LAND PROTECTION PLAN

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge

Proposed Buena Vista Addition

Santa Cruz County, California

United States Department of the Interior

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
LAND PROTECTION PLAN

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge

Proposed Buena Vista Addition

Santa Cruz County, California

Prepared By:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2800 Cottage Way Rm W-1916

Sacramento, California 95825

January 2005
Ellicott Slough NWR Land Protection Plan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .............................................................1

PROJECT DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

THREATS TO AND STATUS OF THE RESOURCE .................................3

PROPOSED ACTION AND OBJECTIVES .........................................3

HABITAT PROTECTION METHODS ............................................3

LAND PROTECTION PRIORITIES ..............................................5

SOCIOCULTURAL IMPACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

COORDINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FIGURES

FIGURE 1. Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge .................................3

FIGURE 2. Proposed Buena Vista Addition and Parcel Boundaries ......................7

TABLES

TABLE 1. Land Tracts and Acquisition Priorities for the Proposed Action ................6

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LAND PROTECTION PLAN

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge

Proposed Buena Vista Addition

Santa Cruz County, California

INTRODUCTION

This Land Protection Plan (LPP) describes the resource protection needs and habitat protection

methods the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) would use for the proposed addition to

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). This LPP proposes fee title acquisition and

cooperative management as the level of protection needed to meet habitat and wildlife

management goals for the project area. The Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluated the

environmental effects of expanding the approved refuge boundary to conserve approximately

289 acres of habitat.

Nothing in this plan constitutes an offer to purchase private property, or an usurpation of the

authority of the State of California, Santa Cruz County, or any other jurisdiction to regulate land

use within the proposed refuge boundary. This plan is intended to guide the Service’s proposed

land protection activities subject to the availability of funds and other constraints.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1975 for the protection of the

endangered Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (SCLTS). Refuge-owned land (170 acres) is

adjacent to the Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander State Ecological Reserve (30 acres owned by

California Department of Fish and Game), and the properties are managed cooperatively as the

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge and State Ecological Reserve (Figure 1). The Refuge

protects 2 of the 11 remaining SCLTS breeding sites, as well as the surrounding uplands which

serve as non-breeding habitat.

The Service proposes to expand the Refuge’s approved land acquisition boundary and provide

protection and management within the proposed expanded boundary. The Service’s proposed

action includes approximately 289 acres of oak woodland, chaparral, riparian forest, freshwater

marshes, and a SCLTS breeding pond. By acquiring the Buena Vista property, survival

prospects of endangered species in the area would be enhanced. This expansion is being

proposed primarily to protect the endangered SCLTS (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum). In

addition, acquisition and management of this site would benefit other rare species including the

endangered robust spineflower (Chorizanthe robusta var. robusta) and the threatened California

tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense). Buena Vista supports one of only six known

populations of robust spineflower, and 135 acres of the property are included in the designated

critical habitat. Other rare plants include hooker’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri ssp.

hookeri), Kellogg’s horkelia (Horkelia cuneata ssp. sericea), and California bottlebrush grass

(Elymus californicus).
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THREATS TO AND STATUS OF THE RESOURCE

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) acquired the Buena Vista property in 2004 to protect the

property from development. TPL is a non-profit organization that assists public land

management agencies in acquiring and protecting lands for conservation of natural resources and

open space. TPL has the ability to work with landowners much more quickly through the

acquisition process than do government agencies. In addition, TPL assists agencies with fund

raising to finance the acquisitions. However, TPL is not a land management group, and their

ultimate goal of acquisitions is to transfer the land to a public agency for long-term management.

Because the Service had not completed the planning process for Buena Vista, the entire property

was transferred from TPL to CDFG shortly after they acquired it. However, CDFG has indicated

that they have limited resources to manage Buena Vista. 

Acquisition and management of the site by the Service would fulfill recovery objectives for the

SCLTS, and give Federal protection to rare and endangered plants.

PROPOSED ACTION AND GOALS

The Buena Vista property consists of three parcels; one consisting of approximately 187 acres,

one consisting of approximately 100 acres, and another consisting of approximately 2 acres. The

Buena Vista property transferred from TPL to CDFG in 2004. However, CDFG has indicated

that they have limited resources to manage Buena Vista. CDFG is interested in donating the two

smaller parcels to the Service, while retaining ownership of the largest parcel. The Service is

thus proposing to expand the approved refuge boundary to include the entire 289-acre Buena

Vista property, accept fee-title ownership of the two smaller parcels, and cooperatively manage

the entire Buena Vista property as a unit of the Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge and

State Ecological Reserve under a Memorandum of Understanding with CDFG. The Service’s

goals in expanding the Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge are:

• To enhance the survival prospects of the SCLTS and other endangered species in the

area.

• To provide opportunities for compatible wildlife-dependent recreational activities in

partnership with the local community and interested groups and individuals. 

HABITAT PROTECTION METHODS

It is the policy of the Service to acquire interests in land from willing participants under general

authorities such as the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Fish

and Wildlife Act of 1956, and the Emergency Wetland Resources Act. The acquisition authority

for this Refuge is the Endangered Species Act. Acquisition funding came from several sources

including the State Wildlife Conservation Board, Transportation Equity Act grant, and

Endangered Species Section 6 grant. Any landowner within a project boundary who does not 
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wish to sell property or any other interest in their property is under no obligation to negotiate

with or sell to the Service. In all acquisitions, the Service is required by law to offer 100 percent

of fair market value, as determined by an approved appraisal that meets professional standards

and Federal requirements.

