Mayberry 2012

(Note: For those who are not familiar with Mayberry, that’s what we call our Sherman Island duck club. We owned it for years and sold it to the State (under threat of condemnation) in the ’90s. Since that time we’ve been in a lease agreement with management of the property our responsibility – until about four years ago. That’s when California decided to put a new program into place. We still have a hunting lease, but do not manage the property. This update may interest those who have followed my duck hunting and property management stories on this blog.)

The Mayberry transformation is complete. There is no longer any habitat that is prime for dabbling ducks and wading birds. The property has been changed from a shallow-water seasonal wetland to a deep-water marsh inhabited by tules (hardstem bulrush) and cattail, but very little wildlife. Yes there are a few river otters, fish and blackbirds, but a census of wildlife would show a fraction of  the inhabitants from just a few years ago. To be fair, it is  a fact that the bulk of migrating waterfowl have not reached the area yet, so things will get better.

I’m on the outside looking in, but the way I understand it, the primary purpose of the ongoing project at Mayberry is two fold – study the subsidence of delta islands and also evaluate carbon sequestration associated with the dense stands of tules and cattail. It is hoped that covering the land with water will stop the sinking of the islands by reducing oxidation of the highly organic soils. And, that a study of tules and cattail will provide insight into ways to improve air quality and reduce global warming trends.

These are lofty goals, but the losses associated with this study are by far more clear, to me, than the gains.

Mayberry looks like a lake.

During  my last three trips to Mayberry, I’ve not spotted a duck on the ponds, not even a coot. The closest I’ve seen to a duck has been a cormorant that landed on the water. The good news, I can take my fishing rod out with me on opening day of duck season.

There is still hope for some waterfowl activity, but it’s sketchy. I’ve been told that there are a couple pair of honkers using the property and the shallow seasonal ponds next door hold quite a few ducks that could possibly flyover Mayberry. Maybe ducks will begin to use the property as the waterfowl migration arrives, but there is very little food for them.

Here’s a photo of a shallow pond next door. This is what we used to see at Mayberry before the ponds were converted to permanent water.

The sad part of the story is that 300 acres of great duck and shorebird habitat has been destroyed. It’s too bad that at least some of the property wasn’t left as seasonal marsh. It would have been a nice compromise and it would have allowed for more use by migratory waterfowl – both game and non-game. Or better yet, they could have left the seasonal marsh in place and converted 300 acres of cow pasture to marsh. I guess the pasture was too valuable.

Thousands of waterfowl formerly used Mayberry as a significant winter feeding area.

The bottom line is that management of the property in is the control of others and I have been blessed with great opportunity to hunt there for many years, so no matter what happens, I will always be thankful that my partners and I have had such incredible good fortune.

The good old days with shallow marsh and seasonl wetland habitat.

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Endowments as a Land Management Tool

My first involvement with endowments started during my tenure as a director for the Mule Deer Foundation. In the non-profit world, an endowment fund was thought of as a guarantee of survival. With a few million dollars in an interest-bearing account, the organization would be perpetually secure.

Then along came Conservation Banking and a different twist on endowments – perpetual funding for land management. A requirement of the US Government, via the Fish and Wildlife Service,  and California, via the Department of Fish and Game, endowment funding is used to create a steady stream of funds for use in management of privately-held conservation properties.

In this scenario, money held in trust by a third party yields a return of cash at a predetermined rate in order to produce an income stream. The revolving fund pays the  cost of activities necessary to maintain healthy habitat for wildlife. If all goes right, the program continues in perpetuity.

Since the endowment guarantees that the cost of maintaining the land is covered, the developers of the conservation project can pass the property on to caretakers such as agencies or non-profits.

Endowments provide other side benefits to the project developers and approval agencies. In order to determine the size of the endowment fund, other factors must be defined.  The first is, “How much money will the project require each year in order to sustain itself?”

In order to answer this question, information about the land and associated management activities must be determined. In the case of a Conservation Bank, surveys must be completed to determine existing species, habitat types and maintenance activities.

Physical features that require periodic maintenance, such as fences, dams and roads must be quantified into units. The useful life of land improvements must be estimated as well as replacement and maintenance costs.

The costs of other practices must be estimated by creation of a management plan that determines work to be done and the time needed to accomplish tasks. Wages,  fees, supervision and administration must also be included in the mix.

With a management plan and annual budget nailed down the rate of return on endowment fund is the next critical item in determining the size of the endowment account.

The process of creating an endowment account is very revealing. Public and private landowners create management plans and budgets when acquiring property, but if a formal endowment creation process were a prerequisite to government acquisition of land, the public would be better served.

“Buy  now and figure out how to fund management later,” is a poor way to run any organization and in California that attitude has helped to put the taxpayer in the hole or facilitated the purchase of property that remains locked up because there is no funding available to pay costs associated with public use.

It seems to me that endowment creation as a prerequisite to California land purchase would be good business practice and serve decision makers well by unmasking the true cost of property acquisition.

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