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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/06/2007, C4 - RESOLUTION SUPPORTING NOMINATION OF CARRIZO PLAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE council Mee6n{Dy O ac,Enaa R»(�epo Rt Item Numb/`o(e C I T Y OF S AN L U IS O B I S P O FROM: Shelly Stanwyck, Assistant City Administrative Officer?rIIG1(,,, Prepared By: Neil Havfik, Natural Resources Manager SUBJECT: RESOLUTION SUPPORTING NOMINATION OF CARRIZO PLAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE CAO RECOMMENDATION Adopt a Resolution supporting the nomination by the Wilderness Society of Carrizo Plain National Monument as a"World Heritage Site". DISCUSSION The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) includes as one of its functions the designation of sites around the world as "World Heritage Sites". The purpose of the program is to highlight historic and prehistoric sites significant to world history, and to similarly highlight "cultural landscapes", which are areas featuring unique or significant regions involving human history. There are 830 world heritage sites throughout the world. Most of these are in Europe where they are primarily examples of great civic or religious architecture. In the United States there are twenty world heritage sites, and here they tend to be cultural landscapes. Often they are national parks: Olympic, Redwood, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Everglades National Parks are among them. However, there are also significant Native American sites such as Mesa Verde and Cahokia, as well as some historic sites such as Independence Hall. The Wilderness Society, a national nonprofit organization, has recently proposed the nomination of Carrizo Plain National Monument for addition to the World Heritage Site system. The organization is now seeking endorsements from elective bodies and civic organizations for the nomination. The rationale for this nomination is that the confluence of geological, ecological and especially the archeological significance of Carrizo Plain qualifies it as an important "cultural landscape". UNESCO program rules allow for a nomination period for sites by member nations every ten years. 2007 is a year in which new nominations can be made. The procedure for nominations within the United States is that nominations are made to the National Park Service. The Service compiles the nominations and, after review of the nominations, may recommend one to two sites per year to be added to the World Heritage Site system. The effort is being made now as the deadline for nominations to the National Park Service is April 1, 2007, and will not occur again until 2017. The Wilderness Society has provided a rationale for the support of this nomination on the basis G/Havlik/councilagenda/Wilderness Bill Support Resolution e�,-1 o • Council Agenda Report—Wilderness Bill Support Resolution Page 2 of(1) benefit to the site from increased recognition and stature, and (2) economic benefits to the surrounding communities through increased tourism. Staff agrees that such benefits can accrue to the City of San Luis Obispo and other communities near the Monument. In addition, supporting the nomination of the Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage Site is consistent with the City's existing 2007 Legislative Action Platform of supporting State and Federal funding for acquisition, protection, preservation and restoration of natural resources. Supporters of the nomination claim that current public use at the monument is so low that its designation as a world heritage site will not result in an increase in usage that would overtax the resources or infrastructure there. In fact, supporters point to other sites around the world that have become sources of pride to their regions and even nations, and which have clearly benefited from the designation. There appears to be no organized opposition to the nomination, but concerns have been raised by individuals concerned over potential increases in usage, or by those who have concerns over involvement in any manner by the United Nations. Supporters state that the designation is for purposes of public education, awareness, and appreciation only, and conveys no land use restrictions or new powers beyond those already existing. ALTERNATIVE The Council could choose to not take any action on the request, or could oppose it. These, however, are not recommended as the world heritage site designation would contribute to the County's attraction as a tourism destination without negative impacts on the monument itself. ATTACHMENTS 1. Map 2. Request from the Wilderness Society 3. Fact Sheet regarding World Heritage Sites prepared by the Wilderness Society 4. Resolution Supporting Nomination of Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage Site. C7 ATTACHMENT I gill 1z c h , n n r_ - $ - P�yy AN s It -17:z J� ' VJ1317i Za 4 mg B . , t