Under provisions of the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act (Public Law 95-469), the Service would

make an annual payment to the county to help offset revenue lost as a result of Federal

acquisition. This law states that the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall pay to each

county in which any area acquired in fee title is situated, the greater of the following amounts:

• An amount equal to 75 cents per acre for the total acreage of that portion of the fee area

which is located within each county.

• An amount equal to three-fourths of 1 percent of the fair market value, as determined by

the Secretary, for that portion of the fee area which is located within each county.

• An amount equal to 25 percent of the net receipts collected by the Secretary in

connection with the operation and management of such fee area during each fiscal year. 

There have been occasions when payments to the counties have been less than the legislated

amounts because of funding deficits. Congress may appropriate, through the budget process,

supplemental funds to compensate local governments for any shortfall in revenue sharing

payments. The Refuge Revenue Sharing Act also requires that Service lands be reappraised

every five years to ensure that payments to local governments remain equitable. Payments under

this Act would be made only on lands the Service acquires in fee title. On lands where the

Service acquires only partial interest through easement, all taxes would remain the responsibility

of the individual landowner. From 1993 through 2002 (the last ten years for which there is

complete data) payments averaged 63 percent of the legislated amounts.

The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (Uniform Act)

requires Federal agencies to provide benefits to people who are displaced from lands acquired

for projects such as a refuge. Such benefits may include reimbursement of reasonable moving

and related expenses; replacement housing payments; and relocation assistance services to help

locate replacement housing, farmland, or business site. Under the Uniform Act, all persons who

sell real property to the Service for inclusion in the Ellicott Slough Refuge are entitled to

reimbursement of specific necessary and reasonable expenses, such as most closing costs, which

may be incurred in selling the property.

The Service, like most other Federal agencies, has the power of eminent domain. Eminent

domain allows the use of condemnation to acquire private property for the public good. In the

rare occasions that the Service has used eminent domain, the condemnation has been “friendly,”

that is, the condemnation was used to extinguish claims on title or settle a difference of opinion

on value. The Service is required by law to offer 100 percent of appraised fair market value for

all types of land purchases.
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The Service can acquire various interests in land such as fee title and conservation easement, and

gain management responsibilities through cooperative agreement and memorandum of

understanding. The Service proposes to acquire 102 acres of the Buena Vista property in fee

title, and to manage the 187-acre State property under a Memorandum of Understanding with the

State of California.

Fee Title Acquisition

The Service acquires fee title to land when: the land’s fish and wildlife resources require

permanent protection that is not otherwise available; the land is needed for development

associated with public use; a pending land use could otherwise harm wildlife habitats; or 

purchase of fee title is the most practical and economical way to assemble small tracts into a

manageable unit. A fee title interest may be acquired by purchase, donation, exchange, or

transfer. 

Conservation Easements

With a conservation easement, the landowner would permanently transfer some, but not all,

property rights to the Service as specified by mutual agreement. Under a conservation easement,

a landowner could agree not to engage in activities damaging to wildlife habitat resources. The

Service can acquire easements through purchase, donation, exchange, or transfer. The property

owner continues to be responsible for payment of property taxes. 

Memorandums of Understanding and Cooperative Agreements 

The Service can enter into an agreement, called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or

Cooperative Agreement, with landowners for the Service to manage the resources on lands the

Service does not own. 

LAND PROTECTION PRIORITIES

The proposed Buena Vista addition is a high priority acquisition for meeting Refuge purposes. 

Table 1 displays the land protection priorities and Figure 2 shows the parcels to be added to the

Refuge. It is Service policy to include entire ownerships in the project area even though only a

portion may contain wildlife habitat of interest that is available to the Service. Also, landowners

within the proposed Refuge boundary are not required to participate in the Service’s habitat

protection objectives or give up their land management responsibilities. 
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SOCIOCULTURAL IMPACTS

The Refuge proposes to provide access to the Buena Vista Unit under controlled visits led by

Refuge staff. Environmental education and interpretation at Buena Vista will focus on

endangered species and habitat management. In addition, Refuge staff will educate the public

about the National Wildlife Refuge System and the Service mission. There would be a

concurrent opportunity for wildlife observation and photography during any led tours.

The Buena Vista Unit would remain closed to uncontrolled public access at least until those uses

could be analyzed and planned for during the Ellicott Slough Refuge Comprehensive

Conservation Plan process, scheduled to begin in 2005. In the interim, tours and interpretive

events on Buena Vista would be led by Refuge staff trained in identification, ecology, and

necessary limited behavior in the vicinity of endangered species. Protection of native plants and

animals on Buena Vista would be incorporated into guided tours. Groups would be instructed to

remain on existing roads and trails, and group size would be limited to 20 persons or fewer.

COORDINATION

The Service has encouraged input from landowners, agencies, conservation organizations, other

Federal agencies, State and local governments, and individuals in the community to identify

concerns and issues and to explore the alternatives. Additional public input was sought through

the use of mailings, personal contacts, and news releases.

The EA analyzes the potential effects to the human environment resulting from expanding the

Ellicott Slough Refuge and managing the area under the Conceptual Management Plan (CMP). 

The EA describes various alternatives that the Service could take to protect and manage an

expanded refuge. Copies of the EA, LPP, and CMP were distributed to Federal and State

delegations, agencies, landowners, private groups, and interested individuals. The documents

are also available on the Service’s Division of Refuge Planning website at the following URL:

http://pacific.fws.gov/planning.

 

TABLE 1

Land Tracts and Acquisition Priorities for the Proposed Action:

Assessor Parcel # Acreage Current Owner Protection Method

046-041-01 187 TPL MOU with CDFG

046-041-03 100 TPL Fee Title Transfer

046-051-24 2 TPL Fee Title Transfer
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