That takes a singular kind of dedication. Nancy also possesses the valuable viewpoint of a landowner, farmer, and rancher who firmly believes in the goals of the Council.

Sadly for Modoc County—and for the CBC—Nancy will not be seeking re–election. The Council will miss her ready laughter, her incisive comments, and her unwavering commitment to preserving the biodiversity and natural legacy of California for future generations. On behalf of the Council, thank you, Nancy, for ten years of dedicated participation, and we wish you the very best in your future endeavors.

On other fronts, I am pleased to announce the great success of the first Spotlight on Conservation Regional Workshop held by the Legacy Project. Held in May in San Luis Obispo, this gathering of participants mirrored in many ways the makeup of the Biodiv-ersity Council, with state and federal agencies along with representatives of local governments and the academe. We also ensured that ranchers and farmers represented the viewpoint of the ‘working landscapes,’ too. The workshop was standing–room only, the exchange of viewpoints was lively, and the focused discussions—thanks to excellent facilitation—produced the first round of results which will soon be displayed on the Legacy Project website at http://www.legacy.ca.gov.

Along with San Diego held last month, the next regional workshops, Los Angeles (Sept. 4–5) and the Bay Area (October 16–17), will build on this highly successful inaugural effort.

There is much to report on the GIS front, too. With our state and federal partners—including the California Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—we are accelerating information from the National Wetlands Inventory to develop a wetlands analysis of the entire state, taking into account the special wetland characteristics of California.

We are also working with our own state agencies, federal partners, non–profit organizations, and local governments to develop a methodology to get—and keep—updated data on public ownership. Finally, we are working on the California Digital Conservation Atlas, an easy to use web–based mapping tool with a conservation focus.