Quarterly Status on Projects and Programs - Sonoma County ...

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Stewardship of Conservation EasementsAn important part of the District’s mission is the stewardship of its conservation easements which areheld in perpetuity. Stewardship includes site assessments of potential conservation easementproperties, and also a variety of tasks once a conservation easement is acquired. These includedeveloping baseline documentation for easement properties, regular monitoring of easementproperties, processing permitted use requests, and assisting landowners with compliance with theeasement terms.Site Assessments and Baseline DocumentationFrom May – July 2011, District stewardship staff contracted with consultants for the development andcompletion of four baseline documents that will be used during monitoring visits to ensure compliancewith the easement terms.MonitoringRegular monitoring of the District’s conservation easement properties is crucial to ensuring the continuedprotection of the land. Monitoring also gives the landowner and stewardship staff an opportunity tomeet and discuss any concerns either may have. Monitoring involves an extensive review and tour of theproperty, documentation of any changes on the land, and follow-up with the landowner. Stewardshipstaff conducted twelve monitoring visits during the quarter.Permitted Use RequestsAnother key responsibility of stewardship is processing permitted use requests. These are requests fromeasement landowners to undertake activities permitted by the easement that require prior Districtapproval. This process provides an opportunity for the landowner to interact with the District, explaintheir planned activities, and ask any questions. Stewardship staff received and processed six permitteduse requests this past quarter. These requests included approval for a park master plan in Roseland, arestoration and management plan along the Russian River, and construction of a new residence andgarage on a private ranch on Sonoma Mountain. Permitted use requests often involve a visit bystewardship staff to the property to assess the proposed activity’s compliance with the easementprovisions.ComplianceStewardship works with landowners to ensure compliance with easement terms. Often this involvesanswering questions and clarifying the easement provisions, and guiding the landowner to take particularsteps to stay in compliance.
Featured Conservation Easement:Maffia RanchProperty Location:Valley Ford Road, Valley FordLandowner: Eda MaffiaSupervisorial District: 2 ndProperty Overview:The 245-acre Maffia Ranchconservation easement straddlesValley Ford Road just west of theunincorporated town ofBloomfield. Running through theproperty is Americano Creek, theprimary freshwater tributary toEstero Americano. In order toprotect the creek and improve the condition of the riparian corridor, a separate collateralagreement was enacted between the District and the Maffias, at the time of easementacquisition, in which the Maffias agreed to perform certain preservation and restoration workwithin a given time frame. Since then,the Maffias have worked with GoldRidge RCD to install livestock exclusionfencing along the riparian corridors andrevegetate the banks with riparianplants. The RCD will continue tomaintain and monitor this work forseveral years.Beginning of riparian restoration project, 2008Maffia Family, 2005Riparian exclusion fence installed and banks revegetated with riparian plants, 2011
Page 1 and 2: Sonoma County AgriculturalPreservat
Page 3 and 4: Calabazas Creek Open Space Preserve
Page 5 and 6: Clover SpringsTransfer to City of C
Page 7 and 8: Elliott RanchProject Location: 3150
Page 9 and 10: Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserv
Page 11: Laguna de Santa Rosa Trails Plan, P
Page 14 and 15: McClelland DairySupervisorial Distr
Page 16 and 17: Montini Open SpacePreserve TrailPro
Page 18 and 19: Poff RanchManagement PlanProject Lo
Page 20 and 21: Saddle Mountain Open Space Preserve
Page 22 and 23: Sullivan RanchProject Location: Hig
Page 24 and 25: Wright Preservation Bank TransferPr
Page 26 and 27: Matching Grant ProjectProject: Colg
Page 28 and 29: Matching Grant ProjectProject: Cran
Page 30 and 31: Matching Grant ProjectProject: Gior
Page 32 and 33: Matching Grant ProjectProject: Paul
Page 34 and 35: Matching Grant ProjectProject: Sono

Quarterly Status on Projects and Programs - Sonoma County ...

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