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HABITAT FOR THE HOGWALLOW STARFISH (HESPEREVAX CAULESCENS) AND OTHER SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES ON CALIFORNIA�S RANGELANDS: ENCLOSURE AND ACCUMULATION ON A CATTLE RANCH
Author
Barry, Sheila
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

Past critiques of conservation easements have focused on the nature of perpetuity, enforcement limitations, and lack of easement flexibility and conservation effectiveness (Korngold 2009; Owley 2011).� I argue that easements especially an exacted easement, one that is fulfilling a mitigation requirement fundamentally change the landowner�s relationship to the land and its associated conservation values. Through review of three exacted conservation easement agreements, their management plans and endowment budgets, I provide evidence that re-territorialization, dispossession, and enclosure leading to accumulation perpetuate conflict between ranch landowners and conservation interests over protected versus working lands.� First, re-territorializing of the ranch as a preserve changes how ranchers can use the rangeland resources. It fails to value livestock production or rancher ecological knowledge, which contribute to ecosystem sustainability.� Second, prohibitions on some rangeland management practices like pest control, water development, and range seeding may render parts of the land of little value for livestock production resulting in dispossession.� Third, enclosure for conservation requires compliance and for exacted easements typically requires resource enhancements leading to accumulation.� A service industry emerges to uphold environmental regulations required for �special status� species that previously had no economic value. On the surface, all conservation easements give sustainable management �a foot in the door� and support the rancher�s place on the landscape, but taking a closer look reveals new enclosures of rangeland resources from exacted conservation easements and dispossession of livestock ranchers combined with accumulation by third party, non-state agents.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts