Aug 13, 2026 Natural & Cultural Resources Committee

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WELCOME. I CALL TO ORDER THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT FOR TODAY IS AUGUST 13TH, 2026 AND THE MEETING IS HEREBY CALLED TO ORDER AT EXACTLY 2 P.M.

CLERK, COULD WE TAKE THE ROLL PLEASE? YES. DIRECTOR COFFEY?

[Roll Call]

CHAIR DESCHAMBAULT? PRESENT.

ALL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT.

SO THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM IS

[Approval of Minutes]

YES, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE AND JUST KNOWING WHO WAS IN ATTENDANCE THAT DAY, IT IS OKAY FOR YOU TO SECOND AND VOTE IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THAT. ALL RIGHT, SO I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE.

OKAY, MOTION AND SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? YES. APPROVES THREE AYES.

[Public Comments on Items Not on the Agenda]

OKAY, WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENT IN PERSON, BUT WE HAVE ONE HAND UP ONLINE.

NORMAN, YOU MAY UNMUTE YOURSELF.

I JUST WANT TO COMMENT THAT I WAS UP WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE TO THE SENATE BUDGET HEARING YESTERDAY. I THOUGHT IT WENT WELL. WE ALL GOT 30 SECONDS TO SPEAK, SO WE HAD A LOT OF TIME TO GO OVER EVERYTHING ABOUT GOLD GATE FIELDS. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WAS THAT BOTH FORMER ASSEMBLYMEMBER TOM BATES AND SENATOR COCKWELL SPOKE, AND THEY ALSO HAD ABOUT A 45 TO 60-MINUTE MEETING WITH THE STATE BUDGET CHAIR, JOHN LAIRD, WHICH I THINK WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE FOR THIS CAMPAIGN TO GET GOLDEN GATE FIELDS. AND THEN A NUMBER OF US MET LATER WITH SENATOR JESSE ARREGUIN ABOUT IT. SO, THINGS ARE POSITIVE, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WITH THE SAUSAGE MAKER.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THERE IS NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENT.

OKAY, THANKS.

[Informational Items]

AND JUST TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL VERY SAD ABOUT THE PASSING OF JERRY KENT, WHO SPENT HIS CAREER WITH THE PARK DISTRICT AND MADE A REALLY SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISTRICT, TO OUR TEAM, AND THE PARKS THAT OUR COMMUNITY ENJOYS.

AND SO, HIS FAMILY'S BEEN UP IN OREGON. WHEN THEY GET BACK, BRENDA AND I ARE GOING TO MEET WITH THEM AND TALK THROUGH SOME IDEAS ABOUT A WAY TO HONOR HIS LEGACY, AND WE'LL BE SHARING THAT WITH YOUR BOARD.

OKAY, APPRECIATE THAT.

ANY COMMENTS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS OR QUESTION BEFORE I OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

YES, I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST YEAR WE HAD THAT PILED MULTI-PAGE LIST THAT SHOWED ALL THE DIFFERENT TOPICS OF INTEREST FOR THIS COMMITTEE, THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE. AND ONE OF THE TOPICS ON THAT LIST WAS SOME TYPE OF ARCHIVE AND CULTURAL RESOURCE HISTORY MUSEUM TYPE OF CENTER. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MAYBE GO BACK AND SEE WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION WE HAVE IN REGARDS TO THAT ITEM THAT WAS ON THE...

LONG COMPILED LIST AND I'M SURE I HAVE THAT LIST SOMEWHERE AS WELL BUT IT'D BE GOOD TO KNOW WHAT CONVERSATIONS IF ANY HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST ON THAT TOPIC BUT THAT WOULD BE AN AREA OF INTEREST TO ADD TO OUR WORK PLAN AS WE THINK ABOUT THE 2027 CALENDAR YEAR AND CERTAINLY ONCE THERE IS THE MEETING WITH JERRY KENT'S FAMILY WHEN THEY'RE BACK FROM OREGON SEE WHAT TYPE OF INTEREST THEY MIGHT HAVE BUT I THINK IT'S WORTH THE IDEA AND THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THINKING ABOUT A JERRY KENT ARCHIVE AND HISTORY CENTER, I KNOW, WELL, HE WORKED HERE FOR THE PARK DISTRICT, HE CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH, BUT THEN EVEN WHEN HE RETIRED, HE WAS AN ENTHUSIASTIC ARCHIVE VOLUNTEER.

I'M REALLY GLAD WE GOT TO CELEBRATE HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ARCHIVES TEAM IN MAY AT THE CALIFORNIA AND RECREATION PARK DISTRICT CONFERENCE, CARPED CONFERENCE, WHERE OUR ARCHIVE TEAM, INCLUDING AMELIA MARSHALL

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QUESTIONS PUBLIC COMMENTS WE HAVE ONE PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE NORMAN, YOU MAY UNMUTE YOURSELF.

FORCE AND I HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH JERRY FOR MANY MANY YEARS WHEN HE WAS ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER AND THEN IT WENT AFTER HE RETIRED AND ON THE REGIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION BOARD YES, I WOULD HOPE THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME KIND OF RECOGNITION OF ALL HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND WORK FOR THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE ENVIRONMENT OVER THE YEARS. MY OWN PERSONAL PREFERENCE WOULD BE THAT THE ARCHIVE THAT THE PARK DISTRICT HAS WOULD BE NAMED AFTER HIM. I THINK THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY PERTINENT AND APPROPRIATE. AND I WOULD SAY THAT I WOULD LEAVE ANY DECISION, HOWEVER, UP TO HIS WIFE AND FAMILY AS TO WHAT THEY WOULD WANT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE IS NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENT. SO SORRY, 5A. I WAS THINKING THAT WAS A DIFFERENT ITEM. YEP, AMELIA MARSHALL. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS AMELIA MARSHALL. I AM A 14-YEAR VOLUNTEER FOR THE PROGRAM THAT WE HOPE WILL BE CALLED THE JERRY D. KENT MEMORIAL ARCHIVES AND HISTORY CENTER. IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN THREE MINUTES TO DESCRIBE THE GOOD THINGS THAT JERRY DID FOR THE DISTRICT BETWEEN 1962 AND HIS RETIREMENT IN 2004 AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY UP TILL THREE WEEKS AGO FOR AS A VOLUNTEER.

I'VE HEARD SAY THAT SOME OF THE YOUNGER NEWER PARK STAFF DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE WANT TO BE LIONIZING YET ANOTHER OLD WHITE GUY. AND SO LET ME JUST TELL MY FAVORITE JERRY KENT STORY.

THIS OCCURRED BACK IN THE LATE 1980S WHEN JERRY KENT WAS ACTING GENERAL MANAGER AFTER THE BOARD FIRED DAVID PESSIMAN. SO, ONE DAY JERRY'S SITTING IN HIS OFFICE AND HE PICKS UP A PHONE CALL FROM ED LEONG, THE PARK SUPERVISOR AT SIBLEY. AND ED SAID, JERRY, WE'VE GOT A SITUATION HERE.

WE'VE GOT ALL THESE ARTISTIC TYPE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSTRUCTING A STONE LABYRINTH DOWN IN ONE OF THE OLD QUARRY PITS FROM KAISER SAND AND GRAVEL. JERRY SAID, WELL, ED, YOU BETTER CLEAN IT UP. WE CAN'T HAVE PEOPLE CONSTRUCTING PUBLIC ART WITHOUT A PERMIT. SO, TWO DAYS LATER, JERRY GETS ANOTHER CALL FROM ED LEONG AND HE SAYS, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE OUGHT TO RETHINK WHETHER WE SHOULD...

REALLY LOVE THIS LABYRINTH.

JERRY SAID, WELL, I'M AN OLD SOFTY, ED, GO AHEAD AND LEAVE IT IN THERE IF THE PUBLIC REALLY LIKES IT.

SO THE VERY SAME DAY, THIS IS JUST BEFORE EASTER, JERRY GETS A CALL FROM THE YOUTH PASTOR AT THE LAFAYETTE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. AND HE SAYS, JERRY, WE'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW LABYRINTH AT SIBLEY, OUR YOUTH GROUP WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MIDNIGHT WORSHIP SERVICE BEFORE EASTER SUNRISE.

CAN WE ARRANGE TO GET AN ESCORT IN AFTER HOURS TO WORSHIP AT THE LABYRINTH? JERRY SAID, OKAY. HE'S A DEACON AT THE CHURCH AND KNOWS THESE PEOPLE, SO HE MAKES THE ARRANGEMENTS.

AND THE MORNING OF EASTER SATURDAY, JERRY GETS A CALL, AND HE'S FROM ED LEONG.

