The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

If you do, you could buy a little bit of the McCloud... and I'm sure you'd then turn that over to The Nature Conservancy, since you are such a swell person...

http://www...perties.org/mccloud.html

I know that TNC was working on the first sale and I'm trying to find out where they are on the second. There is some speculation that they are not really interested in selling, but in raising the value of the property by listing it for sale... which takes us into territory I'm not well versed in.

B-

Did'nt a farming group in the central valley recently buy part of the McCloud down stream of the TNC for ~$25m just for the right to flood it if they raise the Dam ?

Mike

Westlands Water District purchased the lower part of the club here just a few months ago... $35M was the price tag I've heard, but there must be some dealings I am not really aware of, since the listing agent for this section says she handled the sale of the club for $47M... still a little unsure about what is owned by Westlands and what is owned by Arrillaga, but I have some calls in to try and find out. This section of river is just below the McCloud River Club, which is beloew the TNC property. So now, from the lake going upstream it goes (as far as I can tell) Westlands, Arrillaga, McCloud River Club (owned by the Fisher Family - The Gap family), TNC, Ah Di Nah, Ash Camp, Dam, Hearst, Lower Falls, Middle Falls, Upper Falls.

There is a lot that is unclear at the moment. Too bad FOR isn't sitting on some huge bundle of cash or we'd buy that up in a heartbeat. It is going to be some super wealthy LA, SF or Silicon Valley individuals if it happens and I know TNC is trying to find a way to make it work... still some big, big money though and it will be tough to pull off (assuming they are actually interested in selling in the first place, which they may not be).

B-

Had to chime in here...

Buy it and give it to TNC? Not a chance.

Don't get me wrong, TNC does wonderful things for the environment, but they certainly aren't short on dough. I say this because TNC owns about $4 billion in real estate worldwide, and had over a billion dollars in revenue last year alone.

I think many NorCal anglers may only be familiar with TNC through the McCloud site, which I've been lucky enough to fish a number of times. In fact, I had two of my finest days there earlier this year. However, it seems many people don't realize how truly huge TNC is, and aren't aware of some of the questionable transactions they've been involved it.

For just one example:
http://www...15/A_OPINION01/711150314
http://www...0071112/A_NEWS/711120326
and http://www...0070617/A_NEWS/706170328

I don't mean to disparage TNC. They have done many, many great things for our planet, and continue to do so. On the other hand, to even hint that TNC needs money from average folks (like I assume most of us are) just isn't the case.

I'd love to buy that property, but I wouldn't waste my money money by giving it to TNC because they simply don't need it. Plus I'm a bit short on that $32 mil...

Hmmm,


Mr Hank Shaw is sure a dab hand with insinuations, isn't he??

TNC is a long way from perfect, but I like the way they go about protecting areas that need protecting. No law suits (which make lawyers on both sides rich), they just go find the money and buy the property.

I like it.

Man, I had a big long reply written and then I hit some button and it went away... Darn.

I'd just say that they have made a few tricky transactions, but overall, they do a great job. They have a very conservative approach (although I'm not conservative, I like the way they do business). They don't ask for the govt to pass a law or create a park, they just buy the stuff they want to protect. It's expensive business. Once you own it, you have to take care of it, and that all costs a lot of money. They are a global organization too, so they aren't just focused on CA or the US, but on saving places all over the world. That is certainly a big task.

In the end, TNC will likely not buy this piece of the McCloud. It just doesn't represent value for money. They can spend a fraction of that and buy land that will directly impact salmon and steelhead in the Shasta Valley or Scott Valley and that seems to make more sense.

TNC doesn't need your $35.00, but if someone had $35,000,000, well, there is a whole lot of good they could do with that!

B-

(By the way, Friends of the River actually DOES need your $35.00)

I am probably less than average (as far as income), and I donate to TNC whenever possible. I donate to them because they put their money where their mouth is and work with all sides for conservation solutions. Buying land is expensive, and that is what TNC does. They protect places like the McCloud site and Silver Creek for all of us. As a disclaimer, I worked with folks from TNC in Nevada when I was working on the Nevada Breeding Bird Atlas. Yes, the organization has made mistakes, but they own them when it happens and make changes. For a woldwide organization, they do a heck of a lot more for actual on-the-ground conservation than most other worldwide organizations from what I have seen. They continue to get my monetary support (as paltry as it is). To see how the money is spent and how they are rated, check the links on this page:

http://www...p/art15505.html?src=home

Also, Charity Navigator's rating for TNC is here:

http://www...h.summary&orgid=4208

Dawn

After reading KJE's post, I decided to check out other charities on Charity Navigator.

You guys rock!

http://www...h.summary&orgid=8384

Dawn

Thanks Dawn. It is great that we got our 4 star rating back, we dropped to 3 for some unknown reason last year, but got it back and I think we deserve it.

Charity Navigator is an interesting thing. It can really only tell you financial performance, not if an organization is doing good work or not. I think we are, so that's nice. But just because you see someone with 3 stars instead of 4, there probably isn't too much difference there. We didn't change anything about how we operate from when we had 4 to when we had 3 to when we got our 4 star back again. However, if you see an organization with two stars or one star, you need to ask a lot of questions before you write a check!

B-

Yeah, there was one conservation charity I looked up that had one star. I like seeing the percentage of program expenses versus administration and fundraising in the pie charts. One wants to know that most of the money they are giving is going to conservation. You are right though, Charity Navigator really doesn't say much about the quality of work being done.

Dawn

Our good pal Leighton Hills was glad to sell to Westlands because they wouldn't break up the parcel... however, he went ahead and sold a second piece of the McCloud to Silicon Valley developer Arrillaga. It now appears that Arrillaga split the property in two and is selling one (the top one with the house just below Fisher's land). So, now, instead of one land owner, we have two, and eventually we'll have three on that section of the McCloud. I've heard that Arrillaga is putting a home on the plot they are keeping right near the river.

So, that is what I know for now.

B-

what about buying up the water rights and property from Nestle upstream. It would probably help out more. That is one river that doesn't need dewatering.