Eastern Sierra Land Tenure

The Eastern Sierra Land Tenure Project is designed to create a collaborative process through which land ownership of private parties, federal agencies, counties and tribes may work together to compliment regional growth plans.

Project Overview
With almost 97% of the land base in Inyo and Mono counties owned by the federal government and City of Los Angeles, there is a distinct lack of private land within and adjacent to existing communities available for community expansion and sustainability.  Much of the undeveloped private land is isolated, usually surrounded by federal and/or Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) lands, and may contain valuable wildlife habitat and other natural resources.  As growth demands increase, more of these isolated private parcels are being proposed for residential subdivision.  Development of these isolated parcels may be at odds with both counties' general plans and citizen desire to encourage growth adjacent to existing communities.  Creating new subdivisions on these isolated parcels can also result in significant new demands for county services and infrastructure.  These new developments can impact key wildlife habitat, compromise scenic values, and impair water quality and quantity.  Additional groundwater pumping to provide water to these isolated subdivisions has the potential to impact aquifers and dependent ecosystems. The City of Los Angeles already diverts a significant amount of the surface and groundwater from the region.

Land ownership adjustments between private and public entities are one tool that is available for communities to address long-term community planning goals.
 
Background
In 2005, the Owens Valley Interagency Committee chartered a subcommittee to explore coordinating land ownership adjustment planning to achieve both land agency and community expansion goals, as much as possible.  The subcommittee consisted of representatives from Inyo and Mono Counties, CA Department of Fish and Game, LADWP, City of Bishop, BLM, and the U.S. Forest Service.  The subcommittee members inventoried their individual land and resource missions and objectives and agreed on common land adjustment goals, as documented in the following vision statement:

Federal and state agencies, Inyo and Mono counties, local tribes, interested citizens, organizations, private landowners will collaborate to:

Explore and develop options to create a landownership pattern in the eastern Sierra that better complements collaborative regional goals while preserving private property rights - focusing on opportunities to concentrate development around existing communities and infrastructure; provide workforce housing; maintain agricultural opportunities; protect water and other natural resources and open space; and consolidate agency lands.

The subcommittee agreed on the following principles for development of this regional plan:

• Full participation by the counties, citizens, tribes and all land administering agencies is critical
• Process should honor both counties' desire to avoid any significant decrease in private property and tax base.  Private property will be acquired and/or exchanged through willing sellers only.

Project Objectives
The Subcommittee developed the Eastern Sierra Regional Land Tenure Project, identifying four steps to enhance interagency land adjustment planning and coordination:  (The “region” for this project was defined as the major population centers of Mono and Inyo counties along the US 395 Highway corridor from Topaz to Olancha and along the US Highway 6 corridor from Benton to Bishop.)

1. Conduct an inventory of all potential agency lands available for disposal and create a GIS database. This inventory is substantively completed.
2.  Disseminate database and information pertaining to land disposal policies, constraints, and opportunities.   
3. Counties/towns to conduct community identification of desired expansion needs and locations - identify and prioritize areas and key land parcels desired by communities for expansion.
4.  Using inventory and community input, Counties and land agencies to work collaboratively to facilitate mutually beneficial land disposals and institutionalize policies to guide future land tenure adjustment

The Process

1. Conduct initial stakeholder interviews to establish community knowledge baseline
2. Community outreach and education via a series of workshops
3. Community visioning and identification of potential land ownerships adjustments via a series of workshops
4. Preparation of a regional assessment with recommendations for each county and land agency to consider
5. Identification of pilot land exchange(s) to test process

For more information, contact eastern Sierra Field Representative and Project Manager, Vickie Taton, or call 760.258.1363.