HE SAYS, WELL, ED SAYS TO JERRY, I HOPE YOU'RE SITTING DOWN. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS. SANTERIA WORSHIPPERS HAVE SACRIFICED ALIVE CHICKEN DOWN THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LABYRINTH AND IT'S NOT ALIVE ANYMORE.

AND JERRY SAID, WELL, ED, YOU BETTER CLEAN IT UP. THE PRESBYTERIANS WILL BE THERE AT MIDNIGHT.

THANK YOU. THERE IS NO MORE.

I JUST, I WAS GLAD WE HAD SOMETHING TO SAY, LET THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT STAFF'S WORKING ON THIS.

JERRY WAS SUCH AN AMAZING MENTOR FOR ME. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOCAL GROUP THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT, THE RPA, AND THAT'S BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 1940S. AND

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EVEN, QUITE FRANKLY, I BELIEVE IT WAS ON THE DAY THAT JERRY FELL THAT FRIDAY, HE SENT OUT SOME INFORMATION ON LAKE.

TEMESCAL THAT NOBODY ELSE HAD, THAT NO ONE COULD FIND, AND HE HAD DUG IT UP FOR US IN THE ARCHIVES.

AND SO, I MEAN, HE WAS JUST A TREASURE TROVE OF INFORMATION. AND I THINK BESIDES A CEREMONY WHERE I THINK WE'LL HEAR ALL OF THESE STORIES AND MORE AT SOME POINT WITH HIS FAMILY, AND CERTAINLY NAMING THE ARCHIVES, I KNOW WHEN I GOT A TOUR OF THE ARCHIVES, IT'S IN MUCH NEED OF MORE SPACE.

AND I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT HOW OUR ARCHIVES ARE VERY SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE BOARD. THE PARK DISTRICT AND HOPE THAT WE CAN REALLY DO SOMETHING GRAND IN HIS HONOR FOR THIS GRAND LEGACY THAT REALLY MADE THE PARK WHAT IT IS TODAY.

IN ADDITION TO GETTING TO CELEBRATE THE GROUP VOLUNTEER AWARD AT THE CARPED CONFERENCE, I REALLY APPRECIATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR THAT JERRY JOINED US FOR THE AFTERNOON OF OUR ANNUAL BOARD RETREAT. I THINK THAT HAVING HIM ON OUR AGENDA AND AS A PART OF OUR BOARD RETREAT PROGRAM WAS A REALLY NICE WAY TO KICKSTART THE YEAR AND TO COME TOGETHER AND THINK ABOUT CONNECTING EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED. YOU KNOW, IN THE HISTORY OF EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, WHERE WE WERE AT THIS YEAR, AND WHAT WE WANT TO GO TOWARDS AND MOVE TOWARDS IN THE FUTURE. AND IT WAS REALLY NICE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE JERRY KENT BE A PART OF THAT AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU.

I LOOK FORWARD TO STAFF BRINGING THIS BACK WITH SOME OF THE ADDED INFORMATION, DEFINITELY FINDING OUT WHAT, AS DIRECTOR SANWONG, WHAT WERE DISCUSSIONS IN THE PAST AND COLLABORATING, PULLING THAT ALL TOGETHER FOR US, FOR THE BOARD.

AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO INFORMATIONAL ITEM B, WHICH IS COLLABORATIONS WITH UC SANTA BARBARA, THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER, ENHANCING THE RICHNESS AND RESILIENCE OF OUR CALIFORNIA AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITY.

AND I BELIEVE TAMMY LIM IS HERE TO PRESENT.

HI, MY NAME IS TAMMY LIM, AND I'M A WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST IN THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT.

AND WE ARE EXCITED TO ACTUALLY WELCOME JORDAN ECKHORN AND NICHOLAS MASSEY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER WHO WILL BE PRESENTING TODAY. THEIR RESEARCH WAS SUPPORTED BY A 1.2-MILLION-DOLLAR CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION SEA GRANT AWARDED TO OUR LONGTIME COLLABORATORS DR. PETE JOHNSON AT CU BOULDER AND DR. SHERRY BRIGGS AT UC SANTA BARBARA. THIS GRANT INVOLVED EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK PARTNER AGENCIES INCLUDING OURSELVES, EAST BAY MUDD, AND BLUE OAK RANCH RESERVE. THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF HOW INNOVATIVE COLLABORATIONS ARE ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ECOSYSTEMS AND INFORMING LAND MANAGEMENT. WITH THAT, JORDAN AND NICK.

THANK YOU FOR THAT WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION TAMMY AND WITH THAT I'M NICK AND I'M JORDAN AND TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING OUR RESEARCH CONTRIBUTING TO ENHANCING THE RICHNESS AND RESILIENCE OF CALIFORNIA AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITY.

ALRIGHT, SO AMPHIBIANS ARE AN INDICATOR SPECIES AND THE HEALTH OF A WETLAND CAN BE MEASURED BY ITS AMPHIBIANS. THEIR AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL LIFE STAGES CONNECT THEM TO WATER QUALITY, HYDRO PERIOD, CLIMATE, DISEASE, INVASIVE SPECIES, AND SURROUNDING HABITAT. THEY ARE AMONG CALIFORNIA'S MOST VULNERABLE WILDLIFE COMMUNITIES AND THEIR FUTURE DEPENDS ON HEALTHY WETLANDS. ONE OF THE MAIN FOCUSES OF OUR RESEARCH IS THE IMPACT OF PARASITIC INFECTIONS CAUSING MALFORMATIONS IN AMPHIBIANS.

YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE THIS IS A PACIFIC CHORUS FROG WITH A EXTRA HIND LIMB MALFORMATION.

AMPHIBIANS ARE IMPACTED BY BOTH ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC FACTORS FROM CLIMATIC VARIATIONS SUCH AS HEAT WAVES AND DROUGHTS TO BIOLOGICAL THREATS SUCH AS INVASIVE SPECIES, PATHOGENS, AND PARASITES. OUR RESEARCH EXPLORES HEALTH THREATS SUCH AS INVASIVE BULLFROGS, CHYTRID FUNGUS, AND PARASITE INFECTIONS IMPACT THREATENED AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE EAST BAY REGION. THIS PROJECT EVALUATES EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE VARIABILITY ALONGSIDE INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND INVASIVE SPECIES. OUR MONITORING AND MODELS ARE DESIGNED TO UNDERSTAND WHICH COMBINATIONS MOST STRONGLY AFFECT AMPHIBIAN PERSISTENCE AND RESILIENCE.

TO EFFECTIVELY MONITOR AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE ACCESS TO A LARGE NUMBER OF SITES ACROSS THE BAY AREA. THE JOHNSON LAB HAS BEEN FORTUNATE TO SAMPLE SITES THROUGHOUT THE EAST BAY REGION FOR OVER 15 YEARS, CREATING AN INVALUABLE LONG-TERM DATA SET. THIS RESEARCH WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR PARTNERS, INCLUDING EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK, EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK

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THIS PARTNERSHIP ALSO ALLOWS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT.

PROJECT PARTNERS MEET REGULARLY SO THAT MONITORING, ANALYSIS, AND MODELING REMAIN FOCUSED ON CONSERVATION QUESTIONS THAT ARE USEFUL TO LAND MANAGERS.

INTO THE FIELD, SO A LARGE DATA SET SUCH AS THIS IS MAINTAINED BY SEASONAL CREWS THAT VISIT SURVEY SITES. AND QUANTIFY BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND SITE CHARACTERISTICS.

AT EACH SITE WE SAMPLE FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF WILDLIFE AND FEATURES, INCLUDING BIRDS, REPTILES, AND OF COURSE AMPHIBIANS. WE QUANTIFY AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS, SWAB FOR CHYTRID FUNGUS, AND EXAMINE SNAILS FOR PARASITES, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT BOTH LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, AND ASSESS WATER LEVEL AND CHEMISTRY. THE REPEATED VISITS PROVIDE COMPARABLE OBSERVATIONS ACROSS SITES AND YEARS.

TWO SPECIES OF PARTICULAR FOCUS IN OUR SURVEYS ARE THE LISTED CALIFORNIA RED-LEGGED FROG AND CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDERS.

THE RED-LEGGED FROG IS FEDERALLY THREATENED AND THE CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER IS FEDERALLY AND STATE PROTECTED.

BOTH OF THESE SPECIES HAVE FACED SIGNIFICANT POPULATION DECLINE. IN 2025, CALIFORNIA RED-LEGGED FROG LARVAE WERE DETECTED AT 31% OF SITES AND CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER LARVAE ONLY AT 8% OF THE SITES, THOUGH THEIR RANGE IS MORE SO OUT OF OUR SAMPLING REGION. SO THERE ARE BETTER POPULATIONS MORE EASTWARD. THIS DATA IS STILL PART OF AN ONGOING QUALITY CONTROL AND FURTHER ANALYSIS PROCESS, BUT REPEATED MONITORING HELPS TRACK WHERE POPULATIONS PERSIST AND REPRODUCE.

