Published: October 09, 2008
Transcript of Gov. Schwarzenegger Announcing Public-Private Partnership
Transcript of Gov. Schwarzenegger Announcing Public-Private Partnership to Protect and Enhance the Sierra Nevada
JIM BRANHAM:
Well, good morning, everyone, thank you all for being here. What a magnificent Sierra day. I'm Jim Branham, I'm the executive officer of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and we're thrilled to have you all here this morning and, of course, to have our special guests.
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is a state agency that was created by bipartisan legislation that Governor Schwarzenegger signed not too far down the road near Colfax, just a little over four years ago in 2004. When he signed the bill the Governor said that the 25 million acres within this conservancy are a gift to the people of California and I can assure you, Governor, we've been working hard to fulfill your promise over the last few years.
Today we're here to announce an exciting new partnership and a new initiative on behalf of the Governor that will build upon the success of the Conservancy and many of the groups represented here today, so it's an exciting time for us to take that next step forward.
Before we get into the specifics of that, I want to acknowledge a number of key people here. There are lots of important people here, but I want to acknowledge a few who are with us. Let me start with those that will be speaking a little bit later - of course I will introduce the Governor in a few moments.
From left to right: Packard Foundation Western Conservation Program Officer Rhea Suh, Feather River Land Trust Executive Director Paul Hardy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sierra Nevada Conservancy Executive Director Jim Branham and Morgan Family Foundation Co-Founder Becky Morgan. Photo by Peter Grigsby, Office of the Governor.
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Becky Morgan, former State Senator Becky Morgan, with the Morgan Family Foundation. (Applause) Rhea Suh with the Packard Foundation. (Applause) We have Alex Mas with the Northern Sierra Partnership. (Applause) And Robert Weygandt, Placer County Supervisor and - more importantly to me, at least, vice-chairman of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board. (Applause)
Let me identify a few other key people and we can maybe hold our applause to the end of this group. We've got a number of key administration officials here: Ruth Coleman, the Director of State Parks. We're on her park here, so thanks for letting us do this, Ruth.
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:
I think she deserves a hand. (Applause)
JIM BRANHAM:
Let me rephrase that; whatever the Governor says, so applaud whenever you'd like. (Laughter) Don Koch is the director of the Department of Fish and Game. (Applause) And we have John Donnelly, the executive officer of the Wildlife Conservation Board. (Applause) As well as Patrick Wright, the executive officer of the California-Tahoe Conservancy. (Applause)
We're honored to have our local Assembly member and friend, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, who is here. (Applause)
And a number of local government officials including Ted Owens, Peter Huebner and Bill Powers, all county supervisors from the area. (Applause) As well as the mayor of Truckee, Barbara Green, who is here with us. (Applause)
We also have one of our key federal partners representing the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Quinn, the forest supervisor on the Tahoe National Forest. (Applause)
And many others. So hopefully I caught everybody I was supposed to. It's a great turnout. Thank you all for being here.
I think most of you know that since Governor Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003 he has been a champion not only of the environment, but really a world leader in balancing environmental and economic concerns. He's been a strong advocate for environmental protection as well as job growth and economic prosperity. The Conservancy, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, I think is a great testament to that commitment of the Governor's and today we're building upon that with additional actions. I can speak as the director of the Conservancy to say that clearly no governor has done more for the Sierra Nevada region and for trying to achieve that balance between economic and environmental well-being. So thank you, Governor, for all of your efforts. (Applause)
And more good news today, so it just keeps coming. Without further ado, it is my great privilege to introduce to you our Governor, the Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:
Thank you very much, Jim, for the wonderful introduction and I also want to thank you for introducing everyone so I can put my cards of all the introductions aside now. (Laughter) Thank you so much for doing that.
But anyway, it is great to be back here again. And you know, four years ago I said, "I'll be back," and I kept my promise. I'm very much aware that while we are faced with great challenges today, economic challenges. We have a declining economy and we have the financial market drying out and people losing jobs and all of those things, all of those things that we need to deal with. But simultaneously we should not lose sight of other important issues that have a long-lasting effect, like protecting the environment.
And there are two things we know for sure and that is the economy and the financial market will come back, because they always do. But also, number two, is that the future doesn't wait for us. So, with that in mind, I think that we should go ahead and really do everything that we can to protect the environment and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
When I ran for governor five years ago I made that clear to the people of California, that I would do everything in my power to protect the environment, to protect this beautiful place - and California, I think, is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I have traveled all around the world. I promised that we would protect, if it's the deserts, the ocean, the coastline, the rivers, the beautiful forests, the mountains and all of those things. And part of that effort is to protect the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and that's why four years ago I stood here and we issued a declaration that future generations and visitors from far and wide will see and enjoy the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Sierra Nevada exactly the same way that we do today.
