Ultimately, the public process will help define the scope of any EIR that may be required should a particular proposal move forward. The public process will be defined by a Memorandum of Understanding that memorializes the parties' general support for public acquisition of the Conway Ranch and describes a fact-finding process for information gathering. While the public process will focus on the acquisition of Conway Ranch and future management of its resources, the water linkage will likely extend the reach of the public inquiry to all areas where Mill Creek water is applied, from Thompson Ranch adjacent to Highway 395 east to DeChambeau Ranch and Ponds. As described in the winter Newsletter, the thicket of issues surrounding Conway Ranch and Mill Creek has grown from two separate but related projects. The first is DWP's waterfowl habitat restoration plan, which is pending approval by the State Water Board, and the second is the Trust for Public Land's option to purchase the historic Conway Ranch.
Water links the two proposals.
DWP's restoration plans propose redirecting Mill Creek water, to which the Conway Ranch has irrigation rights, back into the creek's natural stream course for waterfowl habitat restoration in the Mill Creek bottomlands near Mono Lake. Because the issue is water and possible changes in water use, the State Water Board agreed in January to help design the public process now underway. The public process, which will be based in the Mono Basin, will remain separate from the Water Board restoration proceedings. Waterfowl habitat restoration Interest in restoring water to Mill Creek has grown in response to the 1994 State Water Board requirement that DWP restore waterfowl habitat in the Mono Basin. Scientists hired by DWP recommended the rewatering of Mill Creek as the most important waterfowl habitat restoration action next to raising the level of the lake itself.