FEEDER MEETING

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...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 habitat, floodplains, riparian areas and rangeland. While we can expect to see all of these new uses occur, one report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) estimated that of the 535,000 acres they predicted would be repurposed, approximately 170,000 acres might be used for solar energy, floodplains and riparian corridors, intermittent wetlands, and San Joaquin desert habitat, leaving 365,000 acres with no clear future use.

Here is where there may be an opportunity for rangeland restoration. Wherever solar panels, recharge basins or other uses are not feasible, rangeland is an option that would provide multiple benefits to the local economy and environment.

Generally it is not economically feasible to convert an orchard to seasonal rangeland. However, when land is no longer irrigated because of groundwater allocations or because the landowner was paid to fallow land, rangeland restoration may be viable if there is financial assistance for fencing and other necessary infrastructure.

Recognizing that land repurposing of any type will require public investment, the legislature provided the California Department of Conservation with $90 million for a “Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program” to fund local projects. In 2022 DWR granted $40 million for multibenefit land repurposing projects in Madera, Kings, Tulare and Monterey Counties. While this program is very broad, it specifically lists transitioning irrigated land to “non-irrigated rangeland” as example project.

Much work remains to be done in figuring whether and how rangeland restoration may be part of the inevitable land repurposing that will occur in certain areas of California. All agriculture will continue to strive for improved water policies that will minimize how much irrigated farmland will be lost. Food security matters to us all. But the math seems clear, groundwater levels are dropping too much in certain areas and land repurposing will happen.

So, as we focus on the emergency of moment and hope for plenty of rain (but not too much too fast), keep in the back of your mind that a few acres of California could return to rangeland.