Creating the Sierra Nevada Conservancy was a historic commitment. It laid out a vision, a master plan to preserve not only the environmental splendor but also the economic vitality of this 25-million-acre California treasure, a treasure whose rivers provide more than 60 percent of our water, whose forests provide nearly half of the timber in California, where millions from around the world come here to ski, to hike and to go fishing. The Conservancy has already done tremendous work and I'm so proud of the great work that has been done - $17 million have already been spent on various different great projects and there are another $17 million that are in the pipeline.
But we knew four years ago that the public sector alone cannot do it, that we need also the private sector to step in and to help. And that is why we are here today on this special day and celebrating, because today I get to announce the best kind of public-private partnership. We have raised $25 million in private funds to support this effort for a fantastic new coalition called The Northern Sierra Partnership. And let's have a big hand now to two organizations - foundations, I should say - one is the Packard Foundation and the other one is the Morgan Family Foundation, for their incredible generosity. A big hand. (Applause)
This is really a tremendous gift. This is a powerful coalition of environmentalists and of businesses that are dedicated to protecting this very precious land. And today I'm also announcing that I'm going to instruct our Resources Director Mike Chrisman to coordinate all of the efforts also here, with everyone working together to identify joint priorities and strategies. We will leverage public funds, such as Proposition 84 money and also our Infrastructure Bonds, to attract even more money, more private dollars. As a matter of fact, the goal is to raise an additional $75 million, so that we have altogether $100 million.
I think this is a very, very important. The Sierra Nevada is a gem for eternity. We must never let the worries of the day kill our dreams for a better tomorrow. The money, by the way, that is being raised will be used for preserving more open space, building new hiking trails and recreational facilities, clean up our rivers and streams and protect the working ranches and farms of the Sierra Nevada.
I will do everything that I can to make sure that we preserve this beautiful place, because like I said, it is without any doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Thank you very much. And now our next speaker will be Becky Morgan, who will come out here and say a few words. Thank you very much. (Applause)
BECKY MORGAN:
Thank you, Governor. And to everyone who is here today - and I have to say as an elected person of 18 years, thanks to all the elected officials who are here today, because I know that without your support we could get sidetracked and so I really appreciate that support.
There are two people who aren't here that I'd like to acknowledge - and I know there are people who will take my thanks back to them - because I think without these two people we might not have pulled this all together. One is the Governor's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy and the other is head of Resource Legacy, Michael Eaton. And so please tell them how grateful we are, those of you that will be seeing them.
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:
I will tell them.
BECKY MORGAN:
Thank you. (Laughter) Thank you. Both in my elected office and when I was CEO of something called Joint Venture Silicon Valley - which is very much like and took some of our ideas from the Sierra Business Council that many of you are familiar with up here - I've always been an advocate for public-private partnerships, collaborations, as we call them more recently, regional stewardship, those kinds of activities, because I think together the sectors can address the needs of this growing state.
And, Governor, I applaud you for choosing this opportunity and this place, actually, to launch this highly visible example of what can be done when we all work together. And I would suspect that after what you've been through this last year in Sacramento with the budget and a few other things, that this is kind of a fun day.
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER:
Every day is fun. (Laughter)
BECKY MORGAN:
Ok, that's great that you make it so. But I do think, between the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the task force that you're establishing and our work together with the Northern Sierra Partnership, this is a great legacy for the Governor in this era and an important one, because this beautiful landscape an the iconic landscape we have here is enjoyed by millions of Californians and even visitors from around the world. Our family has skied here since 1969. We've had a house here since 1978.
And I would like at this time to introduce my co-chair of our campaign for the Northern Sierra Partnership, my husband and love, Jim Morgan. (Applause) Frankly, without Jim's support, having been a Silicon Valley executive, we would not have a family foundation. And without his partnership to push me on to bring these five organizations together, we might not be here today. But in fact, our foundation has supported organizations here in the Tahoe-Truckee region and today the five that we have worked with to bring the Northern Sierra Partnership together are represented here and I would like you to make sure you know each of the five leaders of our partnership.
