To: Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Staff Name and Phone Number: Mary Chambers, Agricultural Specialist | 707-565-7263
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Regional Conservation Partnership Program, Vital Streams and Forests: Technical Assistance - Enhancement Supplemental Agreement
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve and authorize the General Manager of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space) to execute a 4-year Supplemental Agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) which authorizes funding to Ag + Open Space in the amount of $465,000 for the Technical Assistance - Enhancement portion of its Innovative Conservation: Vital Steams and Forests project, through March 31st, 2028, with minor modifications as may be approved by County Counsel; and which includes a confidentiality agreement to protect certain agricultural producer information if its disclosure to Ag + Open Space is needed in connection with NRCS-funded programs.
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Executive Summary:
Ag + Open Space was awarded a $3,500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the Alternative Funding Arrangement of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP AFA) for the Innovative Conservation: Vital Steams and Forests project. Over a five-year period, this grant will provide funding for the purchase of conservation easements over riparian areas of agricultural and nonindustrial private forestland headwater properties, development of property-specific conservation plans, and implementation of conservation practices with a focus on protecting and enhancing stream corridors and headwater areas.
The Board previously approved the RCPP AFA Project Partnership Agreement (PPA), which established the framework for cooperation between NRCS and Ag + Open Space to implement activities eligible for funding. The Board also approved related subcontracts with the Sonoma and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation Districts for specific tasks described in the PPA, for the life of the grant.
In order for Ag + Open Space to be able to submit requests for reimbursement of expenses to NRCS and be compensated for work performed as part of this grant, Ag + Open Space and NRCS must now sign Supplemental Agreements (SAs) describing specific areas of work and outlining a budget and work plan for each specific area. The purpose of each SA is to establish the terms and conditions under which NRCS will reimburse Ag + Open Space for costs and expenses associated with delivery of the RCPP AFA project.
The SA addressed in this item is for what NRCS calls “Technical Assistance - Enhancement” (TA-E). TA-E includes tasks that support the grant objectives, but are not categorized as implementation tasks. This includes project management, outreach, outcome assessment, and conservation innovation. Ag + Open Space’s General Manager is requesting that the Board approve and authorize the General Manager to execute the TA-E SA.
Discussion:
Ag + Open Space was awarded a $3,500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the Alternative Funding Arrangement (AFA) of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for the Sonoma County Innovative Conservation: Vital Steams and Forests project. Over a five-year period, this grant will provide funding for the purchase of conservation easements over riparian areas of agricultural and nonindustrial private forestland headwater properties, development of property-specific conservation plans, and implementation of conservation practices with a focus on protecting and enhancing stream corridors and headwater areas.
The objectives of the project are to:
• Increase the number of riparian corridors on agricultural lands protected via permanent conservation easements
• Improve forest health and protect source water (both surface and ground)
• Implement conservation practices to restore and enhance protected properties
The three high-priority concerns that will be addressed are:
1. Water quality degradation
2. Inadequate habitat for fish and wildlife
3. Degraded plant condition
The Board previously approved and authorized Ag + Open Space’s General Manager to execute the RCPP AFA Project Partnership Agreement (PPA), which established the framework for cooperation between NRCS and Ag + Open Space to implement activities eligible for funding. The Board also previously approved and authorized Ag + Open Space’s General Manager to execute subcontracts with Sonoma Land Trust and the Sonoma and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) for specific tasks described in the PPA, for the life of the grant.
In order to be able to submit requests for reimbursement to NRCS, Ag + Open Space and NRCS must now sign Supplemental Agreements (SAs) describing specific areas of work and outlining a budget and work plan for each specific area. The purpose of each SA is to establish the terms and conditions under which NRCS will reimburse Ag + Open Space for costs and expenses associated with delivery of the RCPP AFA project. The SA addressed in this report is for what NRCS calls “Technical Assistance - Enhancement” (TA-E). TA-E includes tasks that support the grant objectives, but are not categorized as implementation tasks. This includes project management, outreach, outcome assessment, and conservation innovation. Ag + Open Space’s
General Manager is requesting that the Board approve and authorize the General Manager to execute the TA-E SA.
This SA includes $465,000 of funds to be reimbursed by NRCS, which will be disbursed across several areas:
• Project management staff time, Ag + Open Space: $90,000
• Project management staff time, RCDs: $29,464
• Outreach staff time, Ag + Open Space: $40,000
• Outreach staff time, RCDs: $128,325
• Outcome assessment staff time, Ag + Open Space: $48,000
• Outcome assessment staff time, RCDs: $11,330
• Conservation innovation staff time, Ag + Open Space: $68,000
• Conservation innovation staff time, RCDs: $16,665
• Project management mileage, RCDs: $536
• Outreach mileage, RCDs: $1675
• Outcome assessment mileage, RCDs: $670
• Conservation innovation mileage, RCDs: $335
• Outreach supplies, RCDs: $30,000
The SA also contains a confidentiality agreement required by Section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 that obligates Ag + Open Space staff to guard the confidentiality of information provided by an agricultural producer or owner of agricultural land concerning the agricultural operation, farming or conservation practices, or the land
itself, in order to participate in NRCS programs.
California Environmental Quality Act
By entering into the recommended SA, neither NRCS nor Ag + Open Space is committing to any specific conservation or restoration project. The purpose of the Supplemental Agreements (SA) is to fund project management, outreach, outcome assessment, and conservation innovation (the design of tools or approaches for land protection) as needed to establish a framework for implementation of specific conservation projects. Specific actions committing to any specific projects funded through this program will be approved by the Board via subsequent Supplemental Agreements between NRCS and Ag + Open Space. As such, the requested action to approve the recommended SA for technical assistance is not a project under CEQA. (CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3).)
Vital Lands Initiative
This project will help meet multiple goals in the Board approved Vital Lands Initiative, including:
• Protect the highest priority riparian corridors and headwater streams.
• Protect the highest priority aquatic habitats and associated upland areas that support rare, unique, or special status aquatic plants and animals.
• Protect connected aquatic habitats and the lands that support this connectivity.
• Protect areas important for climate change and extreme event resiliency and adaptation, including projects that promote carbon sequestration and avoided emissions and enhance biodiversity.
• Support agricultural use on Ag + Open Space protected lands.
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:
N/A
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
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Prior Board Actions:
June 12, 2023: Summary Report 3 -- The Board of Directors approved and authorized the General Manager of Ag + Open Space to execute: 1. A five-year agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) authorizing funding to Ag + Open Space in the amount of $3,500,000 for its Innovative Conservation: Vital Streams and Forests project, and 2. Related subcontracts for the life of the aforementioned grant with the Sonoma and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) in amounts described.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$63,000 |
$134,000 |
$134,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$63,000 |
$134,000 |
$134,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$63,000 |
$134,000 |
$134,000 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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General Fund Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$63,000 |
$134,000 |
$134,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
NRCS will reimburse expenditures incurred by Ag + Open Space and the RCDs pursuant to the implementation of the RCPP AFA Vital Streams and Forests project. In the first year, Ag + Open Space will request approximately $63,000 of reimbursement, and in years two through four approximately $134,000 per year, for a total of $465,000.
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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):
No staffing impacts are expected to result from this action.
Attachments:
1. Technical Assistance - Enhancement Supplemental Agreement
2. Approved Summary Report of Regional Conservation Partnership Program -Vital Streams and Forests
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A