Business of trees, Arboriculture: April 2008 Archives

California ReLeaf monitors state and federal legislation in order to inform the urban forestry community of opportunities to influence public policy on behalf of urban trees.

In 2006 California ReLeaf hired a professional lobbyist to assist with its state-level efforts. As a result of its work, $20 million was designated for urban forestry programs under California Proposition 84 passed in 2006.

California Releaf also coordinates California ReLeaf Network, an alliance of urban forestry groups throughout the state. This alliance has been instrumental in raising the profile of urban forestry in the state and a key part of California ReLeaf's advocacy strategy.

BACKGROUND

California ReLeaf was founded in 1989 as a program of the Trust for Public Land and was incorporated as a separate 501c3 nonprofit in 2004.

California ReLeaf works statewide to promote alliances among community-based groups, individuals and government agencies to protect the environment by planting and caring for trees. It also serves as the state's volunteer coordinator for urban forestry in partnership with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Programs and services include:

* Coordinating California ReLeaf Network, a statewide alliance of urban forestry groups
* Administering a state grant program
* Publishing a quarterly newsletter, California Trees
* Providing assistance, information and referrals to individuals, organizations and agencies on urban forestry management issues
* Monitoring state and federal legislation and keeping the urban forestry community informed of opportunities to influence public policy on urban forestry

COMPONENTS

Hiring a professional lobbyist
From its inception, California ReLeaf was involved in advocating on behalf of urban forestry. In 2006, California ReLeaf decided that hiring a professional lobbyist would greatly improve effectiveness at influencing state legislation on urban forestry.

Since California is a large state with a wide range of environmental issues, California ReLeaf, with a staff of three, found it difficult to stay on top of all the issues and proposals that affected urban forestry. Although California ReLeaf had many partners who worked with them on urban forestry issues, it needed someone to spearhead its efforts.

With the encouragement of other urban forestry groups, California ReLeaf hired a lobbyist who specialized in conservation issues and was willing to work with them at a reduced rate.

Martha Ozonoff, Executive Director of California ReLeaf, says that this decision has been critical in its advocacy efforts.

"Hiring a lobbyist has definitely increased our ability to be effective. You can lobby on your own. You are not required to have a professional lobbyist. But this has helped us stay on top of fast-paced decisions and has given us inside information about what different legislators are interested in and how to approach them. Our lobbyist has helped us see where we can connect to other environmental issues," Ms. Ozonoff says.

Ms. Ozonoff says whether or not your organization needs a professional lobbyist may differ from state to state. She recommends talking with larger environmental organizations in your state that have lobbyists on their staff such as the Trust for Public Land, the Nature Conservancy or the Sierra Club. Get recommendations from them on whether or not you need to hire a lobbyist and on potential candidates.

Making your case
Once the lobbyist identifies what legislation to follow and who the key players are, California ReLeaf meets with key players including legislators and their staff, testifies at committee hearings, sends letters and emails, makes phone calls and encourages organizations in the California ReLeaf network and other groups to support legislation and other relevant initiatives, including funding propositions.

Ms. Ozonoff emphasizes that working with a network of urban forestry groups brings enormous value in supporting advocacy initiatives. California ReLeaf Network has approximately 90 member organizations located throughout the state. This allows California ReLeaf not only to harness the support of more constituents throughout the state, but also helps them target voters in specific localities where key legislators reside.

Funding
California ReLeaf funds its advocacy efforts through private foundation monies in its general operating account. Government funds cannot be used for lobbying.

RESULTS

California ReLeaf is particularly proud of its advocacy efforts which helped to ensure that "at least" $20 million funding was designated for urban forestry under Proposition 84 passed in 2006.

In addition, in 2007 California ReLeaf helped spearhead a letter-writing campaign thanking Governor Schwarzenegger for restoring $10 million to the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program, which provides public funds for urban forestry and other natural resource projects that reduce the impact of transportation projects on local communities. This year, the funds are being presented as part of the Governor's budget, thereby virtually assuring their passage. California ReLeaf believes that its "thank you" campaign may have played a part in the governor's decision.