* And the first is the Feather River Land Trust, led by Paul Hardy. (Applause) I told all these five guys that they should step forward so you recognize them, in case you want to slip a check in their pocket. (Laughter)
* The Truckee-Donner Land Trust with Perry Norris. (Applause)
* The Sierra Business Council, Steve Frisch. (Applause)
* And the Trust for Public Land with Dave Sutton. (Applause)
* And the Nature Conservancy, represented here by Greg Low, who works out of Nevada. (Applause)
* And you'll hear later from Alex Mas, who has also worked with the Nature Conservancy, but is executive director for our Sierra Partnership.
It was May 2007 when we brought these five organizations together. And after all my 18 years in government and dealing with - sorry, Governor, but yes, bureaucracy - I can't tell you how thrilled, how impressed, how downright blown away I was that in 10 months these five guys and their staffs came together, set policy, procedures, how they would spend the money that they felt was needed to save 100,000 acres up here in the Sierra and protect the forest and the water supply and the biodiversity that we have. They've worked smoothly and effectively. It was Jim and I who saw the opportunity of bringing the five together, but it is these five organizations that have really capitalized on this opportunity and are working together so very well.
As Governor Schwarzenegger mentioned, we have raised almost $24 million thus far toward our ultimate goal of $100 million. Did I say thousand? $25 million toward our goal and thanks to the commitment of our first investor, the Packard Foundation, which helped us kick it off. We are here to protect the land but also the private landowners, the local communities, the Indian lands, the ranches, so that we can have a future here.
And now, by acting in concert with Governor Schwarzenegger's Sierra Initiative Task Force, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, we can maximize and achieve more than we ever dreamed. We are grateful for the support of the Governor and his team and to the Packard Foundation for the help.
Going forward, we must raise and continue to raise private funding to get to that $100 million so that we can leverage what the government will help us with. And those people that are here that have already given, we say thank you. And those who haven't, or know friends who can, we ask you to help, because it's a big project. Fortunately we set a timeline of five to ten years to make it all happen.
So at this time I'd like to introduce Rhea Suh, who is the Conservation and Science Program Officer at the Lucile and David Packard Foundation and thank her for their help. And thank you. (Applause)
RHEA SUH:
Wow, what a gorgeous day. I am just so honored to be here amongst this incredible caliber of people, individuals and leaders that have really created such a unique opportunity. On behalf of my institution, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, I really want to express our deep gratitude to the Governor, the Morgan Family Foundation and the Northern Sierra Partnership for their collective vision in really developing a new conservation model for this region.
The Packard Foundation has a long history and deep commitment in protecting key landscapes throughout the west and the Northern Sierra Partnership is really one of our most important and most promising investments. As a native westerner I've seen a lot of changes in the west in my lifetime. In the fastest growing region in the country, the west has already seen huge development pressures and the loss of millions of acres of agricultural land.
But today the west is facing perhaps its greatest threat and that is climate change. The west, more so than any other region in the continent outside of the Arctic, will face the most profound impacts from climate change. And we clearly have already seen them here in the high Sierra; we've already seen the devastating impacts of drought and of catastrophic wildfires. We need to manage for resiliency and help landscapes and communities begin to adapt to the changing circumstances and conditions.
The Northern Sierra Partnership is just the new kind of approach we need for these challenges and to transform conservation practices and management. This unique public-private partnership can help advance the rate of meaningful conservation, better leverage public and private dollars for our investments, develop and support an enduring culture of land conservation that supports the economic and social cultural heritage of these regions, create opportunities for adaptation and mitigation from climate change and, perhaps most importantly, serve as a model for regions throughout the west and in fact throughout the country, in really helping communities, helping landscapes find better ways to conserve their natural, economic and social heritage.
The founders of the Packard Foundation, Dave and Lucile, were pioneers in so many ways, including with their efforts to protect important landscapes. They believed that philanthropic institutions played a unique role in promoting conservation, including playing a complementary role to both the government and the private sector in opportunities just like this one. The Packard Foundation, through its partnership with the Resources Legacy Fund, is pleased to support this innovative, cooperative and pioneering effort by the state agencies and the Northern Sierra Partnership.
So with that, it is my pleasure to introduce the executive director of the Northern Sierra Partnership, Alex Mas. (Applause)
ALEX MAS:
Thank you, Rhea and again, my profound thanks to the Governor for his tremendous leadership on conservation in the Sierra Nevada and as well to Jim and Becky Morgan for the insight they had in bringing these five nonprofit conservation organizations together to form the alliance we now call the Northern Sierra Partnership. Becky was far too humble in describing the role that she and Jim played and the credit they're due in all of us being here today.
