Conaway Ranch

The Conaway Ranch is a 17,300 acre contiguous parcel located on the west side of the Sacramento River in Yolo County . It has over 15,000 acres of farmable land, the largest gas field in Yolo County , rights to 50,000 acre feet of Sacramento River water and significant groundwater resources. Almost half of the ranch is within the Yolo Bypass and subject to intermittent flooding, and all but some 2,000 acres is within the 100-year flood plain. Currently, the ranch is leased to several farmers who primarily grow rice, alfalfa, tomatoes, and other row crops on the property. The Ranch is famous for its great waterfowl habitat and duck hunting, and for the past fifteen years has maintained the Conaway Wildlife Plan to enhance and maintain the wildlife resources on the Ranch. One year ago, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors announced plans to acquire the Conaway Ranch from a bankrupt subsidiary of PG & E, either through a negotiated price or via eminent domain. Also, a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was formed to oversee the management of the Ranch they hoped to acquire, which includes: Yolo County , the four cities of Yolo County , U.C. Davis, and the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. In the meantime, the Ranch was sold for the sum of sixty million dollars as part of the bankruptcy estate pursuant to a closed bidding process that was not legally open to the County of Yolo as a public agency. The land was purchased by the Conaway Preservation Group (CPG), a consortium of individuals and entities that include a farm holdings company, a non-profit organization, and local landowners, including developers Steve Gidaro and John Reynan, both of whom were former owners of the Ranch, and do not wish to sell. Shortly after the CPG’s acquisition of the Conaway Ranch, Yolo County initiated the eminent domain proceedings in Yolo County Superior Court to seize the Ranch from its owners for the stated public purpose of preserving agriculture and open space. As a longstanding supporter of private property rights, water rights, and rural agricultural communities, the Family Water Alliance stands opposed to Yolo County ’s use of eminent domain for the purchase of the 17,000 acre Conaway Ranch and its water rights. While FWA agrees that efforts to maintain the status quo of Conaway Ranch is a worthy goal, the use of eminent domain to achieve this end is not only unnecessary, but also in our opinion fiscally irresponsible and an abuse of local governmental power....

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