Comment Log Display

Endangered Habitats League (EHL) appreciates the opportunity to
comment on the 2030 Scoping Plan.

We particularly support the following component:

"Protect land from conversion to more intensified uses by
increasing conservation opportunities and pursuing local planning
processes urban and infrastructure development patterns that avoid
greenfield development."

"Protecting natural and working lands that are under threat of
conversion can promote infill development, reduce VMT, limit
infrastructure expansion, and curb associated GHG emissions."

As noted above, when land is converted to development, it not only
releases stored carbon immediately but, when used for
automobile-dependent growth, locks in high ongoing carbon emissions
for the future.

We also concur with additional work on natural and working lands
inventories, particularly the role of carbon sequestration in soil,
which is not affected by wildfire.

Based upon the known carbon sequestration by natural lands, and the
known release of carbon when conversion occurs, we urge allocation
of Cap and Trade revenues to natural lands protection.  We note
that agricultural lands already receive such investment in order to
avoid conversion to urban uses.  

An excellent off-the-shelf program deserving investment is State of
California Natural Communities Conservation Planning, or NCCP,
which conserves biodiversity in those areas of the state most
threated by development.  Making good on existing State commitments
to these programs would not only lock in carbon sequestration but
also achieve co-benefits of ecosystem resilience to climate change,
recreation for urban communities, and watershed protection.