The Northern Sierra Partnership is a region that extends from south of Lake Tahoe and the East Fork of the Carson River north to the border of Lassen Volcanic National Park, from the Nevada state line down to the lower regions of the conifer forests of California. And the vision of the Northern Sierra Partnership is to conserve the most important lands and waters in this region.
Some know that the Sierra Nevada, for its size, is the most botanically diverse region in all of North America and many of the most important natural attributes of that entire region are found in the conifer forests and the mountain valley and the river corridors that are around us here in the northern part of the range. It's a place that is also tremendously important for human communities. These resources provide so many benefits for all of us. Some have already been described; 65 percent of California's water comes from the Sierra Nevada, much of which, from the northern range right here, which also supplies water to the Nevada cities of Reno and Sparks.
And I'm reminded on this day of standing here on this spot - it was several years ago that there was another gathering here. The Trust for Public Land, the Truckee-Donner Land Trust, California State Parks and many others gathered here to celebrate the protection of 2,000 acres up, sort of over this hill here in Schallenberger Ridge, which was a tremendous achievement. It tripled the size of this state park.
And I think is a great example of the spirit of collaboration that inspired us all to come together here and it's a spirit that's motivated us through many years of working together, working with private landowners, with the various state agency partners and local landowners that are gathered here today, to conserve 30,000 acres in Sierra Valley, 14,000 acres in the Truckee-Donner area and numerous other important landscapes across this northern Sierra region.
And now today, with this tremendous support from the Governor and the establishment of a new task force, the support of the Morgan and Packard Foundations, we're confident that we can achieve more than ever before in the years ahead. And as Rhea described, specifically there are five main areas that the Northern Sierra Partnership is focusing its effort and its commitment to achieve results.
* One is protecting and restoring the lakes, the rivers, the wetlands that are so vital to providing water to California and Nevada populations.
* Another is to connect and to manage healthy forests to make sure that we reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in this region.
* Third is to enhance the wellbeing of local economies, local communities, by working with them to develop and implement strategies for sustainable land use practice.
* We're also working on a point that Rhea mentioned as well, a critical facing all of us, climate change and identifying and coming up with innovative science-based approaches to both adapt to the effects of climate change and mitigate those impacts.
* And lastly, the partnership is deeply committed to building a long-term, enduring culture of conservation in this region and hopefully, as we can take Rhea's word, that we're serving as an example to others as well across the region and hopefully across the west as to how this kind of private partnership and public-private partnership can work.
So again, deeply grateful to be here today, appreciative of everything, all the work that has helped make this possible. And just believe, as we all do that are associated with this project, that collectively our achievements can be greater than the sum of our individual parts and we really can protect these irreplaceable resources of this region forever and for future generations.
So with that, I'd like to thank you and would like to introduce Supervisor Robert Weygandt, who is vice-chairman of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and a Placer County Board of Supervisors member. (Applause)
SUPERVISOR WEYGANDT:
Thank you, Alex. As Alex mentioned - excuse me, I'm trying to catch a cold and I'm a little nervous, too. I noticed that trout were rising out in the lake and I'm an addicted fly fisherman, so I'm kind of torn at this moment, but I'm going to do the best I can.
As Alex mentioned, I'm vice-chair of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and a member of the Placer County Board of Supervisors and on behalf of both organizations it is an incredible pleasure for me to be here today.
First, I want to thank again Governor Schwarzenegger for his continued leadership and efforts in the Sierra to protect the environment, strengthen the economy and enhance the quality of life for all of us who call the Sierra home. Four years ago Governor Schwarzenegger came to Placer County to sign bipartisan legislation that created the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Its job is to initiate, encourage and support efforts to improve the environment, economic and social well being of the Sierra Nevada regions, its community and citizens of California.
Today we're taking that to the next level. Under Governor Schwarzenegger's leadership the Sierra Nevada Conservancy will play a key role in coordinating the state's efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Sierra. The Governor's ongoing commitment to the Sierra recognizes the critical role it plays to the state as a whole. As he mentioned, the Sierra supplies 65 percent of our water. The forest sequesters our carbon, it cleans air, it produces half of the state's timber. Millions of Californians, of course, come here to visit and reinvigorate their lives.
In these economic times it's obvious that all layers of government and local communities, nonprofits, must work extremely efficiently together if we're going to maximize the outcome of our missions. In my county we have actually tried to do that pretty extensively since we initiated an open space effort. In Placer County we have actually to date conserved 7,000 acres of property in the country for long-term preservation. We've done that with over 60 percent of the resources coming from nonprofits and state grants. In addition to that, recently Placer County and organizations within it have just recently received $2.4 million in grants from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which will result in excellent, on-the-ground real projects that we will soon see coming to fruition.
