02-24-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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' "I ^fW' iL._: T^r.- .' >1 " '' >4^ ■■ reasons, ihcy say. while habitats shift, and It could tuin out that fur ther protection would be needed tn a few years The ianusciUH* in question is a de ceptively austere kMiking collection of hilts ami t anyons nchly carpeted by a wide rnnue of iiK uh groupings And 11 IS .1 p.m ni ilieiuuiiiry whete 8o to !#u percent of the natural ecosys tem has already succumbed to agri culture or dcvf|ii|)meiu and there is licile margin fur »t rur Many of ihe southern California plant and animal sjiccies exist no where else, and a recent study found A six-year effort to save many species rides on a San Diego City Council vote. that devciopmenrs Inroads on their li.tlifi.ii h.itl iii.iti*' s.iii r'liiiiiiy .1 liiti >|Kti i.i • lul iii|:t’Miiriii III all. iifMHii joo s|K‘ucs III piaiiis and animals in the county arc considercnJ imperiled Until now the Endangered Species Ati in Souinern California, as m many other places, has been applied on a traci-by-iract. species-by-spe- cies basis that costs developers time, money and endless regulatory enian- gkineni. Moreover, this mcket-and- dlmc approach has failed to hall the decline of the ecosystem The proposed approach ts de signed to remedy all this, and also to prevent many plants and animals from becoming Imperiled. **Ii was Just crystal clear that we had to commit headlong to make tl work." Mr. Babbitt aid in a recent interview, since Southern California, in conser vation terms, "was the 800-pound gonlla of urban expansion." The proposed preserve would ulU- nately consist of a number of con- lecting regional units totaling up to lall a million acres. One plan, involv ing a single landowner in Orange County. IS already m effect In the 172.000-acre region compris ing the San Diego meiropoliian area, most of the land to be preserved is already owned by governments or would be donated by land owners as compi*nsaiion for fuiure habitat de- Mruction on lands exempt lioni piu- lection under the agreement About 27.000 acres would have to be purchased, however The state and Pederal governments have pledged to buy half the acreage, with local governments responsible for the oihei half The total cost of the land has been estimated at S260 mil lion to S ifio million Environmentalists have raised a number of objections to the San Die go plan Some said they feared that it would result in the loss of open space outside the preserves Others said they worried that particular spec»es. especially those like the Oiay mesa mint and the San Diego fairy shrimp, both of which live in very small areas, would full through the cracks of a landscape-level plan Some ques tion whether endangered species rmild rornver or would he frozen m ilit-li 1111(11 I tl, .1 .1 1,(1., And Miiiit* ail.tiOtiMiIV I'ppu^e aiiv compromise wnh deveiopmtni iin so much of the ecosysli: already destroyed, said Leeona KlippsteiA an environmentallsi with a group called Spirit of the Sage, it would be "insane" to give up a large pan of what remains to development. She argues, moreover, that scientific knowledge about the Southern Cali fornia ecosystem is inadequate to serve as the basis of such an ambi tious plan. Environmentalists within the cen trist coalition say scientists will nev- cr know enough, but that the price of not acting is too high. ’ There's a limited amount of information we have available — or will ever have." said Michael Beck, the San Diego director of the Endangered Habitats League, who represents a main stream alliance of environmemalisis in the talks on the plan Waiting for more data, he said, will simply doom some species by developmem Even If enough was known about CAUFORN1A Cartfbttf Parts of the black and white areaa in the San Diego area are designated for pfeservauon under a pUn for the ecosystem of Southern California. the ecosystem, say a number of sci entists. the capnetousness of nature makes it dangerous to lock in any given conservation plan for the long term Nature "is Just as unpredict able as the Dow Jones average." said Dr Michael Soule, who recently re tired from the University of Califor nia ut Sonia Cruz and is regarded as the founder of the science of conser vation biology. But Or. Dennis 0. Murphy of Stan ford University, a conservation biolo gist who has been a scientific adviser to (he California project, said that neither the unpredictability of nature nor inadequate data would be fatal to the plan as long as (here was a way IQ make future adjustments. And that is the nub of the debate. Proponents say the plan does not prevent future changes, but rather guarantees that the landowner would not have to pay for them. "No-sur- puses, tn effect, puts the burden of fuiure measures on the government, where it bekmgs." Secretary Babbitt said. Once a San Diego deal has been struck, future chgjiges could be made only upon a finding of "ex traordinary circumstances" by the Government, which would bear the burden of proof as well as of pay ment for any measures undertaken. Some environmentalists argue that this would make change too difficult. On the other side of the IdeologlcgJ divide, conservatives raise property- rights