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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02011994 - WC.1 WC 1 - ' ontra ! TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS :� _ Costa FROM: WATER COMMITTEE County Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak Supervisor Tom Torlakson DATE: February 1, 1994 SUBJECT: California Waterfowl Association Wood Duck Preservation Program SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS Authorize an immediate contribution of . $10, 000 to the California Waterfowl Association from the County Game Protection Fund for a wood duck preservation program. FISCAL IMPACT A small percentage of fines associated with State Fish and Game Code citations are funneled to Counties to be used in activities which benefit wildlife. Funds are available in the County Game Protection account for this purpose. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OFCOUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) : � Supervisor Sunne W. McPeak Supervisor .Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _� OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY .THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact: Roberta Goulart (510) 646-2071 ATTESTED / cc: Community Development Dept. (CDD) PHIL BATCHE R, CLERK OF County Administrator's Office THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Auditor-Controller AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY , DEPUTY RG:rw RWCUWC-duck.bod f Page 2 - Board Order Wood Duck Preservation Program February 1, 1994 REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND The California Waterfowl Association approached the County Fish and Wildlife Committee with a request for a $10, 000 contribution from the Game Protection Fund, for a wood duck preservation program. After review and some modification, the Fish and Wildlife Committee enthusiastically recommended this program to the Water Committee as a good and appropriate use of these funds. The Water Committee, after its review is also recommending Board approval for disbursement of funds for this purpose. The program itself consists of two parts; first a handbook which will be used statewide for construction and proper maintenance of the duck boxes. The boxes are widely used by wood ducks, particularly in the absence of hollow trees, and must be constructed and maintained properly to enable ducklings to survive. The second phase will entail the enhancement of wood duck populations within the County. Wood ducks have historically been here in great numbers, and a few still reside in some areas. Attempts will be made to lengthen existing habitat areas along riparian corridors using duck boxes. RG:nv RW IMC-duck.bbd r CALIFORNIA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION 4630 NORTMGATE BOULEVARD•SUITE 150•SACRAMENTO,CA 95834 J� (800)9D-DUCK•(916)648-1606•(916)648-MB FAX j/ "Preserving Califomia's waterfowl,wetlands,and outdoor heritage...since 7945." November 29, 1993 Cl rn v cam. Mr. Dan Pellegrini r_ c Chairman Contra Costa County Fish $ndcol Wildlife Committee o 2475 Waterberg Way Martinez, CA 94553 Dear Dan: This letter is a follow-up to confirm the substance of some further agreements that we, made during the meeting regarding the grant application for the California Wood Duck Program Handbook. 1. . If a grant is funded per the request, the County and the Fish and Wildlife Committee will be acknowledged for their contribution to the program. 2. Through its actions, Contra Costa County has demonstrated that it has a strong desire to restore wetland values in areas of relatively high human disturbance. Contra Costa County provides a unique environment where wood duck populations can be returned to areas which once had abundant populations, but have been reduced or eliminated by human development. The beauty of the California Wood Duck Program is that it uses intensive human effort to partially replace a resource destroyed by humans. 3. The California Wood Duck Program will develop a strategy to implement the Wood Duck Program in Contra Costa County. A report will be presented to the County's Fish and Wildlife Committee at its first regularly scheduled meeting following the one-year anniversary of the funding of the project. The report will include both an appraisal of opportunity for wood duck populations in Contra Costa County, as well as an action plan to implement a program to achieve the desired results. Mr. Dan Pellegrini November 29, 1993 Page 2 We appreciate your strong support for the program and look forward to meeting with the county water committee at the earliest possible date. '1 Bincefely, John L. Winther JLW:kf C c: Dr. M. Robert McLandress California Waterfowl Assn. CALIFORNIA WATER>`�VIP�TASSOCiATION 4W NORTHGATE BOUIEV=.-4E 150•SACRAMENTO.CA�l U 4100)9v-DUCK•(916)tom- s tfN:25 ewesewinRCalifornia'swit r4DDjth.