Rail Authority To Buy 5000 Acres For Mitigation
January 13,2015
The California High Speed Rail Authority plans to buy around 5000 acres in the Central Valley as partial mitigation for sensitive habitat they will be buying in Fresno,Kings,Tulare and Kern counties.
Expected to cost $54 million, the mitigation covers the loss and modification of biological habitat caused by construction and operation of the proposed bullet train project criticized for displacing farm land here.
In this case the mitigation is for removal of natural habitat including the wetlands of Allensworth Preserve area where the train line will be passing through southwest Tulare County between Fresno and Bakersfield.
Some land will be far from the proposed route and will provide an opportunity for both preservation and enhancement of native habitat still left in the greater Tulare Lake area and to the north.The old lakebed was once the largest body of water west of the Mississippi, long since drained by agriculture.
The mitigation is being required by federal law.
Included in the listing approved this week by the CHSR board is land not far from Goshen owned by the Fagundes family, the Burr Ranch in Kings County, the Buena Vista Dairy in Kern County, the Yang property near Allensworth in Tulare County,the Davis property in Kern County and the Staffel Family Trust Property in Kings County.
The 405 acre Fagundes Ranch is 12 miles north of Visalia on Cross Creek where the acquisition will preserve 8.7 acres of vernal pool fairy shrimp habitat as well land used by Swainson’s hawk, Western Burrowing Owl and San Joaquin Kit Fox.
Also included is Peck Island,some 414 acres in Fresno County between SR 180 and E Annadale Avenue.
Another is River Ranch along the Kings River – some 362 acres. Here they hope to reestablish 182 acres of oak woodland.
Lastly the list includes 2800 acres Smith properties at Atwell Island where a potential vernal pool and alkali rain pool reestablishment “could be attempted” says the report.