One of the elements of the Settlement Agreement
with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
over PG&E’s bankruptcy case was the establishment of
a Stewardship Council to oversee the disposition and the
management of approximately 140,000 acres of watershed
land it owns, including the establishment of
permanent conservation easements. PG&E has been
moving forward on development of the Stewardship
Council efforts, and has released facts and information
about how the program will function.
The Stewardship Council (Council) is an independent
non-profit corporation that will oversee 140,000 acres of
watershed lands in the Sierra Nevada and Casade Mountains
and approximately 655 acres in the Carizzo Plains
(east of San Luis Obispo). Included in the program is a
funded Youth Investment Initiative. The Council will
receive $10 million annually for 10 years from PG&E to
support its efforts. Of the $100 million total endowment
$70 million is designated for the development and
implementation of the Land Conservation Plan (LCP),
approximately $20 million for the acquisition of urban
park and recreation areas and approximately $10 million
to provide wilderness opportunities for disadvantaged
urban youth.
PG&E will either donate or create conservation easements
to permanently preserve and enhance the following
watershed lands (located within 22 counties) for
“beneficial public values”: 1,000 individual parcels
ranging in size form .01 acres to 27,064 acres of contiguous
property that includes Lake Almanor. Conservation
easements on the watershed lands must allow for
continued operation and maintenance of hydro-electric
facilities and associated water delivery facilities and for
compliance with existing contracts and agreements. All
LCP transactions will be subject to the CPUC, FERC
(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and other
regulatory agency approvals.
The Board of Directors of the Stewardship Council is
an advisory body that will recommend long-term preservation
and enhancement plans for the watershed lands
with eighteen members representing the following:
 Pacific Gas & Electric Company
 Association of California Water Agencies
 California Dept of Fish & Game
 California Farm Bureau Federation
 California Forestry Association
 California Hydropower Reform Coalition
 California Public Utilities Commission
 California Resources Agency
 Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control
Board
 Native American Heritage Commission
 Office of Ratepayer Advocates
 Regional Council of Rural Counties
 State Water Resources Control Board
 Trust for Public Land
 US Dept of Agriculture – Forest Service – and
US Dept of the Interior - Bureau of Land
Management