YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK
CCA-SPONSORED “AG PASS” BILL INTRODUCED IN STATE ASSEMBLY by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur Last month, California Cattleman highlighted two CCAsponsored bills introduced earlier this Legislative Session: SB 332 (Dodd), which would incentivize prescribed fire by limiting liability for certified burn bosses, and AB 434, which would give state land management agencies greater discretion in authorizing livestock grazing for fire-fuel suppression (“Two CCA-Sponsored Wildfire Bills Introduced in State Legislature,” March 2021). Prior to the Legislature’s February 19 bill-introduction deadline, another CCA-sponsored bill, AB 1103, was introduced by Assemblymember Megan Dahle (R-Bieber). Whereas SB 332 and AB 434 are directed at wildfire prevention efforts, AB 1103 is aimed at facilitating livestock producers’ wildfire response efforts. Specifically, AB 1103 would provide a statewide framework for counties to adopt an “Ag Pass” program. Under an Ag Pass program, ranchers and farmers receive training in fire behavior and emergency response protocols and, upon enrollment in the county Ag Pass program, are permitted access to the farm or ranch during a wildfire or other emergency. Recent wildfire seasons have demonstrated the devastating consequences that arise from the lack of access to farms and ranches during a wildfire incident. The most tragic consequence is the loss of life for cattle and other livestock unable to escape a fire. Even when fire itself does not directly threaten a herd, a rancher’s inability
to administer veterinary care or provide feed may have harmful consequences for the animals. But the lack of property access doesn’t just threaten animals’ lives. Many farmers and ranchers have ignored evacuation orders, knowing that once they leave they may not be able to gain return access to care for their animals. Others have been evacuated only to eventually make the difficult choice to bypass roadblocks to access their farm or ranch, risking their safety and a misdemeanor charge to ensure the welfare of their animals. When farmers and ranchers are granted access to their property during a wildfire or other emergency incident, they often must be escorted by law enforcement or emergency responders because they lack expertise in fire behavior and incident response. This supervised access diverts critical emergency response resources during a wildfire or other emergency. To address these issues, counties have begun developing Ag Pass programs to provide farm and ranch access to qualifying agriculturalists during an emergency. Ventura County provided the model for the Ag Pass program, administered locally by the Central Ventura County Fire Safe Council. While a Ventura County Agricultural Worker ID Program has existed in the county in some form since the mid-2000s, the Program really began to attract interest locally after 2017’s Thomas Fire, which burned through numerous farms and ranchers. After 2018’s catastrophic wildfire season, Ventura County’s Ag Pass concept began to attract the interest of cattlemen elsewhere in the state, and 2020’s historic fire season only amplified that interest. Santa Barbara County began developing its own Ag Pass program, led by CCA Fire Subcommittee Chair (and Santa Barbara County Fire Battalion Chief) Anthony Stornetta, Atascadero, and Butte County has begun implementing its own program, spearheaded by University of California Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor Tracy Schohr. Additionally, last December UC Cooperative Extension agents Matthew Shapero and Max Moritz published a blueprint to advise counties how to create a local Ag Pass program. But while Ag Pass programs are best administered at the local level, the lack of a statewide framework for the programs
©Quinn-Davidson, UCCE
10 California Cattleman April 2021
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