OUT OF OUR TOTAL 85 PONDS, WE HAVE 30 SENTINEL PONDS THAT ARE EQUIPPED TO CONTINUOUSLY SAMPLE HYDROPERIODS.

SO THESE PONDS KIND OF ANCHOR OUR DATABASE OVER A LONG TIME PERIOD.

WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY SAMPLING FOR HYDRO PERIOD, LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS, AND BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES YEAR-ROUND. AND THESE SENSOR ARRAYS INCLUDE STAFF GAUGES, HYDRO LOGGERS, CONDUCTIVITY METERS, SURFACE AND BOTTOM TEMPERATURE LOGGERS, TRAIL CAMERAS, AND AUDIO LOGGERS. WHICH MEANS A LOT OF DATA TO GO THROUGH AT THE END OF THE SEASON.

THESE SYSTEMS PROVIDE HIGH RESOLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL AND WILDLIFE DATA BETWEEN FIELD VISITS.

WE USE OUR DATA TO CREATE MECHANISTIC MODELS THAT LINK PRECIPITATION, TEMPERATURE, WIND, AND HUMIDITY TO POND HYDROLOGY AND WATER TEMPERATURE, WHICH THEN INFLUENCE AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS AND DISEASE. THE GOAL IS TO USE CLIMATE PROJECTIONS AND REALISTIC POND CONDITIONS TO FORECAST VIABILITY AND EVALUATE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS.

OUR WORK WITH PROTECTED AMPHIBIANS IS CONDUCTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE AUTHORIZATIONS, AGENCY AGREEMENTS, AND APPROVED ANIMAL CARE PROTOCOLS. EVERY SURVEY IS CONDUCTED UNDER APPROVED PERMITS AND ESTABLISHED ANIMAL CARE PROTOCOLS BASED ON ICOOK STANDARDS.

TRAINING AND OUTREACH ARE A CORE PART OF THIS PROJECT.

THE LAB WORKS WITH GRADUATE STUDENTS, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS, HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, AND ELEMENTARY STUDENTS.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE DISCOVERY PARTICIPANTS, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS, VOLUNTEERS, CAREER DAY OUTREACH, AND PRESENTATIONS TO THE SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY. EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ON OUR RESEARCH IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET PEOPLE INVOLVED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT CONSERVATION EFFORTS.

SO NOW WE'LL LOOK AT SOME DATA FROM SOME OF OUR RECENT SAMPLING SEASONS.

OUR PROJECT BUILDS, AS WE'VE SAID, ON A 13-YEAR DATA SET AND TARGETS 85 TOTAL PONDS.

LONG-TERM CONSISTENCY IS WHAT ALLOWS FOR US TO DISTINGUISH SHORT-TERM VARIATION FROM MEANINGFUL ECOLOGICAL CHANGE.

IN 2024, 84 FOCAL SITES GENERATED 168 FIELD VISITS, AND IN 2025, 79 SITES WERE SAMPLED FOR 158 VISITS. WE BASICALLY SAMPLED BOTH PONDS TWICE OVER THE SEASON. THIS LEADS TO A TOTAL OF 326 FIELD VISITS COMBINED.

AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF OUR SAMPLING IS THE HYDROLOGY AND HYDROPERIOD OF OUR SITES. TWO PONDS DRIED IN MID TO LATE SUMMER IN 2024 AND FIVE IN 2025. BY CONTINUOUSLY MONITORING THESE SITES WE CAN SEE IF INCREASES SUCH AS THIS IMPLICATE ANY MAJOR CHANGES IN THE HYDRO PERIOD.

ALL RIGHT, NEXT LOOKING INTO SOME DATA ON THREATENED SPECIES, WE FOUND THAT CALIFORNIA RED-LEGGED FROGS EXPANDED IN 2025. IN 2024, RED-LEGGED

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YEAH. CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDERS REMAINED STABLE ACROSS 2024 AND 2025. LARVAE WERE DETECTED AT EIGHT SITES IN 2024 AND SEVEN SITES IN 2025. CALIFORNIA TIGERMANDERS ARE A BIT TRICKIER BECAUSE THEY ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED SPECIES THAT REQUIRE ONGOING TARGETED PROTECTION.

INVASIVE SPECIES LIKE THE AMERICAN BULLFROG ARE ALSO PART OF THE STORY. BULLFROG LARVAE WERE FOUND AT FIVE SITES IN 2024 AND FOUR SITES IN, OH SORRY, AT, WHAT WAS IT, I THINK ACTUALLY THESE ARE THE RIGHT NUMBERS, AT FIVE SITES IN 2024.

AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF OUR SAMPLING IS FOR CHYTRID FUNGUS. SO, THIS IS THE FUNGUS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER. IT IS GREATLY HARMFUL TO AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES BECAUSE IT TARGETS THE SKIN, WHICH IS KIND OF WHAT AMPHIBIANS ARE KNOWN FOR. THEY GET WATER, THEY RESPIRE THROUGH THEIR SKIN, SO THEY DEFINITELY NEED THEIR SKIN.

NEARLY 4,000 AMPHIBIANS WERE SWABBED FOR CHYTRID, ALSO KNOWN AS BD FOR SHORTHAND, ACROSS TWO YEARS, AND SHOWN HERE IS THE DATA FOR 2024. SO, IN 2024, FOR THE PREVALENCE, AMERICAN BULLFROGS HAD A 59% INFECTION PREVALENCE. WESTERN TOADS HAD 38%, PACIFIC CHORUS FROGS HAD 32%, ROUGH-SKINNED NEWTS HAD 27%, AND CALIFORNIA NEWTS HAD 6%. SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE IS THAT FOUR OF THE FIVE SPECIES ON THIS PANEL RIGHT HERE ARE NATIVE.

THAT WOULD BE THE WESTERN TOAD DOWN, SO WESTERN TOADS, CHORUS FROGS, ROUGH-SKINNED NEWTS, AND CALIFORNIA NEWTS. AND WE CAN SEE THAT THERE IS THE HIGHEST PREVALENCE WITH AMERICAN BULLFROGS, WHICH ARE AN INVASIVE SPECIES.

WE ALSO COLLECT SWABS FOR CALIFORNIA RED-LEGGED FROGS, THOUGH THESE NEED FURTHER ANALYSIS STILL, AND RESULTS VERY STRONGLY BY LIFE STAGE AS WELL.

AND ANOTHER IMPORTANT COMPONENT THAT WE SAMPLE FOR ARE TREMATODE PARASITES.

SO THESE ARE BASICALLY FLATWORMS, AND THIS ONE THAT'S SHOWN IN THE IMAGE HERE IS THE CAUSE OF THE LIMB MALFORMATION IN FROGS ACROSS SOME OF OUR PONDS, LIKE WE SHOWED IN THE SECOND SLIDE FOR THE PRESENTATION.

THESE PARASITES IN PARTICULAR AS WELL AS OTHER PARASITES THAT WE SAMPLE FOR CAN HAVE BROAD IMPACTS ON AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF THE LIMB MALFORMATIONS.

THIS SEASON WE SAW A PARTICULAR INCREASE IN LIMB MALFORMATIONS WITH RED-LEGGED FROGS WHICH AGAIN ARE THREATENED SPECIES SO THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A POINT OF CONCERN. MALFORMATIONS WERE OBSERVED IN 5.6 PERCENT OF CHORUS FROGS AND THE DEFORMITY CAUSING TREMATODES WERE AT 37 SITES.

THE SENTINEL POND NETWORK IS ALSO REVIEWING THE BROADER WILDLIFE COMMUNITY THAT DEPENDS ON THESE WETLANDS. WILDLIFE CAMERAS ARE CURRENTLY COLLECTING DATA ON THESE SAME PONDS. WE'VE DEVELOPED A PIPELINE FOR PROCESSING THESE CAMERA IMAGES, AND TO DATE WE'VE PROCESSED CLOSE TO 4 MILLION IMAGES, OF WHICH 300,000 CONTAIN WILDLIFE, AND ACROSS 41,000 SAMPLING DAYS WE'VE DETECTED NEARLY 150 TAXA.

HIGH FREQUENCY DETECTIONS INCLUDE MULE DEER, WILD BOAR, MALLARDS, COYOTES, AND WESTERN POND TURTLES, WHICH ARE ANOTHER LISTED SPECIES AS WELL, AND SOME ARE ANIMALS TOO.