t � ��c sad � � aC � � � � . • "+ b . � g � �•' � LL - r Cy-3 , Page 1 of I ATTACHMENT 2 Richardson, April From: Geary Hund[ghund@tws.org] Sent: Monday, February 05,200711:42 AM To: jonnnib@sanluisobispocounty.com; Havlik; Neil; Elke, Brigitte;taftchamber@bak.rr.com; Mike Long; David Garth ; Clark, Claire; Stanwyck, Shelly Cc: Alice Bond; Melissa Kolwaite Subject: Carrizo Plain World Heritage Site Nominataion -Letter and Talking Points Importance: High Dear Friend of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, As you know,The Wilderness Society and local partners are working together to nominate the Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage Site. A very important part of a successful nomination is showing broad support for it. . I've attached a sample letter and talking points for your use in preparing a letter of support for the nomination and in seeking others support. We also have a draft resolution if you need one. I recommend that you send people both the sample letter and the talking points— letting them know you included the talking points in the event the want to write an original letter or individualize the sample one. I also suggest encouraging individuals to personalize the letter by adding a few lines describing their connection to the Carrizo Plain and why it is important to them. Letters should be addressed to the National Park Service World Heritage Site address on the sample letters with a copy to Mike Pool,the California Director of BLM—address also on the sample letter. We would like a blind carbon copy sent to The Wilderness Society so we can keep track of the number of supporters and can include a list of them in the nomination package (the application asks for a list of supporters).They can mail a copy of the letter to me at P.O. Box 72, Idyllwild, CA 92549,fax it to 951-659-5690, or scan it and email it tomeat-ghund@tws.org If you would not mind encouraging elected officials, organizations and clubs and opinion leaders to copy us, I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance for your consideration of support and for any help you can give in getting additional individuals and organizations to submit a letter. Please feel free to contact me or my colleague Alice Bond, alice bond@tws.org , if you have any questions or need additional information (e.g., we have a ten page report on research our DC staff did on WHS sites if you want a copy and don't have one yet). Sincerely, Geary Geary W. Hund The Wilderness Society Desert and Monuments Program Director California ghund@tws.org Office (951) 659-3985 Ext.2 Cell (951)640-3398 Fax(951) 659-5690 P.O. Box 72 Idyllwild, CA 92549 2/22/2007 Carrizo Plain Nat.aal.Monument-World Heritage Site Deseation ATTACHMENT • The Wilderness Society and local partners are working together in an effort to have the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a unit of the National Landscape Conservation System, designated as a World Heritage Site. The deadline for nominations is April 1$1. ■ A number of individuals, elected officials and organizations support the nomination. • World Heritage Sites are the most outstanding examples of the world's cultural and natural heritage. ■ There are currently 830 worldwide including 20 in the United States.There are two World Heritage Sites in California, Yosemite National Park and Redwood National Park. Other famous sites in the United States include Independence Hall and Mesa Verde National Park. ■ The National Park Service conducts the World Heritage Program including selecting and submitting nominations for the World Heritage List. The World Heritage List is maintained by the World Heritage Committee which is made up of different countries including the U.S., who are parties to the World Heritage Convention. The Committee is based at UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The NPS will select a minimum of 20 sites. It can nominate two sites for year for inscription on the WHS list. ■ The owner of the property, the BLM, must support the nomination -they've given positive preliminary feedback. ■ The opportunity to designate sites does not come up often, it has been 12 years since the last U.S. designation, and it will likely be a decade or more before there is another opportunity to nominate sites. ■ Being nominated and selected as a World Heritage Site brings recognition and prestige to the site and the site typically becomes a great source of community pride. • Adjacent communities can benefit from the designation because it often leads to significant increases in tourism. ■ World Heritage status bolsters a sites ability to leverage money from private and public sources; Carrizo could benefit from increased ability to attract private funding for heritage conservation, sustainable tourism and increased management support from domestic conservation agencies.This has been the case in Canada and at U.S. sites. ■ Designation as a