objections. One of them U Bill Horn, a conaervailve Republican who :s chairman of the San Olego County Board of Supervisors. He Mrongly opposes the plan. If Ihe aty of San Olego approves III pan of the plan, the county gov ernment would have to vote on its designated preserve, and the county has most of the valuable habitat. Mr. Horn raJi» Mm«i»if k of one" among board members in his opposition But he says he is cam paigning to put the issue of whether to purchase land for the preserve with tax money on the ballot. If he can ’create enough flak." Mr. Horn said, he believes he has a chance to defeat the plan. But even in tax-sensilive Califor nia. San Diegans are known for their desire lo avoid Los Angeles-style sjiruwl, and the uuicuine of a vote would undoubtedly be uncertain In this real world of politics, no solution is likely lo satisfy everyone. Nor. most expens .say, is it likely to be perfect for nature ’the best deal for the speaes is probably not a deal that ’s on the tible, ” said Dr Murphy. Rather, he said, the trick ts to design a preserve system that will "do the best by the species given the reality llliil «j|-. in «•: Id till |M|t.|||| I llslenifig uiiently iK*urby. wtio ex claimed, "Oh! I didn't realize you'd cfone that!" The secret was out. In facL many college and universi ty pretidems, seeking respite and Mlituda from tiraMful Jubt tn wh»ch few last kmger than seven yes rt. are spending less time in ihetr stately mansions aiuJ campus showplaces and more time In private retreats that may well be kepi secret even from their own staffs. Just a week or two ago. HarokJ T Shapiro, the president of Fnncciun University, moved out of Lowrie House, the university president ’s ol- ficial residence since 1960, and into a private house off campus. ”We*re not supposed to say where It Is," said Mary Cut trey, a spiikcs- woniun fur the university Dr. Shapiro and his wife. Vivian, still use Lowrie House for receptions, panics and ceremonial events. Ms Caffrey .said, but their new home is l/ieir home. It is Ihe same story at the Univer sity of Chicago. Soon after Hugo Soii- nenschein became president in 1993. he and his wife, Elizabeth, began lu feel the world closing in around them at the university's on-campus presi dential residence. So they bought a retreat about an hour’s dnve from Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michi- gan. Jonathan Kleinbard. a spokes man for the university, said: ”\Vp don’t like to reveal the name of the town It’s in because that ’s pnvate." George E. Rupp, the presidem of Columbia University, has ah official residence on the school’s campus, but he and his wife recently bought a ildeawfiy on a lake in Ccmneciicuf — iml qtdiTAjy Is Milling uhKh hike I be liH-sviiri-s iMt iiiailcniK K-.iJ •% oil ii«H |ust the IhjiU uis ol ,«i| inwii'iiruiKNi. they become luulilv personal "People tee the college president in public situations, and they wonder If that ’s what you’re really like." Or. Simmons said. "They want to see the real you, and you can never get away from that It makta you feel like a bird ill a gilded cage.** For Insuiict. Dr. Simmons, who IS divorced, takf dating was almost im possible. even with her hideaway. Even presidenu of less high-pro file Insututlons say they can feel trapped by their posiitons About three years ago, John E. Moore, who for the last 14 years has been president of Drury College ui Springfield. Ma. bulH a secret re treat behind a log gate on the Ozark River. 34 mtici from Springfield. When he It there, only the campus Mcunty oMot and a Itm close rnends know how lo find him. "TsNMhfrdt of the lime, | like be- Int a public rl•ure,‘‘ Mr. Moore takf. "but Ihe oiher unenhird ol ihe lime I ^•l enfoy ii. On campus, I live In a fishbowl" Hla caMn. be said, does not even have a lefephone. And when guests visit, they must promist coo- fidemiaJlty. But for all the bucrest in privacy. ai least mia academic chief had mod reMon lo redcdicaie himscll lo ihe S*^*’*' )*«• W. Chans. Lin Tien, chanceUor of (he Umvcrsl* (y of California at Berkeley, was roused ai S A.M. by an inirudtr who had broken Into his home, ahout a mile from the Berkeley campus. The Intruder, who was meoKlng the chancellor and his wife, Di-Hwa with a machete and a hunting knife was shot to death by the police, whti had responded to an aUim "Today, we don't use that house much at all," Mr. Tien said. "We enjoy campus life, and spend most of our lime at the University House on campus." For a few presidems. Jiving off cairpuc ts u.nthtnkxibic. ‘A'Jscu DavnJ L Boren, a former Democratic Sena- lor from Oklahoma, became prvui- dem of the University of Oklahoma m 1994. he and his wu Molly, did mil like living in the pretideni's resi dence of recent years because it is two miles from campus. They Insist ed on renovating the tum-of-the<en- lury mansion on campus that hod been the home of the university's early presidents and that had be come an office building. Nannerl O. Keohane. the press of Duke University, lives with husband. Roben. in the presi house on Pine Crest Road Just side of Durham. N C When they want to get away from It alL Dr. Keohlne said: "We go to Inna on wild corns for kmg walks and wonderful di^ri and to relax in hot tuba. We let other peoDleiakecareofiiarmij^^