Public Advisory Committee Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.

City of Pittsburg, Council Chambers (Ante Chamber Room) 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg, CA 94565

Agenda

1) Introductions. Attendees are invited (but not required) to sign in. This is also an opportunity for committee members (and meeting participants) to provide updates on their organization’s activities.

2) Public comment on items not on the agenda. Public comment will also be accepted on

each agenda item during discussion of that item. 3) Consider approving the Meeting Record from the East Contra Costa County Habitat

Conservancy (“Conservancy”) Public Advisory Committee (“PAC”) meeting on November 9, 2017. The Draft Meeting Record is attached.

4) General Update on recent actions of the Governing Board. The complete Board agenda

and packet from December is background material and is posted on the Conservancy’s website at:

http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/cd/water/HCP/Meetings/GB.html a) New Governing Board Roster b) Acquisition and Restoration update c) Science Panel d) Other announcements

5) Review and consider making funding recommendations to the Conservancy

Governing Board on proposals received in response to the Small Research Grants Program RFP. Consider other aspects of the grant program including outreach, recruitment of proposals, and alternatives to the program that could achieve similar goals. PAC members will review and discuss proposals. The PAC members will make recommendations that will be taken to the Conservancy Governing Board for consideration. Attached: list of past/current research, request for proposals, and proposals received by the deadline. Note: Any PAC member affiliated with a proposal under consideration is expected to recuse him/herself from the meeting. He/She may not participate or attend this portion of the meeting.

6) Update on the Antioch HCP/NCCP 7) Field trip requests additional meeting topic ideas. 3:00 Adjourn. The next regular meeting date is on May 10, 2018. The full schedule of regular

PAC meetings is: Feb 1, May 9, August 9, and November 8 from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. at the City of Pittsburg. Note: the May meeting is usually a field trip and time may vary based on the activity.

If you have questions about this agenda or desire additional meeting materials, you may contact Maureen Parkes of the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development at 925-674-7831. The Conservancy will provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities planning to participate in this meeting who contact staff at least 72 hours before the meeting.

EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

HABITAT CONSERVANCY

City of Brentwood

City of Clayton

City of Oakley

City of Pittsburg

Contra Costa County

Public Advisory Committee

*Draft Meeting Record*

Thursday, November 9, 2017

1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

1) Introductions.

Committee Attendees:

Private Permit Seekers

Conservation Advocates

Landowners/Agriculturalists Suburban/Rural Residents

East Bay Leadership Council:

California Native Plant Society: Lesley Hunt

Agricultural/Natural Resource Trust of Contra Costa County:

Arnica MacCarthy: Present

Discovery Builders Inc.: Noelle Ortland

Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed: Rick Lemyre

Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust: Jim Gwerder

Sharon Osteen: Present

Building Industry Association – Bay Area: Lisa Vorderbrueggen

Save Mount Diablo: Juan Pablo Galvan

Contra Costa County Farm Bureau: John Veitch

Kelly Davidson: Present

Others in attendance:

Allie Cloney, Conservancy Staff

Joanne Chiu, Conservancy Staff

2) Public comment on items not on the agenda: Jim Gwerder announced that Brentwood

Agricultural Land Trust is merging with Central Valley Farmland Trust.

3) Consider approving the Meeting Record from the East Contra Costa County

Habitat Conservancy (“Conservancy”) Public Advisory Committee (“PAC”)

meeting on August 10, 2017. The Meeting Record was approved.

4) General update on recent actions of the Governing Board. Mrs. Cloney and Ms. Chiu

provided updates on recent activities of the Conservancy Governing Board. The

discussion included a summary of recent Governing Board actions, Conservancy 10 year

anniversary activities, an update on the development of an Antioch HCP/NCCP and a

preview of the December Governing Board meeting agenda.

5) Land Acquisitions Year in Review Presentation. Ms. Chiu gave a power point

presentation on land acquisition activities conducted in 2017.

6) Looking ahead to 2018. Mrs. Cloney and Ms. Chiu reviewed the proposed 2018 draft

Conservancy work plan. PAC members suggested minor edits/corrections. Staff will

incorporate edits into the final draft to be presented to the Governing Board in December.

Page 2 of 2

7) Conduct annual review of the composition of the PAC. Mrs. Cloney provided an

overview of the Board actions that requires annual review of the PAC composition and

membership.

