MINUTES (Scroll down to paragraphs highlighted in red)
REGULAR MEETING OF THE MARIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2000, AT 10:16 A.M.
PRESENT:
SUPERVISORS Cynthia L.
Murray, Harold C. Brown, Jr., John B. Kress, Annette Rose, Steve
Kinsey, President
The Board reconvened at 1:37 p.m. All Supervisors were
present.
21.REQUEST FROM DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE/WEIGHTS AND MEASURES TO
APPROVE FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN FOR WILDLIFE PROTECTION PROGRAMS,
AUTHORIZE PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT WITH USDA WILDLIFE
SERVICES, APPROVE MARIN COUNTY STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WILDLIFE CONTROL
TECHNIQUES ON LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS AND AUTHORIZE FUNDS FOR
NON-LETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL PROGRAM [Agricultural
Commissioner]
Agricultural Commissioner/Director of Weights and Measures Stacy
Carlsen made introductory remarks regarding the information
contained in his letter dated October 31, 2000, pertaining to the
above-referenced item.
Mr. Carlsen briefly summarized the background of the issue before
the Board, commented on the County's past support for the ranching
community and the Board's previous approvals of agreements with the
United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") Wildlife Services
Agency for predator control, outreach and education. Mr. Carlsen also briefly
commented on the impact of the voter-approved Proposition 4, commented on efforts of ranchers to implement
non-lethal programs, summarized the County's actions during the
past year to address predator control issues and briefly discussed
the goals of the Five-Year Action and Strategic Plan for Wildlife
Control. Mr. Carlsen
noted that approval of the Five-Year Action Plan would result in a
program that moves the County away from funding a lethal predator program in eighteen months.
Mr.
Carlsen also briefly responded to comments and concerns expressed
by the Marin Coalition for California Wildlife as presented in
their letter dated October 30, 2000, submitted to Board members,
regarding the recommendations contained in Mr. Carlsen's staff
report. Mr. Carlsen
stated that the Coalition endorses the proposed Plan for wildlife control, and briefly
commented on concerns expressed by the Coalition including
accountability and administration of a proposal to fund the
Northbay Woolgrowers Association to implement non-lethal predator
control activities.
Mr. Carlsen then addressed the Board on the specific
recommendations in his staff report, noting that he expects that no
one will be 100 percent happy with the recommendations. Mr. Carlsen stated that his
recommendations include a funding request in the amount of $50,000,
to help ranchers offset costs associated with non-lethal activities
on the ranches.
Mr.
Carlsen emphasized the importance of sustainability of the livestock industry and
requested that the Board support the Strategic Plan for
Wildlife Control Techniques and approve the Five-Year Action Plan
for Livestock/Wildlife Protection programs. Mr. Carlsen noted that the
Five-Year Plan doesn't expire in five years, but rather, that the
Plan provides a guide for predator control activities during the next five years.
Thereafter, Mr. Carlsen introduced Mary Paglieri, founder and
Director of the Little Blue Society ("LBS"), and James Nee, LBS
Senior Director, who briefly described three elements of the LBS'
proposed plan to implement a non-lethal program including: building and fortifying
fences, the Guardian Shepherd program, and community outreach. The representatives of the
LBS also briefly described the goals of their plan and identified other localities
where they have worked.
The
hearing was declared open to receive public comment.
Representatives of In Defense of Animals, the Marin Coalition for
California Wildlife, Animal Legal Defense Club, Wildcare, Marin
Humane Society and three County residents addressed the Board and
commented generally on concerns regarding wording in the proposed
Strategic Plan related to funding the Northbay Woolgrowers
Association, including ensuring sufficient oversight, accountability and administration of a proposed agreement with the
Woolgrowers Association; the representativeness of the Northbay
Woolgrowers Association of other agricultural producers; oversight
by County staff and County staff time to be spent to monitor
predator control issues, clarification of the term "sunseting"
related to the USDA agreement with the County, time frame
for phasing out lethal means of predator control, available statistics
on the types of wildlife taken, responsibility of ranchers in
protecting their investment, support for protecting wildlife.
