It spans nearly 500 miles, supplies the water that nourishes California's economy and has provided vocations and vacations for generations, but the Sierra Nevada has no benefactor like the conservancies that care for Lake Tahoe or the state's vast coastline.

That could change this year, however, if one of the two bills now winding through the Legislature is approved - or if the two morph into one. The bills, AB 2600, authored by a Democrat, and the Republican-drafted AB 1788, would create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy.

The conservancy's nonregulatory board would coordinate the millions of dollars that flow into the mountain range each year from various sources for a variety of conservation uses. Essentially, it could serve as a clearinghouse for the money, which would go toward the most-needy areas instead of being scattered.

"The Sierra is something that cries out for a conservancy," said John Laird, a Democrat assemblyman from the central coast who authored AB 2600.

Laird, chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on California Water Needs and Climate Change, said the 28-year-old California Coastal Conservancy has served the region - and the state - well. The Sierra, he said, could use the same help.

"A Sierra Conservancy will give people in the Sierra a seat at the table," he said. "I think the model of the Coastal Conservancy has worked very, very well."

Unlike the California Coastal Commission, which regulates land use and issues development permits, the nonregulatory Coastal Conservancy works as an intermediary among local governments, public agencies, nonprofit groups and private landowners to purchase, protect, restore and enhance coastal resources.

Republicans seek bigger role for locals

The Lake Tahoe Conservancy is in Republican Assemblyman Tim Leslie's district. And while he has supported its efforts over the years, including raising thousands of dollars for environmental projects by supporting the Lake Tahoe license plate program, Leslie's chief of staff, Jedd Medefind, said his boss is generally hesitant when it comes to creating such entities.

"He had to decide to oppose it on principal or get involved to make things better," Medefind said about why Leslie brought AB 1788 forward.

Surprisingly, Leslie's involvement was spurred by none other than the state's top Republican, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It may have rankled some of his fellow Republicans, but Schwarzenegger's environmental action plan pledges to create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy.

"I think this is a case where the governor is showing his independent streak," Medefind said.

Given that the Legislature is controlled by Democrats, the Republicans are drawing up another version of the conservancy plan. While the two bills differ on the boundaries of the proposed conservancy, the biggest differences are the makeup of its governing board and exactly what kind of input local governments will have.

Laird's bill would have the conservancy's seven-member board consult with local agencies on proposed projects. Leslie's proposal has a 20-member board, including two county supervisors from each of the conservancy's five subregions.

"At this point, we're working to convince the Schwarzenegger administration that a form of conservancy that cuts locals out of the decision process is unacceptable," Medefind said.

Conservancy control issues

The Sierra Fund, a Nevada City-based foundation that links donors with conservation projects, is a main proponent of a conservancy for the mountain range and is supporting Laird's bill. But Izzy Martin, the fund's Sierra Nevada campaign director and former Nevada County supervisor, said that to increase the chances that the conservancy proposal passes, there is hope that the two bills will become one.

Still, how the issues of local control versus regional and state priorities play out will be key.

The last effort to create a conservancy for the Sierra was derailed two years ago. Although it sailed through the Assembly, it never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. What scuttled the bill were differences on the makeup of the governing board and whether individual counties and towns could opt in or out of the conservancy.

"The more pertinent argument is that already, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent in the region, and the Sierra doesn't have a say," Martin said. "There is no defined, formal role for where the money is being spent."

Despite Assemblyman Leslie's aversion to conservancies, Medefind agreed that one could help tackle some of the issues facing the Sierra, like forest and watershed health.

"It conceivably could become an excellent forum to address serious issues," he said.

Staff from Leslie and Laird's offices have been in communication on the two bills, and it's "definitely conceivable" that the bills could come together, Medefind said.

Because the conservancy idea is something Schwarzenneger is behind, Laird agreed that bipartisan support might be easier to come by this time around.

AB 2600 is expected to be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee by April 19.