|
ITEM: |
ACTION ITEM |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
14. |
CONSIDER APPROVAL FOR GRAnt funding for Hastings Reservation Ford RePLACEMENT ON Finch Creek |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Meeting Date: |
March 16, 2020 |
Budgeted: |
Yes |
||
|
|
|||||
|
From: |
David J. Stoldt |
Program/ |
ERD/Fisheries |
||
|
|
General Manager |
Line Item
No.: |
2-3-9 |
||
|
Prepared By: |
Beverly Chaney |
Cost Estimate: |
$100,000 |
||
|
|
|||||
|
General
Counsel Approval: N/A |
|||||
|
Committee
Recommendation: The Water Supply Planning Committee reviewed this
item twice: once on March 28, 2019 and a second time on February 5, 2020 and
recommended approval. Administrative Committee reviewed this item on February
13, 2020 and recommended talking to Monterey County to try to secure a
different funding source for the project. |
|||||
|
CEQA Compliance: This grant is exempt as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15301(i). Project permitting will be handled by UCB. |
|||||
SUMMARY: Finch Creek, in upper Carmel Valley, is the
primary tributary to Cachagua Creek, and is potentially one of the most
productive, highest habitat value creeks downstream of Los Padres Dam. In
normal and above water years, much of Finch Creek remains wetted, allowing
steelhead to survive the summer and contribute to the overall success of the
Carmel River watershed’s steelhead population.
In 2014, the District identified the wet stream
crossing (ford) at UC Berkeley’s (UCB) Hastings Natural History Reservation on Finch
Creek was identified as the 6th worst steelhead barrier in the
District’s 2014 Steelhead Barrier Assessment Report, which was funded through a
District IRWM grant. Removal of this barrier would allow unrestricted passage
to an additional 3.5 miles of quality stream habitat in wet years.
This
project was considered at the February Water Supply Committee and was approved
3-0. The Administrative Committee had two primary concerns with the project: 1)
the project location is outside District boundaries, and 2) they wanted to see
if Monterey County could help fund it.
The item was pulled from the regular board meeting agenda until staff
could address the two issues.
The Administrative Committee requested that staff
seek funding from Monterey County for the project. Sarah Hardgrave, Assistant
to Supervisor Mary Adams, reached out to District staff regarding the county
funding. No source of county funds is currently available. The concept of
applying for a Monterey County Fish and Wildlife Commission grant was
researched, but funding is not currently available, and the size of the grants
is considerably smaller than what is needed to fund this project.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to approve the
grant to the Regents of the University of California, Berkeley campus, for the
work related to the replacement of the Finch Creek Ford at the Hastings Natural
History Reservation for a not-to-exceed amount of $100,000.
IMPACT
TO STAFF/RESOURCES: Funds for
this project are included in the FY 2019-2020 budget under “Aquatic Resources Fisheries”
line item 2-3-9 Ford Removal @ Hastings Reservation”, Account 24-04-785870,
$100,000.
DISCUSSION: While this site is just outside the District boundary,
it is in the Carmel River Watershed and thus plays an important role in the
success of the Carmel River steelhead population as both adults and juvenile
steelhead migrate between Finch Creek and the greater Carmel River and Carmel
Valley. Successful spawning in Finch Creek translates to a greater population
of steelhead in the entire watershed. Other projects outside our boundaries
that benefited the overall watershed have been funded in the past.
The District was awarded a large Department of Water
Resources grant in 2010 to oversee the Proposition 84 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan, a multi-project, multi-agency endeavor that looked at a
number of projects both inside and outside District boundaries. Assessment of
Steelhead Passage Barriers in the Carmel River Watershed was part of the IRWM
(IRWM Project 3). The ford at the Hastings Reservation was identified as one of
the worst barriers in the four Carmel River tributaries studied and removal and
replacement of the ford was recommended by District fisheries staff. Other
identified barriers in the watershed are also in the process of being removed.
Funding for these projects has come from various sources that are no longer
available.
The
concept of a partnership between the District, UCB/ Hastings Reserve, and the
State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to fund the planning, permitting and
construction of a replacement crossing on Finch Creek was conceived in 2019 and
is still the best option for moving forward.
By the end of 2019 both UCB and the SCC were ready to move forward with
the project. They need the grant money from the District to stay on-track this
spring with the planning and permitting stage. Construction is planned for fall
of 2020 with possible project completion by the end of this year.
EXHIBIT
14-A Proposal from Regents University of California, Hastings
Reservation, Finch Creek Ford Replacement Grant Request dated December 19, 2019
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2020\20200316\ActionItems\14\Item-14.docx