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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12092014 - C.61RECOMMENDATION(S): ACCEPT the Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Committee 2014 Annual Report, as recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Committee. FISCAL IMPACT: None. BACKGROUND: On June 18, 2002, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 2002/377, which requires that each regular and ongoing board, commission, or committee report annually to the Board of Supervisors. The attached report presented for Board consideration was approved by the Fish and Wildlife Committee on November 19, 2014. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: The annual reporting requirement to the Board of Supervisors would not be fulfilled. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: This is not applicable. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 12/09/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Maureen Parkes, 925-674-7831 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: December 9, 2014 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: Stephanie L. Mello, Deputy cc: C. 61 To:Board of Supervisors From:John Kopchik, Interim Director, Conservation & Development Department Date:December 9, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:Fish and Wildlife Committee 2014 Annual Report ATTACHMENTS Annual Report Advisory Body Name: Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Committee Advisory Body Meeting Time/Location: 3rd Wednesday of every month, 3 – 5 pm 2475 Waterbird Way County Public Works Department Road Maintenance Division lunch room Chair: Daniel Pellegrini Staff: John Kopchik and Maureen Parkes Reporting Period: January 2014 – December 2014 1. Activities and Accomplishments: The Fish and Wildlife Committee (FWC) met monthly to discuss matters related to fish and wildlife issues in Contra Costa County. The Committee is responsible for running a grant program that expends the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Funds (funds that are collected by the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife for code violations). The Committee also hosts an annual Fall Forum to raise awareness among people working in law enforcement, environmental restoration, education and outreach about fish and wildlife issues. Grant Program: The Committee received 16 proposals requesting Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund grant funds during the regular grant cycle. The Committee reviewed the proposals, interviewed applicants and selected each of the 16 proposals totaling $140,605.23 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors. Grants ranged from $985 to $40,000. The Committee reviewed progress and final reports from previous grant cycles and extended invitations to grantees to give presentations. Outreach: The Committee hosted the annual Fall Forum on September 25th, which is open to the public and encourages people involved in fish and wildlife law enforcement issues in Contra Costa County to attend. Invited attendees included representatives of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, Superior Court, Public Defender’s Office, the East Bay Regional Park District Police, the Board of Supervisors and members of the public. Participants have indicated that the Fall Forums have been helpful in raising awareness and fostering cooperation on fish and wildlife issues and law enforcement. More than 80 people attended the event. Volunteer Activities: Several members volunteer in the community with other organizations that are interested in fish and wildlife issues. Martha Berthelsen - Steering Committee for SPAWNERS; Rhonda Gehlke – Aquarium in the Classroom Program; Susan Heckly - Lindsay Wildlife Museum and CCC Master Gardener; Kathleen Jennings - Mt. View Sanitary District’s Special Advisory Committee for the Peyton Slough Wetlands Advisory Committee; Webb Johnson - Waterbird Tours Alcatraz Island (National Park Service) and Farallones Natio nal Marine Sanctuary; Kevin McIlvenna - Friday Morning Breakfast Club (FMBC); Danny Pellegrini - Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District Board of Trustees, East Bay Regional Park District Park Advisory Committee, Sheriff’s Posse of Contra Costa County (Barbeque Captain) and the Martinez Sportsmens Club. Brochure: The Committee updated the Wildlife in Your Backyard brochure. Committee members were regularly updated on activities related to fish and wildlife in Contra Costa County which included presentations by guest speakers and grant recipients as well as a field trip. The presentations and field trip are listed below: • Presentation on the Chelsea Wetlands Project. (Aaron Will, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.) • Presentation on the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (twin-tunnel project) and the County’s position and engagement on this matter. (Ryan Hernandez, Department of Conservation and Development) • Presentation on the children’s book - Sardis and Stamm: from Storyboard to Storybook. (Matthew Bettelheim and Francesca Demgen, Friends of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge) • Presentation on Managing and Minimizing the Impacts of Dogs in Regional Parks. (Matthew Graul, Chief of Stewardship, East Bay Regional Park District) • Presentation on the Kids Healthy Outdoors Challenge – Field Trips project. (Nancy Kaiser, Interpretive Services Manager, East Bay Regional Park District) • Presentation on and field trip to Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge (Louis Terrazas, Wildlife Refuge Specialist for San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service) • Presentations at the Fall Forum  Congressional Perspective on Fish and Wildlife Issues (The Honorable Mike Thompson, United States Congressman)  Bricks, Books, and Butterflies: The Natural History and Restoration Outlook at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge (Louis Terrazas - Wildlife Refuge Specialist for San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Matthew Bettelheim - Wildlife Biologist and Science Writer) • Presentation on the Pinole Creek Fish Passage Enhancement Project. (Ben Wallace, Executive Director, Contra Costa Resource Conservation District) 2. Attendance/Representation The Fish and Wildlife Committee is composed of ten members. Each Supervisor appoints a member and the Internal Operations Committee appoints four members and one alternate. The term for a member is two years. The Committee meets monthly. They met 10 times at which a quorum was always present. The members were: Martha Berthelsen (D-1), Susan Heckly (D-II), Kevin McIlvenna (D-III), Brett Morris (D-IV), Daniel Pellegrini (D-V), Rhonda Gehlke (At-Large), Kathleen Jennings (At-Large), Jeff Skinner (At-Large), Webb Johnson (At-Large) and Scott Stephan (At-Large Alternate). 3. Training/Certification At monthly meetings Committee members were regularly updated on activities related to fish and wildlife in Contra Costa County and had eight presentations and one field trip (see Activities/Accomplishments). All members have viewed the required videos “The Brown Act and Better Government Ordinance – What You Need to Know as a Commission, Board or Committee Member” and “Ethics Orientation for County Officials.” Certifications are on file for all of the members. 4. Proposed Work Plan/Objectives for Next Year (1) Fish and Wildlife Committee Operations: • Develop and refine Work Plan (working document). • Maintain FWC membership by advertising vacancies and forwarding applications to the Internal Operations Committee. • Seek to coordinate with other Fish and Wildlife Committees on regional matters. • Coordinate with the Contra Costa Watershed Forum. (2) Make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors via the Internal Operations Committee for the appropriation of funds from the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund to support fish and wildlife projects in the community: • Conduct grant program to solicit proposals, evaluate their relative merits, and recommend funding for projects which will contribute most to the fish and wildlife resources of the County. • Develop and advertise FWC grant program by: 1) Reviewing past Request for Proposals (RFP), funding applications; and 2) Developing new RFP, funding application deadline, and funding priorities; and 3) posting to the County website, distributing these materials to the media, the FWC mailing list and RFP mailing list, and to anyone else who requests them. • Work with agencies, organizations, and individuals to help them plan and develop projects suitable for support from the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund. • Monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the grant disbursement process. • Review funding applications received. Make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors via the Internal Operations Committee for the awarding of grants. • Follow-up on projects that receive funding to assure that projects proceed as proposed. One way the FWC will do this is to extend invitations to prior Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund Grant recipients to future meetings to give status reports, outcomes and presentations regarding their projects. • Send out a letter to grant recipients requesting project status reports. (3) Fish and Wildlife Committee projects (develop and prioritize a list of projects for potential FWC involvement; select projects for FWC involvement and provided appropriate support, including: initiation, planning, consultation, and/or funding): • Make recommendations to the Board on awarding Certificates of Appreciation for significant contributions to the fish and wildlife resources of the County. • Consider hosting a Wildlife Forum. (4) Improve enforcement of fish and game laws and regulations; increase flow of money into the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund: • Review status reports on Fish and Game Code enforcement in Contra Costa County. Consider advising the Board on trends. • Help assure that, when appropriate, a portion of fines from violations of laws designed to protect fish and wildlife resources is deposited in the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund. Promote awareness of the harm caused by violation of fish and wildlife regulations and the value of enforcement. • Host a Fall Forum with law enforcement officials (CA Dpt. of Fish and Wildlife, Sheriff’s Dpt., District Attorney’s Office, Superior Court, Public Defender’s Office, the East Bay Regional Park District Police) to discuss fish and wildlife issues and enforcement. (5) Monitor and advise the Board on projects that may affect fish and wildlife resources in the county: • Attend field trips to see major restoration projects and prior Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund Grant recipients’ projects in the County. • Consider tours of East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy properties, Marsh Creek Fish Ladder, Walnut Creek Drop Structure, Dow Wetlands and Chelsea Wetlands at Pinole. (6) Develop policy recommendations (“white papers”) on fish and wildlife issues: • Update FWC’s “Wildlife in Your Backyard” pamphlet. • Discuss rodenticide use in the County. • Discuss impacts of invasive species. • Discuss wildlife and human interaction / interface. • Discuss public education on reducing the impact of cats on wildlife. • Discuss the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and proposal for water conveyance tunnels under the Delta.