SO SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT WE HAVE HERE ON THE BOARD, WE HAVE A GREAT BLUE HERON ON THE LEFT. SECOND FROM THE LEFT, WE HAVE A JUVENILE RED-TAILED HAWK TAKING OFF MID-FLIGHT. PRETTY COOL PHOTO. AND THEN THE THIRD PHOTO IS A STRIPED SKUNK, WHICH ARE ACTUALLY FAIRLY UNCOMMON IN SOME OF THESE MORE OPEN SPACES. SO THAT'S A COOL FIND. AND FURTHEST ON THE RIGHT IS A COYOTE TAKING A BIT OF A DIP IN THE HOT WEATHER.

ONE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS THAT WE SAMPLE AS WELL IS HYDROLOGY.

SO A LOT OF THAT INTENSIVE EQUIPMENT THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IS BASICALLY JUST TO GIVE YOU THIS GRAPH HERE.

AND IT'S A PRETTY WONKY LOOKING GRAPH. BUT IN ESSENCE IT TELLS YOU TEMPERATURE AND WATER LEVEL FOR THE PONDS THAT WE'RE SAMPLING. SO, THIS IS ONE POND IN PARTICULAR ON THE PLEASANTON REGIONAL PARK PROPERTY. AND POND WATER LEVEL IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. IT'S OBVIOUSLY A WATER SOURCE FOR LOCAL WILDLIFE, BUT IT ALSO INFLUENCES DISEASE TRANSMISSION BY CONCENTRATING ENVIRONMENTAL PATHOGENS, AND IT CAN INFLUENCE HOST VITAL RATES, INCLUDING SURVIVAL AND

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SO THE BLUE LINE ON THE LEFT YOU CAN SEE THE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATES AND THAT'S BECAUSE THIS POND WAS DRY.

FOR THAT PERIOD OF THE SEASON IN 2025, VERSUS ON THE RIGHT SIDE WE CAN SEE THAT IT'S A LITTLE MORE STABLE AND INCREASING AS THE WATER DEPTH STARTS TO DECREASE. SO IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR GRAPH WE HAVE THE RAINY SEASON WHERE THE BLACK LINE SHOOTS UP, THAT'S OUR WATER LEVEL INCREASING, AND AS IT STARTS TO GO FURTHER INTO THE SEASON TOWARD JULY OF 2026, THE BLACK LINE IS GOING TO STEADILY DECREASE AS WATER LEVEL DECREASES, AND THEN THE BLUE LINE, THE TEMPERATURE IS GOING TO INCREASES, THERE'S LESS WATER.

HEALTHY WETLANDS ARE NOT SIMPLY PLACES WHERE AMPHIBIANS OCCUR.

THEY'RE HYDROLOGY, CONNECTIVITY, BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES, AND MANAGEMENT HISTORY. SHAPE WEATHER POPULATIONS CAN WITHSTAND THINGS LIKE DROUGHT, DISEASE, INVASIVE SPECIES, AND FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE.

THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER ARE THAT LONG-TERM MONITORING PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR CONSERVATION. SECONDLY, THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ENSURES THAT SCIENCE ADDRESSES REAL MANAGEMENT NEEDS. AND THIRD, THE PROJECT IS MOVING BEYOND DESCRIPTION AND TOWARD TOOLS THAT CAN GUIDE RESTORATION AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE DECISIONS.

SO I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY. IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK THAT WE DO.

EXPLAINING TO OUR FAMILIES IS OFTEN VERY HARD TO TRY AND JUSTIFY THAT WE'RE COUNTING FROGS AND THAT'S ACTUALLY HELPING. SO, WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY ON THE BOARD FOR HAVING US.

NOW WE'RE GOING TO OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS. SO, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH, NICK AND JORDAN. AND SO FIRST, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS? YEAH, I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT GIVES YOU THE PASSION AND ENTHUSIASM TO DO THIS WORK? YOU KNOW, HOW DID YOU END UP ON THIS RESEARCH PROJECT? IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND PRESENTING ALL THIS INFORMATION. YEAH, OF COURSE. I DON'T REALLY KNOW.

YOU GO TO SCHOOL FOR A DEGREE AND YOU JUST KIND OF END UP SOMEWHERE. SO, I'VE WANTED TO DO ENVIRONMENTAL WORK MY ENTIRE LIFE, BUT I ACTUALLY WENT TO SCHOOL FOR MARINE BIOLOGY. AND IT TURNS OUT THAT'S NOT THE MOST LUCRATIVE CAREER PATH. SO APPARENTLY FROGS ARE GOOD, THOUGH.

BUT YOU REALLY GET ENTANGLED IN THE PROJECTS THAT YOU WORK WITH. A LOT OF THIS FIELD RESEARCH FIELD, FIELD OF WORK, I MEAN, IS SEASONAL WORK SO YOU'RE NOT IN A POSITION FOR LONG TERM YOU KNOW IN SIX TO ELEVEN MONTHS USUALLY YOU KIND OF BOUNCE BETWEEN PROJECTS AND THANKFULLY THIS IS MY SECOND YEAR BEING ABLE TO ENJOY THE SAME PROJECT AND IT REALLY HAVING A PASSION FOR IT REALLY HELPS WHEN YOU'RE ON SUCH A LONG-TERM PROJECT LIKE THIS BUT I MEAN I GREW UP IN BEND OREGON WHICH IS A VERY OUTSIDE FOCUSED PLACE SO I DEFINITELY SPENT A LOT OF TIME OUTSIDE GROWING UP AND YEAH ALWAYS JUST BEEN INTERESTED IN WILDLIFE AND NATURE SO YEAH, I WENT TO CU BOULDER FOR ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AND I STARTED WORKING WITH THE JOHNSON LAB AND I JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH THE WORK THAT THEY DO SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW I ENDED UP HERE.

IS THIS A GRADUATE PROGRAM OR? THIS IS KIND OF A COMBINATION SO WE DO HAVE GRAD STUDENTS THAT ARE ON EMPLOYEE FOR THE FIELD SEASON BUT WE ARE SEASONAL TECHNICIANS, SO WE'RE HIRED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAM.

BUT A LOT OF OUR RESEARCH GOES INTO HELPING THOSE STUDENTS AND THEIR PROJECTS OR THEIR THESES OR THEIR DISSERTATIONS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PHOTO, THE DUDE WITH THE REALLY GNARLY BEARD, ON EITHER SIDE OF THEM, BOTH ARE GRADUATE STUDENTS. WE HAVE PAIGE ON THE LEFT AND GRIFFIN ON THE RIGHT. AND PAIGE PRIMARILY IS FOCUSING ON SOME OF THE TREMATODE LONG-TERM VIABILITIES. SO LIKE HOW THEY PERSIST IN POND MEDIA THROUGH DRY SEASONS.

AND GRIFFIN ON THE RIGHT IS LOOKING ON HOW INVASIVE PLANTS AFFECT AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES AND THESE TRANSMISSION RATES FOR DISEASES AND PATHOGENS AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THOSE AMPHIBIANS MOVING FORWARD.

BUT YEAH, SO WE'RE EMPLOYED SEPARATELY. YOU BOTH HAVE

[00:30:01]

GO SLUGS. SIMILAR.

BY THE WAY, GO BUFFS. THANK YOU. MY DAUGHTER, CLASS OF 2014, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. I WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN SHE GRADUATED BECAUSE I SO LIKED GOING TO BOULDER. IT IS AN AWESOME PLACE TO GO.

YEAH, AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS FOR OUR EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT STAFF, HOW DID WE GET ALIGNED WITH THIS GROUP AND THIS ORGANIZATION? I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE MULTIPLE UNIVERSITIES TOGETHER HERE AND ALSO WORKING WITH THE EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK PARTNER AGENCIES. IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT THERE'S A RANCH RESERVE ALSO LISTED HERE.

SO THE JOHNSON LAB ACTUALLY PREDATED WHEN I GOT HERE, SO THEY'VE BEEN A LONGTIME COLLABORATOR. WE'VE ISSUED RESEARCH PERMITS TO THEM FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS, I THINK. SO THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE AND WHEN THIS OPPORTUNITY CAME UP, THEY NEEDED A... IT'S BASICALLY AN APPLICATION OF SCIENCE, SO THEY NEEDED A PARTNER TO WORK WITH. AND SO, WE USED THE EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK TO KIND OF FIND PARTNERS WHO WERE WILLING TO GO IN ON THIS GRANT AND THAT'S HOW IT CAME TO BE.