World Heritage Site does not affect the legal status of the property in any way. Only U.S. laws and regulations apply to the site. Decisions for management of the site remain in the hands of the stakeholders. , • The Carrizo Plain National Monument:is a great candidate for designation because of its significant ecological, geological, aesthetic and cultural values including: - The largest remnant of the San Joaquin Valley ecosystem and 13 associated endangered species including the California condor; - The San Joaquin ecosystem has a suite of species and plant communities found nowhere else and it is the heart of the California Floristic Province, recognized as one of 25 hotspots of biological diversity on earth: httr)://www.biodiversityhotspots.oro/xr)/Hotsr)ots/califomia floristic/ http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/rborgella/environment/biodiversity hotspot.adf - Soda Lake and associated vernal pools which support thousands of wintering water birds, unique plant communities and endangered fairy shrimp. - A world renowned section of the San Andreas Fault; - Cultural sites in the area are representative of human occupation extending from the Paleo-Indian Period (11,000-9,000 B.C.)through the historic period (A.D. 1769 to 50 years ago); - Spectacular seasonal wildflower displays and perennial grasslands areas. ■ For more information about World Heritage Sites: http://whc.unesco.org/en/lisU THE Wi Dau-iF Soc=nr /J�r o • RESOLUTION NO. XXXX (2007 Series) ATTACHMENT 4 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, SUPPORTING A WORLD HERITAGE SITE NOMINATION FOR THE CARRIZO PLAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT WHEREAS, the Carrizo Plain National Monument preserves the largest remaining area of the once vast San Joaquin Valley ecosystem, including the Carrizo and Elkhorn Plains, a world renowned section of the San Andreas Fault, and representative examples of each period of human occupation in North America, including the pictographs of Painted Rock; WHEREAS, the President of the United States created Carrizo Plain National Monument through a Presidential Proclamation on January 21, 2000 to preserve the unrivaled wildlife scenic, geological, and cultural values associated with these spectacular natural landscapes; perpetuate its significant and diverse ecosystems in their natural state; protect and preserve historical and cultural values of the region associated with ancient, Indian cultures and western exploration and settlement;preserve sites that exemplify the region's homesteading history; provide opportunities for compatible outdoor recreation; protect and interpret geological and historic, paleontological, and archeological sites; maintain wilderness values; promote public understanding and appreciation of California's native grasslands and other habitats; and retain and enhance opportunities for scientific research in undisturbed ecosystems; and WHEREAS,the 250,000 acres encompassed by the Monument contribute to our region's dark night skies, superior grassland and mountain vistas, peaceful soundscapes, air quality, and opportunities for many activities including wildflower viewing, bird watching and other wildlife viewing, hiking, horseback riding,hunting, photography, orienteering, scientific research, and nature study; and WHEREAS, Carrizo Plain National Monument is an important component of our community's historic, cultural, economic, and social identity; and WHEREAS, Carrizo Plain National Monument plays an important role in generating economic benefit for the City of San Luis Obispo and other local communities through local employment; tax revenues; visitor spending on meals, lodging, and supplies; and public expenditures for monument employee salaries, supplies, services, construction projects, etc.; and WHEREAS,as the region's population continues to grow, it is wise to further recognize and protect the Monument now to ensure that future generations can enjoy it tomorrow as we can today; and WHEREAS,a World Heritage Act nomination would provide needed recognition for the numerous and singular values of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, therefore helping to preserve the areas important natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of wildlife and future generations of San Luis Obispo City and County residents and visitors from around the state, the nation and the world, NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo hereby endorses and supports the nomination and designation of the Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage site by the World Heritage Committee.. i ATTACHMENT Upon motion of , seconded by , and on the following vote: AYES:. NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing resolution was adopted this day of 2007. Mayor David F. Romero ATTEST: Audrey Hooper City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: \V Lowell City Attorney �y