8) Set the Calendar of 2018 PAC meetings. The PAC meets the 2nd Thursday of the

month, quarterly on the schedule provided here: February 1 (due to meeting

conflicts the Feb meeting will be held on the 1st Thursday of the month), May 10,

August 9, and November 8 from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. at the City of Pittsburg. The May

meeting is usually a field trip. The meeting calendar was confirmed.

3 p.m. Meeting adjourned.

Past and

 Current Fun

ded Re

search Efforts

1/20

18

Organ

ization

Amou

ntSource

Topic

Dates

San Francisco Estuary Institu

te / 

Conservancy / C

ontra Co

sta 

Watershed

 Forum

$270

,000

CA Dep

t. of Fish

 and

 Wildlife & CA 

Coastal Con

servancy

Historical Ecology of E

ast C

ontra Co

sta Co

unty 

Complete 20

11

East Bay Regional Park District 

(EBR

PD)

$140

,000

Moo

re Fou

ndation

Mon

itorin

g Golde

n Eagle movem

ent p

atterns 

and interactions with

 turbines in

 the 

Vasco/Altamon

t Wind Re

source Area

Complete 20

17

East Bay Regional Park District 

(EBR

PD)

$110

,000

Moo

re Fou

ndation

Bat m

ortality associated

 with

 Wind Turbine in 

the Va

sco/Altamon

t Wind Re

source Area

1/20

16‐ 6

/201

8

Nom

ad Ecology

$50,00

0CA

 Dep

t. of Fish

 and

 Wildlife

Rare plant m

anagem

ent/Invasiv

e plant con

trol

4/20

15 ‐ 3/20

18

East Bay Regional Park District 

(EBR

PD)/ Con

servancy/Vollm

ar 

Consultin

g

$121

,691

 (w

ith an 

additio

nal 

$56,10

2 cost sh

are)

U.S. B

ureau of Reclamation/ U.S. 

Fish and

 Wildlife

This is a prop

osal to

 stud

y longho

rn fairy

 shrim

p. 

The selected

 sites a

re not on Co

nservancy 

Preserve prope

rties ‐‐ the

y are adjacent, at 

Vasco Caves a

nd on CC

WD prop

erty. Lon

ghorn 

fairy

 shrim

p are a covered species a

nd th

e Co

nservancy is providing in‐kind (staff) 

assistance to th

e  stud

y.

 6/201

6 ‐ 1

2/20

19

Sape

re Enviro

nmen

tal

$75,00

0Co

nservancy Fund

s 

Evaluatio

n of th

e Efficacy of W

ildlife 

Und

ercrossin

g installed as part o

f the

 Vasco 

Road

 safety im

provem

ents.  The stud

y will also

 refin

e camera trapping

 strategies ta

rgeted

 at 

amph

ibians.  

11/201

6 ‐ 7

/201

9

Nom

ad Ecology

$50,00

0CA

 Dep

t. of Fish

 and

 Wildlife

Developing

 weed mapping

 techniqu

es usin

g remote sensing

4/20

17 ‐ 3/20

19

East Bay Regional Park District

$5,502

HCP/NCC

P grant p

rogram

Fossorial m

ammal burrow m

onito

ring in Vasco 

Caves a

nd Vasco Hills R

egional Preserves

1/20

17 ‐ 6/20

19

Note: The

se effo

rts listed

 in th

e table above are inde

pend

ent o

f the

 Con

servancy's on

going managem

ent a

nd m

onito

ring activ

ities of restoratio

n projects 

and the preserve. 

Proposal to Repeat Raptor Surveys of 2006-2007 to Measure Responses to Wind Project Decommissioning and 15 Years of Managed Sheep Grazing

24 January 2018

Photo: Joe DiDonato

K. Shawn Smallwood, Ph.D. Douglas A. Bell, Ph.D. Independent Wildlife Biologist Wildlife Program Manager 3108 Finch Street East Bay Regional Park District Davis, CA 95616 2950 Peralta Oaks Court Phone (530) 756-4598 Oakland, CA 94605 Cell (530) 601-6857 Phone (510) 544-2341 puma@dcn.org Cell (510) 520-3945 dbell@ebparks.org