THAT'S WONDERFUL. I'M CURIOUS ON THAT. SO DID THEY COME TO US? WE WENT TO THEM? ARE WE LIKE LOOKING FOR MORE OF THESE? I MEAN IT'S EXCITING TO SEE AND WE CAN CERTAINLY USE MORE. YEAH, I THINK IT WAS EARLY CONVERSATIONS WERE BETWEEN ME AND DR. PETE JOHNSON. AND THEN PETE JOHNSON, WE NEEDED A UC PERSON AND SHERRY BRIGGS, DR. SHERRY BRIGGS HAS ALSO BEEN INVOLVED DOING SURVEYS ON OUR PROPERTIES FOR MANY YEARS. SO, IT WAS KIND OF A NATURAL FIT, SO WE FORMED A TEAM, BROUGHT IN SOME ESPACE STEWARDSHIP NETWORK PARTNERS, AND APPLIED FOR THE GRANT. AND I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT DR. SHERRY BRIGGS IS ALSO GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS RESEARCH AT OUR ESPACE, OR SORRY, OUR STEWARDSHIP SEMINAR, WHICH WILL BE ON NOVEMBER 5TH.

SO I'M CURIOUS IF YOU HAVE OTHER CONNECTIONS OUT THERE BESIDES JOHNSON LAB TO, YOU KNOW. WE DO. WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST PROGRAM OF RESEARCH. PERMIT APPLICATIONS AND WE ARE OPEN TO COLLABORATIONS.

ANOTHER GROUP THAT I'M INVOLVED IN, AND NATALIE AS WELL, IS OUR WESTERN POND TURTLE COLLABORATIVE GROUP. SO, WE WORK WITH WESTERN POND TURTLE RESEARCHERS KIND OF THROUGHOUT THE WEST TO MONITOR THAT SPECIES. AND THAT'S A RESEARCH SCIENCE APPLICATION THAT THE PARK DISTRICT GIVES? IT'S JUST KIND OF AN INFORMAL GROUP THAT WE WORK WITH, WHERE WE WORK TOGETHER TO RESEARCH POND TURTLES ON OUR PROPERTIES AND ALSO NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES.

A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS.

WERE ALL OF THESE 85 SITES IN OUR PARKS? IT WASN'T COMPLETELY CLEAR TO ME IF YOU WERE, HOW MANY WERE IN OUR PARKS? A SIGNIFICANT PORTION. I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT WE DO HAVE SITES ON THE UC PROPERTY THAT HOSTS US. SO THE RANCH RESERVE THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IS ACTUALLY OUR BASE CAMP. I GET TO CALL THAT HOME FOUR DAYS OUT OF THE WEEK IN A TENT. SO THAT'S WHY. FUN AND WE ALSO HAVE SITES JOE GRANT AS WELL WHICH IS NOT A PARK REGIONAL PARK BUT YEAH, THE MAJORITY OF THE SITES ARE THROUGH YOUR GUYS’ PARKS SO AGAIN THANK YOU 60 OF THEM YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A VISUAL MET WHICH OF OUR PARKS THESE WENT IN AND I'M CURIOUS IF YOU'RE COORDINATING WITH OUR NATURE CHECK, LIKE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WITH THIS DATA? SO I SEE ITS KIND OF A PRINTOUT, BUT IS THAT LIKE SHARED? ARE WE USING THAT? TAMMY'S NODDING HER HEAD.

IT GETS DUMPED INTO NATURE CHECK AS WELL. AND THEN SOMETHING LIKE WE WOULD USE WHEN WE LOOK AT ACQUIRING LANDS OR WE LOOK AT A LAND USE CHANGE. LIKE, IS THIS A GOOD PLACE TO HIKE OR BIKE? LIKE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? WITH THE DATA. OH, SORRY.

WELL, SPECIFICALLY SOME OF THE GOALS WITH THIS PROJECT WERE TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO MONITOR.

SO WE HAVE TOO MANY PONDS TO MONITOR, SO WHAT SHOULD OUR ROTATION OF POND MONITORING BE TO GET THE MOST INFORMATION AND ALSO TRACK TRENDS? AND THEN ANOTHER THING WAS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE DISTRIBUTION OF PONDS. SO WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AT A SINGLE POND.

BUT WE WANTED TO KNOW HOW THESE PONDS WORK TOGETHER ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE, WHICH WAS ANOTHER REASON WHY WE BROUGHT IN SOME ADJACENT PARTNERS.

BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THESE THINGS IS HAPPENING ON THEIR PROPERTIES, THE ANIMALS DON'T SEE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES.

SO WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND REGIONALLY HOW THIS IS WORKING.

[00:35:01]

BUT WE DO HAVE ALL OF THESE DATA AND WE CAN GIVE YOU INFORMATION ON EXACTLY HOW MANY PONDS WERE INCLUDED. IN THIS PARTICULAR STUDY THAT WERE ON OUR LANDS. THANK YOU. I'LL SHARE TOO. I MEAN, I THINK ALL OF THESE PRESENTATIONS ACTUALLY DOVETAIL REALLY WELL BECAUSE THIS INFORMS ALL OF OUR WORK AND MENTIONING ACQUISITIONS WITH ABBY HERE. PART OF THE PURPOSE OF ACQUISITIONS IS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE PLACES THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT VALUE FOR CONSERVATION AND HABITAT PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT.

AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF OUR ACQUISITION WORK. YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PIECE IS REALLY INFORMING THE STRATEGIES AROUND THE RESTORATION WORK WE DO, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT WORK WE DO, OUR VEGETATION STRATEGY THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW THAT WE BROUGHT AN ITEM UP TO YOUR COMMITTEE ABOUT RECENTLY, IS ALL ABOUT INTEGRATING ALL OF THIS DATA ALONG WITH THE FIRE MODELING DATA.

TO HELP US MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUR RESOURCES, THAT YOUR BOARD IS DIRECTING OUR RESOURCES TOWARDS THE HIGHEST VALUE WORK THAT BOTH ENHANCES HABITAT AND REDUCES FIRE RISK.

SO I THINK THERE'S JUST A MULTITUDE OF WAYS THAT THIS GETS INTEGRATED INTO WHAT WE DO, BUT YEAH, IT'S SUPER HELPFUL AND APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP REALLY IS EXCITING. VERY EXCITING.

I TOO STARTED IN OCEAN OR MARINE SCIENCE, ENDED UP IN SOILS, ENDED UP IN CHEMISTRY, ENDED UP HERE.

I HAVE KIND OF A BIG QUESTION I WANT TO ASK. IF EACH OF YOU HAD ONE THING THAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO HAPPEN NEXT FROM YOUR STUDY, WHAT WOULD EACH OF YOU SAY THAT YOU WOULD DO WITH THIS DATA? IF YOU'RE TALKING TO US POLICYMAKERS, EACH OF YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IS THE ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN DO.

I DO THINK IT CENTERS AROUND...OH THAT'S A TOUGH QUESTION...I DO THINK... MAYBE COLLECT MORE DATA, I DON'T KNOW. YEAH, WELL AGAIN, LIKE THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY OF THE DATA SET IS REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE IT TELLS US TRENDS, ESPECIALLY WITH LIKE CLIMATIC CHANGE AND SUCH.

SO MOVING FORWARD, OF COURSE, WE WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE COLLECTING DATA FOR THIS, BUT PRIMARILY FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR TARGET SPECIES, ARE LISTED SPECIES BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THE TRENDS THAT AFFECT THE CHYTRID FUNGUS OR THE TRENDS THAT AFFECT THE PARASITES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DISCOVER ARE REALLY WHAT ARE IMPACTING THOSE SPECIES AND A PRIMARY FOCAL POINT AS WELL AS INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT.

SO WE DO HAVE ONE OR TWO PONDS ACROSS OUR SITES THAT HAVE HAD FOCUSED RESTORATION EFFORTS TAKEN TO TRY AND IMPROVE HABITAT VIABILITY. AND WE HAVE SEEN IN SOME OF THOSE PONDS THAT IT HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE. SO, IMPLEMENTING THOSE KINDS OF CHANGES THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH EVEN BEYOND OURS OF COURSE AND ESPECIALLY MITIGATING THE INVASIVE SPECIES. WE HAVE A VIDEO THAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET IN TIME FOR THE PRESENTATION BUT UNFORTUNATELY DIDN'T BUT ONE OF THE PONDS WE SAMPLED A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE PULL A SEINE THROUGH THE PONDS TO KIND OF CORRAL ORGANISMS SO WE CAN COUNT THEM. AND THE SEINE IS JUST COMPLETELY FULL OF BULLFROGS. SO, WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO MANAGE FOR RED-LEGGED AND OTHER SPECIES, SEEING THIS LIKE TITAN THAT CAN EAT BIRDS AND STUFF IS KIND OF DISHEARTENING.

SO THE INCREASE THAT WE'VE SEEN IN POPULATION IS VERY HEARTWARMING AND TRYING OUR BEST TO MOVE THAT DIRECTION THROUGH MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING FOR THESE INVASIVES AND IMPROVING HABITAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE THE PUSH THAT I WOULD GO FOR.

