Note to County Planners, Lawmakers, Anybody in Power

Please give special consideration to ranchers—the salvation of most of California’s native grasslands and vernal pools (and riparian habitats? and seasonal wetlands?) is up to them.  Please try to avoid making life (and doing business) more complicated, burdensome, and expensive for them than it is already.  Please give them some credit for knowing what they are doing in terms of good management; in general give them such credit in direct proportion to how long they have lived on and with the same land.

Be extremely skeptical, on the other hand, of any developers’ promises having to do with “restoration,” “transplanting,” postage-stamp “preserves,” and all the other nice-sounding buzzwords and bells and whistles and quick fixes and allurements.

Be extremely skeptical of people and companies who feed from the environmental trough.

In general, go as easy on everyone as you can.  Do not make people jump through unnecessary hoops.  Make sure that the “mitigations” or “conditions” you impose are both environmentally sensible and economically efficient.  This sounds easier than it is.  There is nothing like expensive, cumbersome, heavy-handed and ill-conceived requirements imposed by government agencies to cause widespread resentment and disrespect . . . and environmental backlash.

Above all, educate yourselves [expand].