Until now, all of us have done this working loosely together, but under the direction of Governor Schwarzenegger a lot of that now will be much better and more efficiently coordinated for the mutual goal of the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of the Sierra. I find this incredibly exciting. Efforts to implement the Sierra Nevada Climate Change Initiative and working with the Northern Sierra Partnership's goals will be greatly enhanced as a result of this action today. I look forward to all of that coming together.
I especially want to thank the Packard and Morgan Foundations for their effort. Our future is extremely bright and I'm sure as a result of this we are going to be much better positioned to protect the state's water supply, address the affects of climate change and reduce the risk of wildfire, preserve our working ranches and forest and maintain world-class recreation. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Now it's my pleasure to turn the podium back over to the Governor for questions.
QUESTION/ANSWER:
GOVERNOR: Thank you very much. Thank you. And I want to again, before I leave, say thank you again to all the speakers and everyone that is here today, because it's wonderful when you listen to the speeches and you see the passion that people have. I love that. They're really into it and that's what they think about 24 hours a day and so I just want to say thank you. Let's give them all a big hand again for their great work. (Applause)
Any questions about anything? Yes, please.
QUESTION: What is the Sierra Nevada Climate Change Initiative and what more can be done to address the problem here in the Sierra?
GOVERNOR: Well, I think that, as you have heard in all the speeches what this is about is we want to protect these 25 million acres and we want to make sure that this wonderful land, the rivers and the bike trails, hiking trails, skiing and all of those things, stay around for many, many generations to come. And the only way we're going to make sure of that is if we all work together, the public and the private sector, if people that are very passionate, like the people that are standing behind us here, they all work together to make all this happen. And so this is why we are here today to celebrate, because we have seen once again that the private sector comes forward and becomes partners in public-private partnership and they have been very generous to put up this money, the $25 million and we're going to go now and raise the rest of the $75 million.
Yes, please.
QUESTION: What's your agenda going into the Big Five Meeting this afternoon? Are you looking for tax increase, spending cuts? What are you hoping to come out of that with?
GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, as you know, that the legislators are in recess now and they're out there campaigning for the various different elections. And so it is important for the Governor to bring the leaders together and to go and bring them up to date of what's going on economically in California, what's going on with our revenues, what's going on with our unemployment rate, with our housing, with the mortgage crisis that we have and bring them up to date. So that's what the meeting is all about today and also to make adjustments and to maybe call a special session.
So I think it is a very wise thing to do, because I think that the challenges we face - as you see, every day there is different news, so things are happening very quickly. So what has happened last week, where we thought that the $700 billion bailout is going to be successful and is going to stop and make everything move again the other way, quite the opposite happened. So I think that since they have left the Capitol I want to bring them back and just bring them up with what impact that has. And, you know, they are my partners and I like working with them.
QUESTION: Are you concerned that tax increases could further dampen the state's economy?
GOVERNOR: Well, there is no specific thing here. It is just overall one has to have an approach and has to look at those new challenges. Like I said, that since they have left and went into recess, new challenges have happened. And I think it's important that, when this happens, that all of the leaders get together and that we have a Big Five Meeting.
We are also simultaneously working with the Treasurer, Bill Lockyer and also with the controller. We are reaching out and working with everyone, because as you know, our administration is a very inclusive administration. We always like to bring everyone in and do this as a joint effort.
QUESTION: What kind of restrictions are there going to be on development in this area?
GOVERNOR: Well, I think that someone that is maybe from this area can answer that better, the restrictions on building in this area here.
WEYGANDT: Land use authority, of course, accrues to local government. And most of the governments in the Sierra cities, as well as counties work very hard, I think, to focus on the fact that particularly in the Sierra, but really throughout the state, the overall health of the community is a function of not only the economic factors that are noted in the newspaper on a daily basis, particularly these days, but also the social condition of the community and the environmental condition of that community.
So again, you'd need to look at the specific community plans and general plans of the different cities and counties, across the Sierra in particular, but I think you would see a common thread that reflects the fact that protection of the environment, doing intelligent, forward-thinking planning in critical to the success as we move forward with the growth that we expect in California as a whole.
QUESTION: Are you going to have any authority, though, to say who can build in that area where you're working?
WEYGANDT: Local governments currently do have that authority.
GOVERNOR: Good. Well, thank you very much, everyone, for being here today. Enjoy the rest of today. Thank you. (Applause)
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