UC Cooperative Extension | Agricultural Experiment Station

County-based planning is often an emotionally charged, financially motivated process where decisions can potentially affect natural resources for generations. As Californians move from urban and suburban centers into lands that have historically been hardwood forests, the expansion is impacting the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the state's oak woodlands. The shifting demographics are increasing the need for sound decision making if the ecological integrity of oak woodlands is to be maintained. The UC Integrated Hardwood and Range Management Program (IHRMP) has directed its efforts at planners for the past 15 years in recognition of the importance this dedicated group of professionals have in conserving California's wild spaces. California's oak woodlands are not subject to statewide regulatory oversight as are commercial conifer forests. Consequently, oak conservation measures are often handled by county and private planners on a fragmented, parcel-by-parcel basis. In 2004, the state passed legislation requiring all non-agricultural projects affecting oak woodlands be subject to evaluation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Terms of the legislation required that planners must determine the project's “significance” and the impacts must be mitigated. At the time of the enactment, no existing documentation or precedent had been established to assist counties in making such determinations. The IHRMP undertook the task of articulating the complex issue of “significance” and developed a decision matrix designed to assist planners, developers and conservationists address the nuances of the new statute.

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