A grazing management study was begun in 2006 on two adjacent parcels including Souza 1 and Vasco Caves Regional Preserve (Smallwood et al. 2009c). Cattle were replaced by sheep by 2005, and paddocks were arranged to vary grazing intensity from none to high. Sheep grazing has since been managed with the aim of testing long-term ecological effects on fossorial mammals such as California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) and Botta’s pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae), and ultimately on raptors such as Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni), western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugea), and others. East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy (ECCCHC) funded additional years of monitoring of fossorial mammals in 12 randomly selected plots from within the initial burrow mapping area (Figure 1). In fall 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 Smallwood repeated the mapping effort in the 12 plots randomly selected from the area mapped in 2006-2007, as well as in a few extra plots (20 plots total). Another burrow mapping effort, funded by ECCCHC, is planned for fall 2018. Also since 2006, the Tres Vaqueros Wind Energy project, the biological impacts of which were the central focus of the 2006 Smallwood et al. (2009c) study, was decommissioned and all of the wind turbines removed from where they had stood for more than three decades. By repeating the 2006-2007 raptor surveys in 2018-2019, it will be possible to quantify responses of raptors to the long-term effects of grazing management and to the removals of wind turbines. The raptor surveys of 2006-2007 consisted of repeat visits to 15 behavior observation stations that were positioned to obtain excellent views of raptors flying over various sheep grazing treatments and at various distances from wind turbines (Smallwood et al. 2009c). They also included the mapping of burrowing owl breeding pairs across the entirety of both parcels (Smallwood et al. 2009a). We collected thousands of records of raptor flights, along with height above ground, behavior, flight direction, and distance from wind turbines, and all of these data were digitized to location and processed in electronic spreadsheets. Positions of any raptors observed during future surveys can be related to the positions of vacant pads where wind turbines were removed, as well as to grazing treatment paddocks and terrain measurements. Positions of burrowing owl nest sites were also recorded and are available for comparison to new data. One of the surprising findings of the 2006-2007 study was the repeated observations of Swainson’s hawk over Vasco Caves Regional Preserve and Souza 1. Observations of Swainson’s hawk have continued on these areas during other studies. Two years ago we recorded the first documented nesting of Swainson’s hawks in the Altamont Pass; we monitored the successful rearing of two chicks on Souza 1. During burrow mapping efforts we have also noticed increased numbers of tricolored blackbird (Aqelaius tricolor) – another species covered by the ECCCHCP. We can easily incorporate observations of tricolored blackbirds along with Swainson’s hawks and golden eagles in our repeat surveys at 15 stations used during our earlier study of 2006-2007. We have an opportune before-after, control-impact (BACI) experimental design for testing the effects of sheep grazing versus cattle and the effects of wind turbine operations. The ‘before’ phases of the BACI design were the incipient switchover from cattle to sheep grazing and the ongoing operations of wind turbines, and the after

phases were 13 years of sheep grazing and the absence of wind turbines. In the case of grazing effects, the control treatment would be cattle grazing on Northern Territories, Souza 3 and other properties in the APWRA where observation stations have been repeatedly visited since 2012 and will continue to be visited through 2019, and the impact treatment would be sheep grazing on Souza 1 and Vasco Caves. In the case of wind turbine operations, the control treatment would be measured by observation stations on Vasco Caves, where wind turbines were not installed, and the impact treatment would be Souza 1, which hosed wind turbines that operated through 2008 and were removed in 2016. This comparison is particularly relevant for measuring potenital wind-turbine avoidance by raptors (see Villegas-Patraca et al. 2014). The objectives of our repeat surveys would be to (1) Compare relative abundance of golden eagles, Swainson’s hawks and burrowing owls before and after long term sheep grazing and wind turbine operations; and (2) Examine golden eagle flight paths for shifts in selection of ridge structures formerly hosting wind turbines. Our goals are to contribute to refinements in understanding of the ecological requirements of ECCCHC covered species, as well as to the responses of these species to respond to implementation of management actions within the Preserve System. We hope to contribute to the development of strategies to conduct management or monitoring actions that support and/or lead to better management of natural communities or covered species. METHODS We propose to revisit 15 observation stations for 1-hour surveys every 2 months totaling 6 times each (Figure 2). During each survey we will record the number of each species seen, as well as flight paths, behaviors and heights above ground. We will also record counts of ground squirrels visible on each slope observable from each observation station, and these counts will be related to observed raptor flight paths and to golden eagle telemetry positions recorded in an ongoing study administered by Doug Bell. From the birds observed during visual scan surveys, we will digitize flight paths and relate point features recorded at intervals to analytical grid cell identification numbers, each of which is associated with a suite of terrain measurements and distance from the nearest vacant wind turbine address. Each grid cell also carries information on ground squirrel presence and densities within concentric bounds of our choosing. DISCUSSION The switch from cattle to sheep noticeably changed the ecological community of Souza 1 and Vasco Caves, as perennial bunch grasses covered more of the slopes and flowering plants emerged. On the other hand, ground squirrel density appears to have declined, and along with this decline burrowing owls have declined from about 25 nesting pairs in 2007 to none in 2016 and 2017. However, burrowing owl nesting colonies appear to shift locations throughout the APWRA, so the decline of burrowing owls at Vasco Caves and Souza 1 might have had nothing to do with the shift in grazing. Burrowing owls might very well return to Vasco Caves and Souza 1, especially given the rapid increase in chick production across the AWPRA (Smallwood unpublished data). The benefits and

