BUNKHOUSE

GETTING BACK TO (NEW) NORMAL

by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur

Last summer, CCA and its members were forced to navigate dual crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and a historically catastrophic wildfire season.

Fortunately, we seem to be in the waning days of the COVID crisis, with 46% of Californians fully vaccinated as of press time and Governor Newsom announcing that the state is likely to fully reopen by mid-June.

In many ways, it feels like life is starting to get back to ‘normal.’ I’ve reconnected with friends over beers at midtown Sacramento bars. Last month I was fortunate enough to spend Mother’s Day with my mother and father – the first time I had seen any family in 15 months – and this summer I have plans to finally reunite with siblings, cousins and other extended family from Idaho, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon.

CCA staff and officers were finally able to go on ‘spring tour’ over the past few months, attending local association meetings throughout the state and meeting with membership for the first time since March of 2020. We’re organizing ranch tours with key lawmakers and regulators, getting them on the ground to see the benefits of cattle grazing rather than merely meeting with them to discuss those benefits over Zoom. And we are finally scheduling in-person CCA events, with our Midyear Meeting planned for August 25-26 in Paso Robles – the first general-membership gathering since December of 2019!

But while things may be getting back to ‘normal’ as we get a handle on COVID-19, California’s cattlemen will again be navigating dual crises this summer: drought conditions and the threat of catastrophic wildfire are the new ‘normal’ in California.

Just five years out from the 2012-2016 drought, California is suffering through its third-driest year on record. As of press time, Governor Newsom has declared a drought state of emergency in 41 of the state’s 58 counties. This spring and summer, the State Water Resources Control Board may curtail water diversions, just as it did in 2014 and 2015, and cattlemen are already grappling with the difficult decision whether to liquidate cow herds.

And, of course, those dry conditions are likely to spur the second crisis confronting California’s cattlemen: catastrophic wildfire. Red flag warnings were issued for Northern California in early May – the earliest such warnings since 2014 – and already this year Cal Fire has responded to more than 2,000 incidents.

Fortunately, state lawmakers seem serious about adapting to this new normal (unfortunately, there is no ‘quick fix’ to a century of mismanagement and implementing enduring solutions will take time). While the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget has not yet been finalized, Governor Newsom has proposed $5.1 billion to fund water infrastructure and drought resilience over the next four years, and Senate Democrats have proposed to spend $5 billion over the next five years for wildfire resilience.

CCA has played a key role in those budget discussions. As part of the Resilient Forests Coalition, CCA helped secure $536 million in early action wildfire and forest resilience funding, and Association staff has been engaged with key legislators and members of the Administration advocating for the inclusion of vital water infrastructure and fire prevention programs in the 202122 Budget.

California cattlemen are also driving the policy discussion in Sacramento this legislative session, introducing legislation incentivizing grazing to reduce fuel loads, removing obstacles to the application of prescribed fire and providing cattlemen access to their ranches during wildfire emergencies.

While CCA staff and officers work hard every day to advocate for California’s ranchers, it is our membership that gives the Association a strong voice in Sacramento. Your stories – like Dave Daley’s account of the Bear Fire reprinted in the Los Angeles Times – provide invaluable insights for legislators based in Sacramento or Los Angeles. Members of CCA’s Fire Subcommittee provide common-sense solutions that serve as the inspiration for CCA-sponsored bills or as blueprints to guide the Legislature’s policy committees. And the CalResilient campaign, sponsored by the California Cattle Council, continues to demonstrate how the state’s cattlemen safeguard and steward California’s lands while feeding its people.

While ‘the new normal’ will pose challenges in the months ahead, with your assistance CCA can continue to advance sound policy to put California on a more resilient footing in the years to come. As you confront challenges in the months ahead, don’t hesitate to shoot me (or your legislators!) an email or a phone call to let me know the specific challenges you face – those insights are incredibly valuable as we push for solutions in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

With your help and a strong Association, we can weather this new normal and ensure that California emerges more resilient to drought, wildfires and any other challenges that may come.