Great background on this Legislation

California-View — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:01:18 GMT

Babaloo,

Thanks so much for the great background on this piece of legislation, just what I needed.

Perhaps, you should post the brief on the Bill at http://my-representative.org/. That's where I found the Bill when I was doing the score card rating that they have.

Thanks again.

-CV

Tags: CA-11, estate tax, Jerry McNerney, H.R. 4042

850 Acres And a Pony Turn Green

Nefertiti — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:59:01 GMT

http://www.contracostatimes.co...

They're going green back at the ranch
By Meera Pal
STAFF WRITER

Article Launched: 02/25/2008 03:03:10 AM PST

Rancher Tim Koopmann stands on a hillside, nurtured by heavy winter rains, scanning his expansive property between Pleasanton and Sunol dotted with roaming cattle, majestic oaks and hovering red-tailed hawks.
It takes more than a second before he reluctantly turns toward the humming of cars on the adjacent Interstate 680 and scrutinizes the explosion of commercial and residential development that has transformed drastically the serene open space of his childhood into the bustling urban center of the Tri-Valley.

"All of this is new in my lifetime," says Koopmann of the growth in Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. "It makes me appreciate my property even more ... All the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this ranch."

Koopmann is proud and protective of his not-so-little piece of rural heaven that today is penned-in by the freeway, mega-mansions and an 18-hole municipal golf course.

And, like a death-row inmate who receives the governor's pardon at the 11th hour, Koopmann's appreciation is tangible when he talks of how he deftly averted a possible forced sale of the ranch in the late 1990s.

By working with local, state and federal officials, Koopmann has established wildlife habitat easements on his 853-acre ranch, protecting the threatened California tiger salamanders, red-legged frog ... and the threatened California rancher.

This third-generation rancher has been honored with numerous awards recognizing his conservation efforts, and for sharing his insights as a board member of the California Rangeland Trust and member of the California Cattlemen's Association. He tells his story as a cautionary tale to other ranchers. Its moral: Planning ahead can ward off the crippling effects of federal estate taxes.
"One of the toughest things is to go to your parents and say 'You're going to die someday. Can we sit down and talk about it?'" Koopmann said.

He and his father Herman Jr. were in the process of forming a family trust when Herman suddenly died in 1991 of a heart attack. Three years later, Koopmann's mother, Tillyann, died, and he found himself staring down a $750,000 estate tax bill.

His options were: sell off the entire ranch or subdivide and sell 100-acre parcels to developers, who would have built "McMansions," as Koopmann refers to the large homes now dotting the hillside. He opted for conservation easements instead, and was able to preserve the ranch and the land.

"It's a way of life and a heritage that is really rich to us," Koopmann says of ranching.

While some of the more old-school ranchers would be loathe to work with the environmental community or regulatory agencies, Koopmann embraces his greener side with enthusiasm.

On a recent tour of the ranch, Koopmann steered his extended-cab pickup over a hill, while proudly pointing to the solar-powered pumps scattered on the property that draw water from a spring, bringing water to areas that hadn't had any before. The project, partially funded by a federal program, has helped reduce the destruction of riparian habitat, as cattle there no longer have to tromp through the local creeks.

Halfway up a steep hillside, Koopmann points to a stock pond that serves as habitat for the endangered California tiger salamander. Ponderosa Homes paid him to establish a permanent easement preserving the 31-acre area around the pond.

To help broker that first easement deal, Koopmann turned to California Rangeland Trust, a Sacramento-based group governed entirely by ranchers, including Koopmann, who sits on the board of directors. The group, founded in 1998, works closely with ranchers to conserve open space and natural habitat provided by California's ranches.

"We're losing range land that provides habitat value at an astounding rate, especially in the Bay Area," said Koopmann.

In 2005, he also inked a conservation easement with the city of Pleasanton for 107 acres that serves as replacement for wildlife habitat destroyed when the Callippe Preserve Golf Course was developed. Koopmann received a little more than $1 million for the easement, which was placed permanently under the CRT's care.

And, today, Koopmann is close to signing a lease with the city to graze his cattle on a portion of open space near the golf course.

"This will helps us protect water quality and create the right habitat for the Callippe silverspot butterfly. They need the local grasses grazed down to a specific level," said Assistant City Attorney Larissa Seto.

Koopmann's creative use of conservation easements to benefit the ranch and the surrounding community has earned him a reputation as a forward-thinking rancher who talks slowly, thinks quickly and came by his rough-hewn hands and faded cowboy boots honestly.