YEAH, I MEAN I THINK SIMILARLY LIKE JUST USING THIS DATA TO SEE WHAT PONDS ARE HAVING INCREASES IN INVASIVE VERSUS INCREASES IN THREATENED SPECIES AND THEN ALSO OUR GRAD STUDENT GRIFFIN IS WORKING ON THOSE INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES. THERE'S A PLANT THAT COVERS SOME OF THE PONDS CALLED MOSQUITO FERN OR SCIENTIFICALLY AZOLLA AND WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN A LOT OF IMPACTS FROM THIS INVASIVE PLANT SO MAYBE IN THE FUTURE JUST CONTINUING THIS IS THE SORT OF NEWER THING THAT WE'VE NOTICED SO CONTINUING THAT MONITORING AND SEEING IF REMOVAL OF THAT PLANT IS AN OPTION IN THE FUTURE OR JUST IF YEAH, I THINK CONTINUING COLLECTING DATA AND SEEING IF THERE ARE BETTER MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT SO ANOTHER QUESTION GO AHEAD YEAH WELL, ANOTHER AND THIS CONNECTS

[00:40:01]

AND THIS PAST YEAR WHEN WE WENT TO SACRAMENTO, WE DID TALK ABOUT POND RESTORATION AND FUNDING FOR POND RESTORATION AND SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT THE GREENHOUSE GAS FUND, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION FUND AS A POSSIBLE SOURCE. AND ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THIS IN SACRAMENTO IS THERE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT IS AT THE PRESENT TIME NO LONGER AVAILABLE AND SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POND RESERVE THE POND RESTORATION OPPORTUNITIES WHERE YOU KNOW I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS DATA TO SHOW HOW IT'S BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE WE ALSO COULD USE SOME HELP AS WE'RE GOING UP TO TALK TO YOU KNOW OUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES TO TRY TO OBTAIN FUNDING FOR THIS EFFORT AND I UM I'M VERY FORTUNATE I GOT TO GO WITH OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM OUT FOR A DAY IN THE SONOMA REGIONAL PARK TO DO POND SURVEYS AND I GOT TO YOU KNOW I WAS A RED-LEGGED FROG AND I GOT TO ALSO EXPERIENCE WEARING WADERS AND GETTING TO SEE IF I COULD GET ANY OF THE LARVAE FROM THE POND.

AND IT WAS REALLY A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND IT MADE ME THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BEST COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE THAT MAY HAVE BUDGET FOR THE POND RESTORATION.

AND ONE IDEA I HAD WAS A VIDEO, SO I'LL BE CURIOUS WHEN YOUR VIDEO IS READY. PLEASE KEEP ME INFORMED SOMEHOW BECAUSE THAT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. THE BULLFROG VIDEO BUT SOMETHING THAT CAN WE CAN USE TO HELP SHOW OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN SACRAMENTO WHERE THERE MAY POTENTIALLY BE SOME FUNDING AND THEN MAYBE EVENTUALLY AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL BUT THEN THERE'S A TRADE-OFF TO THAT BECAUSE YOU KNOW A LOT OF OUR PONDS ARE NEAR OUR PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE TRAILS AND THERE ARE FOLKS WHO ARE OUT ON TRAILS AND WE DON'T WANT TO NECESSARILY GIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT ON TRAILS THE IDEA TO BRING A NET WITH THEM ON THE TRAIL. AND TO GO AND TRY AND DO THEIR OWN SURVEYS OR THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE IN THE POND. SO, THERE IS A BALANCE THAT WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF. AND SO, I DON'T QUITE HAVE THE ANSWER YET. SO, THIS IS A CHALLENGE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT.

BUT IN ORDER TO HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE POND RESTORATIONS, I THINK THE WORK YOU'RE DOING IS SO VALUABLE.

SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH US. AND PLEASE, ANY VIDEOS OR CONTENT YOU HAVE, SHARE WITH US WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT TO PUBLICLY SHARE ALL THE VIDEOS OR HAVE SOME TYPE OF PROMOTION OF ALL THE VIDEOS YOU MIGHT WANT TO BE A LITTLE BIT CAREFUL BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GO OUT AND DO THEIR OWN POND SURVEY SO WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT BALANCE LOOKS LIKE YEAH, I ALSO THINK LIKE YOU MENTIONED LIKE YOU GOT TO GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND HOLD A RED FROG LIKE DOING EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT'S SO IMPORTANT AND CAN REALLY CREATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THE WILDLIFE THAT IS NEAR THEIR COMMUNITY, SO YEAH, MAYBE DOING SOME SORT OF OUTREACH AND EDUCATION IN THE COMMUNITY, SHOWING THEM WHAT RESEARCH WE DO AND HOW THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE IN ANY WAY IF POSSIBLE.

GREAT, I THINK WE STILL NEED TO OPEN IT UP TO PUBLIC COMMENTS. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER AND DON'T FORGET TO KEEP APPLYING ALL YOUR GREAT EXPERIENCE AND COME WORK FOR THE PARKS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OKAY, NEXT IS OUR ITEM 5C, EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HCP AND CCP RESTORATION PROJECTS UPDATE, PLEASE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, NAOMI LAVAL, PLANNING MANAGER IN ACQUISITION, STEWARDSHIP AND PLANNING. I'M JOINED TODAY WITH TWO OF MY COLLEAGUES, REN BATES, DIVISION LEAD OF DESIGN AT DECO, AND ABBY FAITMAN, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HABITAT CONSERVANCY. WE'RE HERE TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON RESTORATION PROJECTS AND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CONSERVANCY IN IMPLEMENTING THE EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HCP AND NCCP, WHICH STANDS FOR HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN AND NATURAL COMMUNITIES CONSERVATION PLAN.

TODAY, IN ADDITION TO SPEAKING TO THE HCP AND THE NCCP, WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESTORATION PART OF THE PRESERVE LAND SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED WITH THE

[00:45:01]

WE'LL ALSO BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON OUR DELTA ACCESS KNIGHTSEN WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT, AS WELL AS TWO PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, BUT WE FELT WOULD ALSO SPEAK TO KIND OF JUST THE OVERALL RESTORATION PROGRAM AND PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED. HORSE VALLEY, ALSO IN DEER VALLEY, THE HORSE VALLEY CREEK AND WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT, AS WELL AS THE UPPER HESS WATERSHED PROJECT. WHICH IS LOCATED BETWEEN THURGOOD MARSHALL AND BLACK DIAMOND MINE ALONG KIRKER.

SO WE'VE HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HABITAT CONSERVANCY IN IMPLEMENTING THE HCP AND CCP, WHICH I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THAT RATHER THAN THE FULL TITLE, WHICH CAN GET KIND OF LONG.

YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT GOALS WITH THE...

WITH THE PLANS, SOME OF IT IS, ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS IS TO PROVIDE STREAMLINED PERMITTING FOR PROJECTS, HOUSING PROJECTS, OTHER TYPES OF PROJECTS IN THE INCORPORATED COMMUNITIES OF PITTSBURGH, OAKLEY, BRENTWOOD, AND THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS AS WELL OF EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.

BUT ANOTHER GOAL THAT IS PART OF THAT IS TO ACQUIRE, PROTECT, AND RESTORE HABITAT FOR THE BENEFIT OF 28 COVERED SPECIES IN EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.

WE'VE ACQUIRED OVER 14,000 ACRES SO FAR, WHICH IS HUGELY SUCCESSFUL.

AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE CONSERVANCY HAS A GOAL OF UP TO ABOUT 30,000 ACRES. SO WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THERE. AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR MAJOR PARKS, CLAYTON RANCH, DEER VALLEY, VASCO HILLS, BIO INVERNO POOLS, AS WELL AS THE REGIONAL TRAIL BETWEEN THURGOOD MARSHALL, BLACK DIAMOND MINES, THOSE PROPERTIES, AND OF COURSE DELTA ACCESS IN THE AREA.

FOR THIS EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY.

YOU KNOW THE HABITAT RESTORATION IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE CONSERVATION STRATEGY.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ACQUIRING THE PROPERTIES, IT'S ABOUT YOU KNOW RESTORING HABITAT AND CREATING SPECIFIC TYPES OF HABITAT INCLUDING PONDS, WETLANDS, STREAMS, ENHANCING STREAMS, RIPARIAN HABITAT, OAK SAVANNAH, AND SLOUGH OR DELTA HABITAT.

IN THIS MAP YOU'LL SEE THERE'S BEEN PROJECTS THAT ARE EITHER UNDERWAY OR COMPLETED THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR PRESERVE SYSTEM. VASCO HILLS BY INVERNO POOLS HAS BEEN A WEALTH OF PROJECTS FOR THE CONSERVANCY AS WELL AS CLAYTON RANCH AND THEN TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON THE FOUR I MENTIONED BEFORE.

