Apr 26 State Budget Freeze Impacts on Conservation and Tribal Funding

April 26, 2024

Director Joe Stephenshaw
Department of Finance 
1021 O Street, Suite 3110
Sacramento, CA 95814

Honorable Scott D. Wiener, Chair
Joint Legislative Budget Committee
Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee

Honorable Jesse Gabriel, Chair
Assembly Budget Committee

Honorable Anna M. Caballero, Chair
Senate Appropriations Committee

Honorable Buffy Wicks, Chair
Assembly Appropriations Committee

Honorable Senator Mike McGuire
Senate Pro Tempore

Honorable Assemblymember Robert Rivas
Assembly Speaker

Re: Protect Critical Funding for Conservation Projects and Tribal Nature-Based Solutions in Early Action Spending Adjustments

Dear Director Stephenshaw, Members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Pro Tempore McGuire, and Speaker Rivas:

On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I am writing to express our serious concern with the April 17 letter from the Department of Finance notifying of the intent to issue guidance to departments to begin suspending further expenditures of various one-time appropriations provided in the Budget Acts of 2021, 2022, and 2023. Specifically, we are very concerned with State Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) funding currently allocated to two Marin County open space restoration and preservation projects, and slated for the WCB May 23, 2024 meeting for appropriation. We are also concerned with freezing the funds that the state has directed to tribes, including the Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program at the Natural Resources Agency.

We wholly support allowing WCB to continue with approval of these projects and appropriation of state grant funds to them which is already noticed on their May 23, 2024 agenda:

• Tiburon Ridge (Martha Property): $5,500,000 state grant to acquire 110± acres of land for the protection of wildlife habitat preservation including coastal oak woodlands, wetlands providing California red-legged frog habitat, serpentine soils, wildlife-oriented education and research, and provide future wildlife-oriented public-use opportunities.
• Roy's Redwoods Restoration: $1,239,000 state grant for a cooperative project with California State Parks, County of Marin Disability Access Program, Marin County Parks, and Marin County Open Space District to remove social trails and restore hydrological functionality.

We understand the dire State budget situation – and the need to take significant measures to reduce the deficit. However, we urge you to approach spending freezes and cuts strategically. Freezing the funds already allocated to these projects would not only derail them; but would also mean losing out on the millions in leveraged non-state funding tied to them, as well as the meaningful local community trust and engagement they have built.

Together the projects across California slated to receive grant awards in the May 23, 2024 Wildlife Conservation Board meeting (including the 2 Marin projects) represent 40,000 acres of California’s highest conservation, restoration, and outdoor access priority projects in need of funding. The total $127 million in the WCB May 23 action is the final step for these projects to be realized, and represents not only years of staff work and community engagement, but also nearly double the WCB allocation in actual project value due to matching funds from the federal government, philanthropic sources, landowners, and other program.

We are also concerned with the Department of Finance’s guidance as it relates to freezing funds directed to tribes, including the Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program, which supports tribes in the planning and implementation of projects that advance wildfire resilience, forest health, and cultural use of fire. Almost all of these program funds are anticipated to be awarded this summer and there has already been extensive tribal engagement around this program. To pull these funds back would harm the significant efforts to improve relationships with Tribes, build trust, advance equity, and right long-standing historical injustices in our state.

As the Department of Finance develops guidance following its April 17 letter, we urge the Administration to:

1. Proceed with the projects that have been noticed for the May meeting of the Wildlife Conservation Board.
2. Protect programs focused on supporting tribes through Nature-Based Solutions and wildfire preparedness;
3. Allow departments the discretion to avoid derailing projects where a delay would effectively kill the project, or where withholding state funding would sacrifice non-state funding.

We appreciate your attention to these critically important issues.

Sincerely,
Dennis Rodoni, President
Marin County Board of Supervisors

Cc: Marin County Board of Supervisors
Assemblymember Damon Connolly