California ReLeaf is currently sponsoring a bill in the state legislature to update the state Urban Forestry Act of 1978. This will be the organization's first effort at sponsoring legislation.

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Research your state to determine whether or not you need to hire a lobbyist. California ReLeaf says hiring a lobbyist was essential for them.

2. Nonprofits CAN advocate and lobby. Don't be paralyzed by the fear of violating IRS rules. Read the regulations and get advice but remember that both advocacy and lobbying are allowed within certain limitations. The rules may not be as restrictive as you think.

3. Advocacy and lobbying is easy. Do not be intimidated by the process.

4. You are the expert on your cause and its most passionate supporter. Make use of that.

5. Remember to say thank you to all the people who support your efforts.

6. Stay on top of legislation. Understand the process and realize that changes can happen quickly and often. You need to be vigilant.

7. The benefits of advocacy are enormous. It raises the visibility of your cause and your organization. It helps refine your message and increases your organization's credibility and reputation.

Contact Information:
Martha Ozonoff, Executive Director
California ReLeaf
P.O. Box 72496
Davis, CA 95617
Phone: (530) 757-7333
Fax: (530) 757-7328

The threat is dire. "No tropical forest on earth has come closer to total destruction," says Claudia Picone, an information resource coordinator for The Nature Conservancy.

The Atlantic Forest is a spectacularly complex and biologically diverse expanse of tropical rainforest on the coast of Brazil. Once twice the size of Texas, only 7 percent of the original forest remains—it has been ravaged by ranching, illegal logging, agriculture, and other pressures.

The campaign to plant one billion trees in the Atlantic Forest continues The Nature Conservancy's mighty efforts to preserve the very special ecosystem. According to Picone, "We've finally turned the corner, and people are starting to realize that there are economic benefits to leaving the forest standing instead of cutting it down."

Since The Nature Conservancy's founding in 1951, it has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers around the world. The group has more than a million members and works in all 50 states and more than 30 countries.

University of California researchers have studied the effects of irrigation on almonds for about 20 years. It has generally been thought that about 42 inches per acre per season is a reasonable estimate of water use by mature, productive almonds.

Seasonal water use follows a bell-shaped curve. Under this 42-inch model, water use starts out low after leafout at about 1.0 inch every 15 days, peaks at about 4.5 inches every 15 days in the first half of July, and declines back to about 1.0 inch every 15 days as the season ends.

In some situations, growers may have much less than 42 inches of water available from stored soil moisture and irrigation water. The challenge becomes managing crop stress over the course of the season.

One relatively effective approach that doesn't rely heavily on field monitoring is to attempt to sustain crop stress uniformly across all stages of tree growth and crop development by using estimates of crop water use. The limited water allocation is applied as a consistent percentage of the seasonal water use pattern. If 24 inches of irrigation water are available, representing about 60 percent of the potential water use, then the irrigation water would be allocated at about 60 percent of real-time or historic rates of crop water use over the course of the season.

UC water management specialist David Goldhamer of the Kearney Agricultural Center published results of a four-year study illustrating the effectiveness of the above approach.

Almonds were produced with 55, 70, 85 and 100 percent of a 42-inch water allocation.

Water was either cut back as a consistent percentage of estimated crop water use to try to sustain less pronounced crop stress across all stages of crop growth, or cutbacks targeted only pre-harvest, or post-harvest crop stages for higher crop stress.

The effect of limited water supply was minimized with uniform allocation of water across all crop stages. However, productivity was reduced particularly with 55 percent and 70 percent allocations.

• The uniform crop stress strategy gave both the highest four-year yields, and the largest average nut size within each water allocation.
  
• Sharp cut backs before harvest resulted in the second highest yields, but reduced nut size.
  
• Sharply withholding water after harvest affected bud development and reduced yield the next season.

UC Davis professor Ken Shackel was able to get by with a water allocation of about 85 percent of full supply with no short-term yield loss or effect on nut size by using a pressure chamber to actually track midday crop stress and keeping it within the -12 to -20 bar range in July during hull split.

For more information on on water management refer to UCManageDrought.ucdavis.edu.