TWO IN DEER VALLEY, HORSE VALLEY WHICH HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RODDY RANCH GOLF COURSE WHICH IS UNDERWAY. OUR KNIGHTS INN WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT AT DELTA ACCESS IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE OF THE CONSERVATION PLAN AREA AND THEN OF COURSE ON THE ON OUR WESTERN EDGE NEAR THURGOOD MARSHALL UPPER HESSE WATERSHED. I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO REN AND HE'S GOING TO SPEAK TO TWO OF OUR PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS.

THANKS NAOMA. REN BATES, DIVISION LEAD OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. THE FIRST PROJECT I WILL DISCUSS OR TALK ABOUT IS RODDY RANCH GOLF COURSE RESTORATION AND PUBLIC ACCESS.

IT IS LOCATED IN DEER VALLEY AS MENTIONED BY NAOMA. SO HERE ARE A COUPLE OF THE GOALS, OR THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE FOR RESTORATION AND RECREATION GOALS BASED ON THIS PROJECT.

SO RESTORATION GOALS ARE TO ENHANCE AND RESTORE LANDSCAPE FOR SENSITIVE SPECIES AND HABITAT CREATION, IMPROVE FUNCTION OF GRASSLAND HABITAT AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE HCP RESTORATION GOALS.

THIS AGAIN IS A RESTORATION OF A FORMER GOLF COURSE, SO THERE'S THREE OR FOUR DRAINAGES THAT NEED TO BE REGRADED.

PHASE ONE IS NOT GOING TO DO ALL OF THE DRAINAGES JUST SO WE CAN SEE HOW THEY RESPOND TO THE ACTIONS THAT ARE TAKEN AND SORT OF TAKE ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE DRAINAGES.

RECREATION GOALS INCLUDE OPENING THE FORMER GOLF COURSE FOR PASSIVE MULTI-USE RECREATION FOLLOWING THE HCP GUIDELINES AND THEN PROVIDE EDUCATION AND INTERPRETATION ON THE ECOLOGICAL VALUE OF THE HCP PRESERVE LANDS AND THE HISTORY OF EASTERN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.

I GUESS I'LL JUST REMIND THE...

COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT HCP LANDS THAT WE PURCHASE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENT GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESS AND DEVELOPMENT SO THAT WE'RE THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CONSTRAINTS WE FACE IN DEVELOPING SOME OF THESE PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS BUT AGAIN A LOT OF THE FOCUS IS ON HABITAT CONSERVATION SO HERE ARE THE ROLES THAT THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE CONSERVANCY HAVE PLAYED AND THE TIMELINE THAT WE'RE SITTING IN SO THE CONSERVANCY HAS DONE DESIGNER VIEW.

THEY'VE BROUGHT FUNDING FORWARD FOR THE RESTORATION COMPONENT AND THE RESTORATION MONITORING.

THE PARK DISTRICT HAS TAKEN

[00:50:02]

SO WE'RE STILL ACTIVATING THE SITE. SO THAT TOOK THROUGH PROBABLY, I THINK WE ADOPTED THE, OR THE BOARD ADOPTED THE IN 2022.

I BELIEVE AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FINAL DESIGNS SINCE THEN WE ARE IN THE FINAL STRETCH OF DESIGN OR PERMITTING WITH THOSE DESIGN PLANS AND WE HOPE TO GO OUT TO BID IN THE FALL OF THIS YEAR AND CONSTRUCT NEXT THROUGH NEXT YEAR AND HAVE A PARK OPENING IN 2028. THE BOARD FULLY FUNDED THIS PROJECT WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET SO THAT THANK YOU FOR THAT SO WE ARE READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS AND CONTINUE TO DO SO WITH HAVING ACTIVE NATURALIST TOOLS. HERE'S SORT OF A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE PROJECT. THIS PARKING LOT IS THE EXISTING PARKING LOT FOR THE FORMER GOLF COURSE.

WHAT IT WILL ENTAIL WILL BE TRAILS FOR REMOVING THE CAR PATHS THAT ARE OUT THERE, MAKING ACCESSIBLE MULTI-USE TRAILS, RESTORING SOME OF THE AQUATIC.

DEPRESSIONS AND FOR VERNAL PONDS AND LIKE I SAID REESTABLISHING SOME OF THE DRAINAGES THAT ARE OUT THERE.

NEXT PROJECT IS THE KNIGHTSEN WETLAND RESTORATION. WE JUST WORKED THE BOARD IN JUNE TO AUTHORIZE THE FUNDING AGREEMENT FOR THIS PROJECT WITH THE HCP.

THIS PROJECT DOES NOT HAVE A LOT OF PUBLIC ACCESS. IT ACTUALLY HAS NO PUBLIC ACCESS, SO IT'S RESTORATION GOALS ONLY.

AND SO THE RESTORATION GOALS HERE ARE IN FRONT OF YOU. SO TRANSFORM THIS 645 ACRE PROPERTY. FORMAL USE FOR IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE.

WE'RE TRYING TO RESTORE A MOSAIC OF WETLAND AND UPLAND HABITATS TO SUPPORT SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES. THE ANCILLARY BENEFIT TO REDUCE WET SEASON DRAINAGE PROBLEMS ADJACENT TO OUR SITE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS. AND THEN PHASE TWO WILL RECONNECT THE DELTA WE'LL RECONNECT THIS SITE TO THE DELTA TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY DISCHARGE. WE ARE NOT WORKING ON PHASE TWO AS OF YET. THIS FIRST PART IS JUST WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW IS PHASE ONE.

SO IN TERMS OF, CONTRARY TO THE RODDY RANCH PROJECT I JUST DESCRIBED, THE CONSERVANCY HAS TAKEN ON THE PLANNING AND THE DESIGN, FUNDRAISING AND RESTORATION MONITORING. SO, THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND THE DESIGN FOR THIS AND WE'VE HAD INPUT, BUT THE CONSERVANCY HAS TAKEN ON MOST OF THE INITIAL PLANNING FOR THIS. WITH THE EXECUTION OF THE FUNDING AGREEMENT, THE PARK DISTRICT WILL NOW TAKE ON THE NEXT PHASE, WHICH WILL BE CONSTRUCTION AND FINALIZING THOSE PLANS AND PUTTING THEM OUT TO BID. WE WERE INVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS WITH DESIGN REVIEW.

SO PHASE ONE, WE HOPE TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION FOR NEXT YEAR. AND THEN...

THERE WERE QUITE A FEW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS, A NUMBER, THERE WAS EIGHT OF THEM TOTAL BETWEEN 2018 AND 2024. HERE IS A MAP OF THE PHASE ONE. SO, THE WHOLE, AGAIN, IT'S RE-ESTABLISHING SOME DRAINAGES FOR CAPACITY AND MAKING WET IN THE HABITAT. AND THEN PHASE TWO, WHICH AGAIN IS NOT PART, SO THIS IS WHAT WE WILL HOPE TO HAVE BUILT BY 2028. AND THEN PHASE TWO WILL EXPAND THIS AND CONNECT IT TO THE DELTA UM I’M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE PROJECTS BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO ABBY TO TALK ABOUT TWO THAT HAVE BEEN CONNECTED ABBY WOULD KNOW THE KNIGHTSEN PROJECT HOW MUCH MONEY IS GOING INTO THAT THAT IS CHARACTERIZED AS RESTORATION WORK I’M TRYING TO TRACK THE CONSTRUCTION FUNDING OR THE FUNDING TO DATE ON PLANNING.

YOU FOLKS SEEM TO CHARACTERIZE MONEY IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION AND ALSO IN TERMS OF RESTORATION.

SO I'M INTERESTED IN THE RESTORATION NUMBERS. SO THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ITSELF.

OF PHASE ONE IS EXPECTED BETWEEN $8.5 AND $10 MILLION, DEPENDING ON WHERE BIDS COME IN. IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO ANTICIPATE WITH SOME OF THE FLUCTUATIONS WE'RE SEEING. TO DATE, I'M ESTIMATING JUST QUICKLY, $3.5 MILLION HAS BEEN SPENT

[00:55:04]

YES, AND THIS IS ALL RESTORATION MONEY. THIS IS ALL PUBLIC FUNDS.

SO WE CHARACTERIZE CONSTRUCTION HERE AS BEING PART OF THE RESTORATION, AS OPPOSED TO RODDY RANCH WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING CONSTRUCTION.

I THINK A LOT OF THE WORK WE DO IS MULTIPLE BENEFIT WORK, RIGHT? AND RODDY RANCH HAS COMPONENTS THAT ARE JUST RESTORATION FOCUSED AND SOME THAT ARE... MORE RECREATION FOCUSED BUT REALLY THE VISION IS BOTH THINGS TOGETHER AND SO I LIKE I DON'T THINK SEPARATING THEM OUT SOMETIMES IT'S HELPFUL BUT REALLY, I EVEN THINK THE RECREATIONAL COMPONENTS BECAUSE WE'RE GUIDING PEOPLE AWAY FROM SENSITIVE RESOURCES THAT COULD EVEN BE SEEN AS RESTORATION WORK ITSELF TOO BUT THE KNIGHTS AND NUNN PROPERTY IS JUST RESTORATION BY ITSELF.

