Management of Mitigation Properties

Overseeing the implementation of management plans for local mitigation sites

The Sotoyome RCD (District) has entered into an agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game (Department) to assist the Department with the management of selected preservation properties on the Santa Rosa Plain. In response to a need to protect mitigation sites in perpetuity, which include both species preserves and wetland creation sites, the Department has accepted in fee the responsibility for protecting several properties located within the Districts boundaries.

Currently, the District is assisting the Department with property management activities to include participation in the development of property management plans, overseeing the implementation of cleanup as needed, site mowing for fire fuels reduction, development and oversight of grazing recommendations and subsequent grazing agreements, and other activities as they arise.

The District has recently been privileged to coordinate and oversee cleanup activities on one of the reserve units referred to as the Yuba unit, or the FEMA site. This site was historically a naval training site, followed briefly by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) storage site, and has also been known as the Santa Rosa Airport site. The Reserve supports a variety of bird and wetland species, including the endangered California Tiger Salamander.

For several years, use of the Reserve by the transient community led to a build up of debris both in the existing structures onsite and around the wetlands and vernal pools. Activities of this nature were not only aesthetically displeasing, but also served to degrade wetland habitat and plant and animal success onsite. As such, cleanup efforts included the eviction of transients onsite and the removal of existing debris onsite, both inside the bunker structures and outside of them. For more information regarding activities conducted on this site, please see the Activities Summary Report.

The District is also assisting the Department with the management activities on a number of other sites. Activities include the development of grazing recommendations, identifying and coordinating necessary infrastructure repairs and installs, identifying and securing grazers, administering grazing license's, and development of associated monitoring plans.

Assisting the Department with management activities gives the District a unique opportunity to improve and maintain local resources by combining local agriculture activities such as sheep and cattle grazing with natural resource management to help to ensure protection of precious vernal pool habitats and associated grassland as optimal habitat for species of concern. For more information, please email Kara Heckert at kheckert@sotoyomercd.org.