A representative of In
Defense of Animals presented a petition expressing opposition to
County funding to support the activities of the USDA Wildlife
Services. Several of
the speakers also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Mr. Carlsen, commented on
the difficulty of the predator control policy issue and expressed
support for the direction of the plan in moving away from funding a
lethal predator program.
In
response to a question from Supervisor Brown, representatives of
the Marin Coalition for California Wildlife stated that their
organization supports the Plan with modifications, noting that the
Coalition is not opposed to the time period set out in the Plan for
the phase out of the lethal program. Coalition representatives also
stated that the Coalition would convey their support for the Plan,
with recommended modifications, to its membership, provided that
the Plan includes a clear 18 month phase-out of County funding for
lethal methods.
Mr.
Carlsen clarified the phase-out period for continued funding of a
lethal predator program noting that June 30, 2002, would be the end
of the County's contract with the USDA Wildlife Services
program.
Three ranchers, the Executive Director of the Marin Agricultural
Land Trust ("MALT") and the State Director of the USDA Wildlife
Services addressed the Board and commented generally on the efforts
of ranchers in implementing non-lethal methods for predator
control, outlined various services provided by the USDA Wildlife
Services, commented on misconceptions of ranchers and their efforts
on non-lethal methods for predator control, encouraged the
application of science to guide wildlife management issues,
described benefits of the services provided by the USDA Wildlife
Services, emphasized the importance of preserving agricultural
viability in the county, outlined problems related to
the termination of the Wildlife Services Program last year and
detailed losses on ranches due to predation.
The
public hearing was closed.
Mr.
Carlsen responded to questions from the Board and clarified some
comments made during the public hearing regarding oversight and
administrative controls of the proposed contract with the
Woolgrowers Association and County contracts in general, the period
by which the agreement with the USDA would "sunset", and the
availability of other programs and industry groups, beyond the
Northbay Woolgrowers Association, for wildlife and livestock
protection.
Thereafter Supervisors individually expressed appreciation to Mr.
Carlsen for his work, expressed interest in ensuring representation
by other industry groups in implementing non-lethal predator
control activities, commented on the progress made on this policy
issue, stressed the importance of preserving viable agriculture, expressed appreciation to the USDA and for the
appearance of the USDA State Director of Wildlife Services at
today's hearing, acknowledged the investment of the USDA in
researching non-lethal methods and encouraged continued research in
this area, stressed the importance of maintaining food security, emphasized the importance of accountability of the
program, and expressed appreciation to the representatives of the
Little Blue Society for their presentation.
In
response to questions from the Board, Mr. Carlsen stated that he
felt that the Northbay Woolgrowers Association was the best vehicle
to administer the non-lethal program because that organization
represents the majority of the sheep producers in the county, and
traditionally the losses and damages have been focused on the sheep
industry. Mr. Carlsen
also briefly commented on the relationships that will continue to be maintained among all county
ranchers, the County, the USDA and the University of California
Cooperative Extension/Farm Advisor's Office. Mr. Carlsen also noted that the
Northbay Woolgrowers Association has agreed, in concept, to the
proposed agreement to implement a non-lethal program.
Thereafter, M/s Kress-Rose, to:
- Approve five-year action plan to develop, implement, monitor,
and evaluate a sustainable livestock/wildlife protection
program;
- Approve Marin County Strategic Plan for Wildlife Control Techniques
on Livestock Operations;
- Authorize the President to execute cooperative agreement (No.
00-73-06-0259-RA) in the amount of $15,000 with the United States
Department of Agriculture ("USDA") to provide for animal damage
management within Marin County;
- Approve inclusion of $37,500 in 361-2267 to fund Northbay
Woolgrowers Association to implement non-lethal predator control
activities.
Supervisor Brown stated that he would vote against the motion for
several reasons, and stated that the County should take a
significant interest in the livestock losses, suggesting that the
County subsidize agricultural losses due to predation, and
emphasized the importance of the preservation of viable agriculture
in the county. Thereafter, the vote on the pending motion was:
AYES:
ALL
NOES:
SUPERVISOR Brown
