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WOODLAND -- Otis
Rosasco and Linda Jenkins, a rancher and
a farmer who have fought long and hard
to protect California’s agricultural
heritage, were today recognized by the
California Department of Conservation as
“Heroes of the Williamson Act.”
July 16 is the 40th
anniversary of the Williamson Act, which
shields more than 16 million
agricultural and open-space acres in
California from premature or leapfrog
development. The California Legislature
passed the California Land Conservation
Act - now commonly known by the surname
of its author, former Assemblyman John
Williamson - in 1965.
“Otis and Linda are
tremendous examples for California’s
ranchers and farmers,” Department of
Conservation Interim Director Debbie
Sareeram said. “They’ve been staunch
advocates of the Williamson Act and
exceptional stewards of the land.”
John Gamper, Director
of Taxation and Land Use for the
California Farm Bureau Federation,
praised Rosasco and Jenkins for their
passion for protecting farmland and
using the Williamson Act as a vehicle to
do that.
“They’ve been
influential in getting the counties in
which they live to stand up for the
statute,” Gamper said. “They were key
individuals in a long, hard five-year
effort to identify which land uses would
be compatible with the Williamson Act.”
Rosasco was active in
encouraging Merced County to begin
participating in the Williamson Act
program five years ago. Enrolled
landowners receive a potential property
tax break in exchange for a 10-year
commitment not to develop their
property. Counties receive a payment
from the state to help make up for the
lost revenue. Merced County now has
nearly 430,000 acres in the program.
“I was anxious to see
the county get involved and spent a lot
of time with the Board of Supervisors,”
Rosasco recalled. “It was a big step
forward for them, but they needed to
have the Williamson Act. Things are
changing so fast these days. You see a
lot of development in the valley and
it’s moving into the foothills.”
Rosasco was born in
1921 and raised on family cattle ranches
in western Tuolumne County. He attended
a one-room elementary school. “There
were 10 or 15 pupils at most,” he
recalled. He earned a degree in business
administration for the University of
California. Rosasco built a home on a
ranch five miles west of Jamestown in
1951. He and his wife Jean raised three
sons there and still reside on the
ranch.
“I’m a
third-generation cattleman,” he said.
“My granddad came to Tuolumne County in
1870 and my father was active in running
the operation all his life until he
passed away in 1979 at the age of 92.”
The Rosasco family
today owns about 8,000 acres - some
grazing land, some farmland and some
irrigated pastureland -- and rents
another couple of thousand. At one time,
Rosasco ran as many as 1,500 head of
cattle (he prefers a cross between
Hereford and Angus) and sold exclusively
to Harris Ranch. Rosasco currently has
only a couple of hundred head as he
shifts the business over to his son
Nathan, who also has served on the
Tuolumne County Williamson Act Ordinance
Revision Committee and now serves on
county’s Agricultural Advisory
Committee.
Unlike Rosasco,
Jenkins is a city girl, born in Fresno
and raised in Sacramento. Her
grandparents and uncle were grape and
cotton farmers just south of Fresno, and
Jenkins spent many a hot summer at their
ranch.
“I have many
wonderful memories of times at the
ranch, but the thing I remember most
was, when I was 4 or 5 years old,
tunneling with my sister and burying
ourselves in the piles of cotton seed,”
she said with a laugh. “We really caught
heck from my uncle because that playful
stunt was a bit dangerous.”
But her highly
regarded uncle, Dick Markarian, also
inspired Jenkins’ interest in the world
of agriculture. Markarian was involved
in numerous agricultural-related groups.
He was chairman of the California Raisin
Advisory Board during the popular
“dancing raisins” advertising campaign,
and was an outspoken advocate for
agriculture in California and
Washington, D.C.
“My heart has always
been in agriculture, because once you’ve
seen production from start to finish -
once you know where your food comes from
-- it is part of you,” Jenkins said.
“I’ve never driven a tractor, but I have
done plenty of bookkeeping for the
ranch, and I’ve always been an advocate
for the Williamson Act and agriculture.”
Jenkins has been a
spokesperson at many board of
supervisors and planning commission
meetings because she believes it’s vital
for decision-makers to receive input
from the farming and ranching
communities in order to understand the
needs of agriculture.
Jenkins graduated
from UC Davis with a degree in
mathematics and taught high school in El
Cerrito and San Jose. She married Pat
Jenkins 33 years ago and they soon
settled on the Westover Ranch, eight
miles south of Red Bluff in Tehama
County. There, she and her husband
raised three sons while also raising
prunes, walnuts and cattle on several
hundred acres. In 1985, the Jenkins
family started its aquaculture
operation, selling live catfish to
markets in the Bay Area. The family also
sells to municipalities in Northern
California than in turn stock city and
state park ponds for recreational
fishing.
Locally, Jenkins has
served as president of the Tehama County
Farm Bureau, president of the Tehama
County CattleWomen and served on the
county planning commission for nine
years, where she constantly endeavored
to protect the integrity of the
Williamson Act. She is currently a
member of the county’s General Plan
Revision Committee. At the state level,
Jenkins served on Williamson Act
Advisory Committee at the invitation of
former Governor Wilson. She also served
on land use committees for the
California Cattlemen and the California
Farm Bureau.
“The Williamson Act
has provided the means by which farmers
and ranchers can maintain their acreage
in agricultural uses,” Jenkins said. “I
was drawn to become involved in land-use
issues when I first moved to Tehama
County because it seemed like farmland
was rapidly being divided for urban
uses.
“We all need a
reminder every now and then about how
important agriculture is to the citizens
of our state and our nation. I will
continue to speak up about all the good
reasons for having the Williamson Act
because it is something that I truly
believe in.”
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