Environmental Impact Statement - Sonoma Land Trust

California Department of Fish and Game
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Section 3.8. Recreation
Private Recreational Uses
The private recreational lease of the Black Point Sports Club is situated in a
portion of the Dickson Ranch parcel slated for wetland restoration and transfer to
CDFG for incorporation into CDFG’s Tolay Creek unit to the east. Even without
the Project, the Sports club lease would not be renewed beyond May 20121, and t
(beyond the time the property is transferred to CDFG). This is a condition of the
property purchase agreement. CDFG requires that all leases end before the land
is transferred to State ownership. The buildings would be removed with
implementation of the Project.
Based on a preliminary review of hunting facilities in the region, Aas shown in
Table 3.8-1 and 3.8-2 and illustrated in Figure 3.8-1, a number of hunting
facilities offering activities similar to the Black Point Sports Club are located
within 50 miles of the existing facility. These include alternate hunting facilities
on public lands such as San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Napa Sonoma-
Marshes, Petaluma Marshes, Cedar Roughs, and Knoxville Wildlife Areas; and
post-restoration hunting opportunities at the project site described above, u.
Upland game hunting facilities for pheasant and chukar and sporting clay
facilities also exist at private hunting facilities such as those located at Suisun
Marsh Hunting Preserve and Birds Landing Hunting Preserve. This facility
provides liberated birds and offers an extended season. Von Steuben Kennels
provides hunting dog training facilities at the Hastings Island Hunting and Bird
Landing.Reserve. Blue Ridge Kennels in Dixon provides training and kenneling
services 46.4 miles away. More than half of the facilities identified offer hunting
for upland game bird species such as turkey, pheasant, quail, dove, and/or
pigeon. The remaining facilities provide opportunities to hunt waterfowl. It
should be noted that several of these facilities are located within a few miles of
the Black Point Sports Club. , and include opportunities to hunt both upland
game species and waterfowl (Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area Tolay Creek
Unit [South]) or waterfowl exclusively (San Pablo Bay NWR— Open Water and
Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area Napa River Unit [North]). In addition, the
Sears Point property itself will allow public recreational hunting of waterfowl
following completion of the restoration project and transfer of ownership to the
USFWS and CDFG.
As shown in Table 3.8-2, outdoor trap and skeet shooting facilities can be found
in Marin, Sonoma, Solano, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties; and indoor
facilities in Marin and Solano Counties. Of these, approximately two-thirds have
trap/skeet shooting facilities comparable to those at the Black Point Sports Club.
Given the number of known opportunities available for upland game bird hunting
and recreational shooting within 50 miles of the project area, and considering the
number of potential hunting opportunities for upland game birds that exist on
private lands , it is evident that the activities undertaken at the Sports Club do not
constitute a regionally unique resource, and that would be eliminated
fromalternate facilities in the region under the Project.are available. Furthermore
as shown in Tables 3.8-1 and 3.8-2 above, numerous alternative facilities are
located within 50 miles of the Sports Club, including many public hunting
facilities that are located less than one mile from the Sports Club. Given the
relative proximity of these facilities to the Sports Club, it is expected that the
Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration
Project Final Environmental Impact
Report/Environmental Impact Statement
3.8-8
April 2012