�wndip,La� wfwftae...simeINS. •• � VEL t0j'-ElrT DEP T October 25, 1993 Mr. Dan Pelligrini Chairman Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee 2475 Waterberg Way Martinez, CA 94553 Lear Mr. Pelligrini: on behalf of the California Waterfowl Association I am submitting the attached grant request to fund the California Wood Duck Program Volunteer Handbook. The amount of the grant request is $10, 000 which includes preparation and printing charges. The handbook will present a detailed explanation of how volunteers can best manage wood duck nesting boxes. Additionally, however, the publication will be highly educational and will demonstrate how humans can work to recover what they have destroyed in the past. Contra Costa County has demonstrated its leadership in the area of wetland preservation. In the broadest sense our program is really trying to maximize habitat values for wetland-dependent wildlife species. Public perception plays a large role in these matters and can be significantly influenced by extremely positive programs such as the California Wood Duck Program. We believe that the volunteer handbook in the critical cornerstone of our program and for that reason consider its publication as a high priority. The handbook will show a cover price of approximately $3.50, but it will be distributed to volunteers free of charge and will be wade available in reasonable quantities to Contra Costa County if it is the funding agency for use in appropriate libraries. - I would be happy to attend a meeting of- your committee to further discuss the substance of this grant request. i re John `: inther cc: Dr. M. Robert McLandress California Waterfowl Assn. ®�►.+.e on t�.eroi.d n.w. 'r. r� HOOD VD= PROGMAN grant Request IST: wood Duck Program Volunteer Handbook To Produce a comprehensive handbook for informing volunteers about the methods, techniques, and critical factors necessary to assure a successful wood duck production program and an educational experience. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The wood duck is considered by many to be the most beautiful of all North American waterfowl. The male wood duck's rich greens, blues and burgundy body colors. combined with the green and purple head, red eyes and orange bill are truly striking. Another unique feature about wood ducks is that they nest in trees. Traditional newt sites containing old trees have decreased due to agriculture and urbanization. In California, less than 10% of these historical forested wetlands remain. Fortunately, the wood duck's adaptability and tolerance of humans indicate a bright future. Artificial nest houses (boxes) are readily utilized by the species. Nest boxes have been used throughout eastern North America for the last 30-40 -years with great success Boxes most frequently used by wood ducks are those that are routinely cleaned, repaired, and refilled with nest material. Without maintenance, however, fewer than St of nest boxes that aren't maintained are still usable by wood ducks after 3 years. The Wood Duck Program (WDP) is designed to increase the nesting population of wood ducks through placement and maintenance of wooden nest boxes throughout the state. Much of the effort is conducted by volunteers. Box maintenance is the most important aspect of the WDP. The California Waterfowl Association retains professional biologists and seasonal bio-technicians for teaching conservation principles to volunteers, coordinating and distributing nest boxes and data recording forms, and maintaining a computer database for the program in California.. The goal of the program is to install 1500 new nest boxes each year beginning n 3992, maintain those boxes already in place, and produce 50,000 ducks each year by 1995. Producing more wood ducks is not the only benefit of the California Wood Duck Program. The program encourages volunteerism and provides an ideal forum to teach both'-adults and children about mature, wetlands and the importance of preserving the environment for future generations. It will also produce important information about the breeding biology of the. wood duck; the needs of this species are poorly understood in the western United States. 'r VOL BR HANDBOOK: A Volunteer Handbook is currently in preparation. It will be the primary source of information for wood duck volunteers and other interested groups. In an effort to maintain a highly successful and conscientious program, the handbook will inform the volunteer of the most successful methods for installation, maintenance and repair of wood duck nest boxes. It would also provide important advice on the correct methods to collect and record data used to determine the success of the program's efforts. Finally, the handbook will provide a description of preferred wood duck habitats and problem solving techniques. ECOPs of WORK: This proposal requests funds for the preparation and printing of the volunteer handbook. FUSDsrla NZZDZD Production of 7,500 copies (24-page book with color) : Text. writing, figure preparation, design, layout $ 4,000 Printing and photo separation 6,000 Total $10,000 The California Waterfowl Association (CWA) , founded in 1945, is a non-profit (501 c 3) private. organization whose mission is to preserve and enhance California's waterfowl, wetlands and outdoor heritage. It currently employs a permanent staff of 25, including six professional biologists mupervised by internationally recognized waterfowl biologist, Dr. M. Robert McLandress. The biological staff conducts a wide variety of research, waterfowl restoration, habitat enhancement, and education programs in California. CWA's effectiveness and grassroots support has grown at a phenomenal pace during the past few years. Membership presently stands at 10,000 and has tripled in size since 1985. CWA's successes are due to a balance of effective programs which have resulted in real improvements in local breeding populations of waterfowl and in waterfowl habitat management.