costs of sheep grazing, and the effects of grazing sheep at various intensities, can now be measured at Souza 1 and Vasco Caves because sufficient time has passed for effects to be measurable. We aim to measure the effects of sheep grazing on ECCCHC-covered raptor species. Our study also seeks to measure the impacts of wind turbines on ECCCHC-covered raptor species by observing relative abundance and behaviors after the wind turbines were removed. Whereas many baseline studies have been performed to compare relative abundances of raptors before and after wind project construction, no studies have been performed to compare relative abundances before and after wind project decommissioning. Along with ongoing behavior surveys across the APWRA where wind projects are being repowered, our proposed study would be the first. We hope to observe any release of pressure, if any, on raptor flight patterns that had been exerted by the existence of wind turbines over 35 years or so, and which are now gone. This information may provide additional justification and support for the EBRPD’s efforts to acquire and retire wind rights within conservation lands purchased jointly with the ECCCHC. REFERENCES CITED Villegas-Patraca, R., S. A. Cabera-Cruz, and L. Herrera-Alsina. 2014. Soaring migratory

birds avoid wind farm in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Southern Mexico. PLoS ONE: 9(3): e9246. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092462.

Smallwood, K. S., L. Neher, and D. A. Bell. 2009a. Map-based repowering and

reorganization of a wind resource area to minimize burrowing owl and other bird fatalities. Energies 2009(2):915-943. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/2/4/915

Smallwood, K. S., L. Rugge, and M. L. Morrison. 2009b. Influence of Behavior on Bird

Mortality in Wind Energy Developments: The Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California. Journal of Wildlife Management 73:1082-1098.

Smallwood, K. S., L. Neher, D. Bell, J. DiDonato, B. Karas, S. Snyder, and S. Lopez.

2009c. Range Management Practices to Reduce Wind Turbine Impacts on Burrowing Owls and Other Raptors in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California. Final Report to the California Energy Commission, Public Interest Energy Research – Environmental Area, Contract No. CEC-500-2008-080. Sacramento, California. 183 pp. http://www.energy.ca.gov/ 2008publications/CEC-500-2008-080/CEC-500-2008-080.PDF

Smallwood, K. S., L. Neher, J. Mount, and R. C. E. Culver. 2013. Nesting Burrowing Owl

Abundance in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California. Wildlife Society Bulletin: 37:787-795.

Smallwood, K. S. and C. Thelander. 2004. Developing methods to reduce bird mortality

in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area. Final Report to the California Energy Commission, Public Interest Energy Research – Environmental Area, Contract No.

500-01-019. Sacramento, California. 531 pp. http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports/500-04-052/2004-08-09_500-04-052.PDF

Smallwood, K. S. and C. Thelander. 2005. Bird mortality in the Altamont Pass Wind

Resource Area, March 1998 – September 2001 Final Report. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/SR-500-36973. Golden, Colorado.

SCHEDULE AND BUDGET All field work will take place between June and November 2017 and 2018. All hourly rates are $60/hour, except for Doug Bell’s rate of $85.86/hour. Total match hours include all of Doug Bell’s hours and additional hours contributed by Shawn Smallwood.

Task

Hours

Cost ($)

Match hours

Match cost ($)

Revisit behavior observation stations that were sampled in 2006-2007

166 9,960 50 3,000

Continue behavior observations at offsite locations where cattle are grazed

166 12,960

Travel (160 miles/trip, 24 trips; $5 bridge toll)

2,328

Process audio and map files for analysis 22 1,320 GIS mapping and analysis 44 2,640 Statistical analysis & reporting 20 1,200 Total 166 9,960 302 23,448

Figure 1. Distribution of 12 random monitoring plots and extended plots within an area the entirety of which was mapped for fossorial mammals in 2006 on the Souza 1 and Vasco Caves parcels. Also shown are burrow complexes mapped in 2014.

Figure 2. Locations of 4 of the raptor behavior observation stations on the Souza 1 parcel, along with vacant pads where wind turbines were removed since the 2006-2007 study.