How will Yolo County afford Conaway Ranch? They won't have to.

The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians has pledged to help Yolo County buy the ranch.

County supervisors and the tribe announced their partnership at a Tuesday press conference.

"We're prepared to fully assist the county," said Paula Lorenzo, tribal chairwoman of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians.

The details are still being negotiated as the price of the property is yet unknown, but the tribe is willing to fund the entire purchase of the 17,300-acre ranch in the Yolo Bypass and Cache Creek Settling Basin, according to Helen Thomson, Yolo County Board of Supervisors chairwoman.

"I feel like dancing. I'm so excited," Thomson said.

County Supervisor Mike McGowan responded to Thomson's statement by tapping his feet.

Thomson and McGowan spearheaded negotiations that resulted in the partnership. Thomson said she and McGowan brought the concept to the tribe.

"The tribe was already there," McGowan said. "Great minds think alike."

The ranch represents the most significant remaining open space in Yolo County, and includes 15,900 acres of farmland, gas production wells, regional flood control opportunities and wetlands enhancement opportunities. The ranch also has thousands of acre feet of water rights: 45,000-acre feet of ground water, 50,000-acre feet of Sacramento River surface water and 30,000-acre feet of secondary rights to Cache Creek riparian water.

Nearly 25 farmers, the current owners and agencies such as the California Waterfowl Association, Wildlife Conservation Board, Ducks Unlimited, California Fish and Game, U.C. Davis, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have cooperated over the past 15 years in turning Conaway Ranch into a model of sustainable farming.

Standing near an aerial photo of the agriculturally-rich ranch that resembled a green patchwork quilt, McGowan praised the new partnership.

"The JPA is unrelenting in its desire to preserve this major regional resource for public benefit," he said.

The county's use of eminent domain to acquire the ranch has been the subject of debate for nearly a year. Those most ardently opposed to the purchase have said the county has no business fighting for land it cannot afford.

Tuesday's announcement answered the long-standing question of how the county will buy the land. The tribe will be the county's financing partner in purchasing the ranch via private acquisition or eminent domain proceedings. The tribe would also participate with the other government members in managing the property.

"The Rumsey Tribe should have an equal voice in this," McGowan said.

If the county acquires the ranch, a Joint Powers Authority would manage it. The JPA is currently comprised of the county and the cities of Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento and Winters, UC Davis, and Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

"We are not aware of any other partnership in the nation where a local county government and a recognized Indian tribe have joined together to preserve more than 17,000 acres of open space for the public's benefit," Thomson said.

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, said she is committed to sponsoring legislation to allow the tribe to become a member of the JPA.

"I pledge my support to further whatever legislation is needed to allow for this to be a true and full partnership between the tribe and the other members of the JPA," Wolk said.

Thomson said no mitigation money paid to the county by the Rumsey Tribe will go towards the Conaway Ranch purchase, and no county general funds will be used for the ranch purchase.

"We look forward to taking a seat next to other governments in this region to develop comprehensive management plans for the future governance of the Conaway Ranch and becoming the only tribe in the State to fully participate in a Joint Powers Authority," Lorenzo said.

Wolk called the tribe's willingness to fund the purchase "extraordinary."

"Think about it: A people deprived of their history and their livelihood, manage to survive and now they will be key partners helping to preserve the land, the water and open space for the people of Yolo County, for the whole State of California, forever. The generosity of this act is remarkable. An acquisition of this magnitude that is made simply for the public benefit," Wolk added.

Daily Democrat columnist Jim Nielsen, an outspoken opponent of public acquisition of the ranch, accused the board of putting the county up for sale.

"It looks like Las Vegas has come to Woodland, California," he said. "As the financing bank, it certainly could be assumed the tribe would carry more weight than the county in what happens with the ranch. It just looks sleazy."

Yolo County Taxpayers Association claimed there is a connection between the county-tribal alliance and the board's approval of a new 18-hole golf course for the Cache Creek Casino Resort, which is owned and operated by the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians.

"The odds of this being a coincidence is like the odds of me hitting a hole in one," said Dudley Holman, president of the association.

In a press release issued within hours of the press conference, the association stated there are too many unanswered questions.

"What are the terms of the agreement? What bearing will this agreement have on future casino expansion? What public services will be impacted?"

Ranch owner Conaway Preservation Group also raised an eyebrow to the alliance.

"The potential use of gambling profits to condemn private property and water rights is an issue that the people of Yolo County should not take lightly," the Conaway Preservation Group stated in a press release.

Conaway Preservation Group purchased the 17,300-acre ranch east of Woodland in December for an estimated $60 million. Group members have not fully identified themselves except to say they are local landowners, farmers, nonprofit organizations and other interested parties.

"Conaway Ranch is a nationally recognized success story for wildlife-friendly farming practices, and we believe the Ranch can be preserved and more effectively managed under private ownership," according to the group.

Wolk disagreed, saying when opportunities like this come along, leaders must take advantage of them.

"You have to pull out all of the stops to make it happen. Many people said we would never reach this goal. Today, I am confident we will," she said during Tuesday's press conference.

"More than a dozen local and state governments and organizations agree that the best owner of this land is the public. We welcome the opportunity to partner with the Rumsey Tribe in making this a reality," McGowan said.

Wolk heralded McGowan, Thomson and Lorenzo's role in devising a plan that will help the county realize its goal acquisition.

"But it has been, and will continue to be, the energy and vision of a few key people, Mike McGowan, Helen Thomson, and Paula Lorenzo, in making this impossible dream become a wonderful reality. This is what true leadership is all about. Taking the political risk," she said.