But not every farmer or rancher can afford to be as environmentally creative as Koopmann, so groups like the California Cattlemen's Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation have been fighting for several years to repeal the federal estate tax, arguing the agricultural community has been unfairly impacted.

"Most farmers and ranchers have their assets tied up in the land, unlike others who have assets in stocks and homes," said Jack King, national affairs manager for the California Farm Bureau. "Unlike stock where you can sell a portion of the stock portfolio to pay the (estate) tax, it's pretty hard to sell off a portion of the land."

Koopmann's father Herman Jr. was forced to do just that when his father, Herman Sr., died in 1967. The family sold 300 acres of irrigated pastures in Turlock to pay the tax bill.

"I vowed that my children will not go through this," Koopmann says.

Clayton Koopmann, 23, a recent UC Davis graduate with a degree in agriculture management and range land resources, and his sister Cari Koopmann, 21, studying animal science at Cal State Fresno, both aspire to be the fourth generation of Koopmanns to preside over the family ranch.

"With the urban encroachment, it's been getting difficult to find land," said Clayton Koopmann, who leases 300 acres nearby to ranch his own cattle. "It makes it more important to me that we try and preserve the (family) ranch."

The ranch has been in the family since Tim Koopmann's grandfather and his great-uncle George bought the land for $35 an acre to start a dairy farm. Plans changed, however, when George was hit by a train and killed while hauling firewood out of the canyon. The Koopmanns have raised cattle on the property ever since.

"We're tied to this land and entrusted to its care. We're here for its betterment," Koopmann says. "We are stewards of the land. We take pride in the variety of wildlife on the property ... most folks who are out on the land every day have a real appreciation and respect for it."

Meera Pal covers Pleasanton. Reach her at 925-847-2120 or mpal@bayareanewsgroup.com

BIOGRAPHY

NAME: Tim Koopmann

AGE: 55

OCCUPATION: Owner, Koopmann Cattle Ranch and Watershed Resource Specialist/California Certified Rangeland Manager for San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

RESIDENCE: Sunol

FAMILY: Married to Melinda Koopmann for 30 years. Son Clayton Koopmann, 2007 graduate of UC Davis and daughter Cari Koopmann, current student at Cal State Fresno.

ACHIEVEMENTS: Owns and operates Koopmann Ranch, established in 1918 by his grandfather. Winner 1999 Alameda County Resource Conservation District's Conservationist of the Year; 2003 Contra Costa/Alameda counties Cattleman of the Year; and 2004 Excellence in Range Management.

Naive, I know...

aboutad15 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:13:06 GMT

...but I thought our electeds were paid to actually protect and defend our constitution rather than just campaign for re-election! Dodd showed me what I want to see from all the Democratic candidates: someone with backbone and the courage of their convictions!

Dodd

ceara — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:43:46 GMT

If you watched C-SPAN, you got to see what balls looks like.

From the Senator's blog:

Senator Dodd issued the following statement in response to Senator Reid pulling the Intel Committee bill from consideration until the new year:
"Today we have scored a victory for American civil liberties and sent a message to President Bush that we will not tolerate his abuse of power and veil of secrecy. The President should not be above the rule of law, nor should the telecom companies who supported his quest to spy on American citizens. I want to thank the thousands of Americans throughout the country that stood with me to get this done for our country."

Although none of the Presidential Candidate/Senators showed up, they gave it lip service. Too bad they didn't show the courage that Presidential Candidate/Senator Dodd did.

Feinstein slithers away on FISA

jasollsta — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:38:34 GMT

What a piece of work!

Sheehan says IMPEACH Pelosi

jasollsta — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:39:38 GMT

Cindy Sheehan: Impeach Pelosi for collaboration with Bush administration on torture

Now here's something I could get IMMEDIATELY behind!

Koopmann would have been better served....

aboutad15 — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:37:01 GMT

...to keep his mouth shut! If he didn't look bad enough before, his response to the post put him over the edge. My perception is that he's "on loan" to anyone that will support his position: Democrat, Republican or Republican-lite!

Too bad McNerney and his staff didn't do their own due diligence on this one!

It could be worse -- or not

babaloo — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:56:40 GMT

This is probably as good a spot as any to point out that McNerney's estate tax bill, H.R. 4042, is being co-sponsored by Republican nut-job Ron Paul -- you know, the guy who thinks the IRS and the 16th Amendment ought to be abolished.

Combine that with McNerney's co-sponsorship of an immigration bill with Republican hate-monger Tom Tancredo ("Deport those who don't belong. Make sure they never come back") and Democrats in CA-11 should be hanging their heads in shame.

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