To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Regional Parks
Staff Name and Phone Number: Lulu Waks, 707-565-2041
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Targeted Grazing Services in Sonoma County Regional Parks
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the Director of Sonoma County Regional Parks to execute new five-year, as-needed Open Scope Professional Service Agreements, not to exceed $200,000 per vendor annually with terms ending December 31, 2028, with the following consultants: Coastal Land & Livestock; Kaos Sheep Outfit; Chasin Goat Grazing LLC; Perennial Grazing LLC.
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Executive Summary:
In August 2023, Sonoma County Regional Parks (Department) released a Request for Proposal for targeted grazing services. Through this competitive process, four operators were selected to provide seasonal targeted grazing services in various parks throughout Sonoma County on an as-needed basis. Open Scope Professional Service Agreements with the selected operators will be for a five-year term from the date of contract execution, with the possibility of up to two extensions not to exceed three years each.
Discussion:
Targeted grazing is the application of a specific kind of livestock at a determined season, duration, and intensity to accomplish defined vegetation or landscape goals. Targeted grazing is an effective vegetation management tool in areas where it is too steep, rocky, or too vast to mow, where invasive species management is desired without the use of herbicides, and/or where habitat conversion would occur without regular disturbance. It is a critical tool in annual vegetation reduction to mitigate the risk of wildfire. The Department has been contracting with targeted grazing operators since 2017 for the purposes of fuels reduction and habitat enhancement in parks throughout the county.
The Department’s existing contracts will expire before the next grazing season. These new Open Scope agreements will allow the Department to award multi-year contracts to four operators increasing both flexibility and capacity to deploy targeted grazing in parks countywide.
The RFP was sent to County Purchasing and was advertised for bidding on August 28, 2023. On September 29, 2023 at 2:00 p.m., proposals were opened by the Purchasing Division.
The evaluation panel included three employees from the Department’s Natural Resources division with experience in grazing as a vegetation management tool. The criteria used to evaluate the proposals included:
• Demonstrated ability to perform the services described
• Experience, qualifications and expertise
• Costs relative to the scope of services
• A demonstrated history of providing similar services to comparable entities
• Willingness to accept the County’s contract terms
• The locality of the Proposer
• Quality, responsiveness, and completeness of proposal
Out of six proposals received and evaluated, four operators were selected:
1. Coastal Land & Livestock
2. Kaos Sheep Outfit
3. Chasin Goat Grazing LLC
4. Perennial Grazing LLC
The operators that were not selected were over budget or abandoned the RFP process.
In order to select a vendor for future grazing projects, Department staff will supply the vendors with a project specific scope of work with a request for project specific proposals and quotes. Taking into account cost, availability, previous experience, and proximity of each vendor’s other grazing projects, the most appropriate vendor will be selected for each job.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Climate Action and Resiliency
Goal: Goal 5: Maximize opportunities for mitigation of climate change and adaptation through land conservation work and land use policies
Objective: Objective 2: Develop policies to maximize carbon sequestration and minimize loss of natural carbon sinks including old growth forests, the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and rangelands. Encourage agricultural and open space land management to maximize sequestration
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$211,237 |
$230,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$211,237 |
$230,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$211,237 |
$230,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$211,237 |
$230,000 |
$250,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Funds from Measure M are specifically committed to targeted grazing, which is an ongoing, annual expense. The Department continually seeks grant-funding to offset costs of grazing projects and/or to expand grazing into new parks or ungrazed acres of existing parks. No grant funding is reflected in the current fiscal year or projected future years, however the Department continually seeks opportunities to expand revenue and contracted services to expand grazing.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Professional Service Agreement with Chasin Goat Grazing LLC
Professional Service Agreement with Coastal Land & Livestock
Professional Service Agreement with Kaos Sheep Outfit
Professional Service Agreement with Perennial Grazing LLC
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None