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The Mono County Board of Supervisors discussed two aspects of the Conway Ranch Property at their regular Board meeting held in Mammoth on Tuesday.

Tony Vaught, from Professional Aquaculture Services in Chico, presented his preliminary report of the potential hatchery development on 75 acres of the property. Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT) then presented the conservation easement overview that imposes restrictions on the rest of the parcel. The presentations were merely informational and the Board took no formal action regarding Conway Ranch.

Over a decade ago, Mono County bought the Conway Ranch using grant funds from a number of different organizations, including California State Parks, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and Caltrans. These grant funds restricted the use of the land to environmental habitats and educational opportunities. Assuming they were in line with the grant restrictions, the County began building a trophy trout fishery in 2006 in order to enhance the economy.

As Marshall Rudolph, County Counsell, has reiterated, “Grants are very general and vague about what is permitted or prohibited and the restrictions are open to interpretation.” This perspective led to the disagreement over grant restrictions with Caltrans and ultimately the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that requires the conservation easement with ESLT. Under the MOU, Mono County essentially repays the grant funds for the 75 acres of Conway Ranch for $100,000. The rest of the property will be monitored by ESLT with the original grant restrictions under the conservation easement.

Before the Board discussed the conservation easement, Tony Vaught presented his report on the possible development of an aquaculture facility on the 75 acres purchased from Caltrans. According to Vaught, aquaculture is the fastest growing component of agriculture worldwide.

Vaught proposed the County build historic-looking barns or camouflaged bunkers in the hills that house the large hatchery tanks and provide a consistent environment for the production of fish. He also emphasized the possibility of raising trophy trout, which could boost tourism…

Read the full article at ProAqua.com.