Conservation query

California environmentalists are attempting to protect North State wildlands by turning nearly half a million acres of the region into a national conservation area.

Tuleyome, a Woodland-based enviro group, is asking Congress to make that designation of public lands stretching from Lake Berryessa in Napa County to Snow Mountain in Glenn County, reported the Sacramento Bee.

The idea is to create one preservation plan for the region, which is currently under the purview of multiple public agencies. It would be called the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area.

While enviros call their effort the most logical way to preserve natural resources, the plan has some sticking points with farmers and ranchers whose properties lie adjacent to the proposed conservation area. One worry is that nearby habitat restoration would increase agricultural pests.