IT'S ENTIRELY CREATING WETLANDS. CORRECT. AND THOSE ARE JUST GOALS OF THE WORK.

CONSTRUCTION ITSELF IS THE BUILDING OF THE IMPROVEMENT.

AND THE IMPROVEMENT, SOMETIMES THE GOAL IS RESTORATION, SOMETIMES IT'S MORE THAN JUST RESTORATION. BUT CONSTRUCTION IS JUST THE ACTION OF... I'M JUST TRYING TO TRACK THE WORK THAT WE DO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HCP THAT IS RESTORING HABITAT.

YEP.

AND I WILL CLARIFY, COLIN, IT MIGHT BE ONCE WE GO TO A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR...

FOR THE GOLF COURSE, THE CONSERVANCY IS PAYING FOR THE RESTORATION ELEMENTS OF THAT TOTAL PROJECT COST, AND THE PARK DISTRICT IS PAYING FOR THE PUBLIC ACCESS COMPONENTS OF THAT PROJECT COST. SO, IT'S A SHARED PROJECT COST. THERE WILL BE KIND OF A WAY TO DEFINE THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE RESTORATION COST IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PROJECTS THAT THEY HAVE DONE THAT ARE RESTORATION FOCUSED.

THANK YOU. WAS THAT HELPFUL? YEAH.

SO THEN WITH THE KNIGHTS AND WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT, WHAT IS THE, AND I KNOW WE JUST VOTED ON THIS IN JUNE, BUT REMIND ME AGAIN, WHAT WILL BE THE ANTICIPATED BREAKDOWN OF THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS? I BELIEVE THE HABITAT CONSERVANCY IS GOING TO BE PAYING. CORRECT, YES, AND IT'S BETWEEN EIGHT AND A HALF, AS ABBY SAID, AND $10 MILLION. IS IT 100% THAT YOU'RE FUNDING OR CLOSE TO 100%? CORRECT, IT'S 100% ACTUALLY FUNDED BY STATE GRANT AWARDS.

FROM THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE.

INCREDIBLE. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

YEAH, AND I GUESS I'LL JUST ADD TO THE CONSTRUCTION IS THAT WE CAN'T REALLY RESTORE WITHOUT DOING THE CONSTRUCTION.

SO IT'S PART AND PARCEL.

ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THESE TWO BEFORE ABBY TAKES IT OVER AND TALKS ABOUT THE NEXT TWO PROJECTS? AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IF THEY COME UP.

I'M CURIOUS IF THERE ARE ANY COMPARABLE EXAMPLES OF THE DELTA ACCESS KNIGHTS AND WETLAND PROJECT. NO, IT'S QUITE UNIQUE. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE. IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S VERY UNIQUE AND SO WE'LL REALLY BE KIND OF ON THE LEADING EDGE OF SHOWING WHAT THIS TYPE OF WORK. MOST DEFINITELY.

SORRY, I MISSPOKE. SO, IN TERMS OF PROJECT, YES, IT IS UNIQUE. AND BAY POINT HAS SOME TRAILS AND STUFF AS WELL.

SO IT HAS PUBLIC ACCESS AND A BOAT LAUNCH. BUT IN TERMS OF WATER RESTORATION, YES, YOU'RE RIGHT. CORRECT. THANK YOU, DR. COFFEY.

GOOD AFTERNOON, I'M ABBY FAITMAN. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HABITAT CONSERVANCY AND I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU GUYS BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE GREAT PARTNERS. WE'VE HAD A GREAT TIME WORKING OVER THE LAST 19 AND A HALF YEARS WITH THE PARK DISTRICT SINCE WE BECAME AN AGENCY AND SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TWO PROJECTS THAT WREN JUST HIGHLIGHTED WITH THE PLANNING TEAM AND THE CONSTRUCTION FOLKS, GETTING ALL THOSE PROJECTS QUEUED UP AND READY TO GO. IT'S BEEN QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK DONE BY EVERYBODY AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HAVING HUNDREDS OF ACRES MOVING INTO CONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR FOR BOTH RECREATION AND PURELY CONSERVATION RESTORATION WORK.

SO IT'S A VERY EXCITING ACCOMPLISHMENT. IT COULDN'T BE DONE WITHOUT THE WHOLE TEAM.

SO ACKNOWLEDGING BOTH THOSE GROUPS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

SO IN ADDITION TO THE FUTURE WORK, THINGS THAT ARE GOING

[01:00:01]

WE HAVE TWO PROJECTS WE'RE GOING TO HIGHLIGHT. THE FIRST ONE IS THE HORSE VALLEY CREEK AND WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT. THIS IS ON THE ROWDY RANCH PROPERTY. IT IS NORTH OF THE GOLF COURSE. SO, IF YOU WERE STANDING AT THE GOLF COURSE, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK DOWN INTO THIS VALLEY AND SEE THIS PROJECT. OR IF YOU WERE WALKING ALONG EMPIRE MINE ROAD, YOU'D BE ABLE TO LOOK AND SEE THIS PROJECT.

THIS PROJECT IS A LARGE, WIDE VALLEY.

AT ONE POINT IT WAS SLATED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE UPPER LEFT-HAND SIDE THERE IS A ROAD THAT ACTUALLY BISECTS THIS VALLEY. THIS IS AN ELEVATED ROAD. THIS ROAD AND OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE VALLEY PREVIOUSLY DISRUPTED THE OVERLAND FLOW AS WELL AS THE CREEK CHANNEL AND HAD PREVIOUSLY DESTROYED WHAT WE ASSUMED WERE VERNAL POOLS ALL THROUGHOUT THAT VALLEY.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE WAS A LARGE STOCK POND THAT IS FULL OF TIGER SALAMANDERS. IT'S A WONDERFUL STOCK POND BUT IN SOME EARLY STORMS THE BERM BLEW OUT.

YOU KNOW THESE PONDS AS YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT ARE AGING AND WE SUPPORT OUR GROUND SQUIRRELS EVERYWHERE BECAUSE THEY ARE KEYSTONE SPECIES FOR AMPHIBIANS BUT THEY ALSO BUILD THEIR HOMES IN THE BERMS OF OUR PONDS AND DESTROY THEM WHEN THERE ARE BIG RAIN EVENTS. SO, HERE'S KRISTIN QUAY FROM REGIONAL PARKS. STANDING IN THE BERM THAT HAS IMPLODED DURING THE STORM, WHICH WAS ALSO REPAIRED DURING THE PROJECT.

IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER, YOU CAN SEE A SERIES OF VERNAL POOLS. THIS I BELIEVE IS A YEAR OR TWO AFTER IT WAS CONSTRUCTED, SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE VALLEY.

THESE ARE SHALLOW POOLS THAT ARE DESIGNED REALLY MORE FOR FAIRY SHRIMP THAN FOR AMPHIBIAN BREEDING, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME DEEPER PONDS THAT ARE DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO HAVE HYDRO PERIODS TO SUPPORT AMPHIBIANS. THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE PROJECT SITE LOOKS LIKE. SO, YOU SAW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE IN... REAL LIFE IN THOSE PICTURES. THIS IS SORT OF THE CARTOON GRAPHIC WHICH WE TRY TO MAKE.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE OUR CONSTRUCTION PLANS MORE DIGESTIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. I'M NOT SURE THIS DOES THE TRICK FOR YOU, BUT IT'S OUR ATTEMPT AT A CARTOON TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE PROJECT WAS. IN THE UPPER, JUST OUTSIDE THE RED BOUNDARY, YOU CAN SEE THE LARGE EXISTING STOCK POND THAT WAS REPAIRED AS PART OF THE PROJECT AND EVERYTHING ELSE FLOWS DOWNSTREAM FROM THERE THAT IS THE PROJECT.

SO FOR THIS PROJECT, THE CONSERVANCY AGAIN FUNDED THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT AND THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT. THE CONSTRUCTION COST WAS ABOUT $740,000, SO A SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER PROJECT THAN RODNEY RANCH GOLF COURSE OR THE KNIGHTS AND NUN PROJECT THAT REN WAS HIGHLIGHTING. BUT IT DID HAVE A VERY IMPACTFUL EFFECT ON THE LANDSCAPE IN TERMS OF THE HABITATS, RESTORING UH GRASSLANDS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE AREA SO THIS WAS COMPLETED IN 2018 AND IS STILL HAS MET SUCCESS CRITERIA AND SO THE INTENSIVE MONITORING IS WE'RE STEPPING BACK FROM THAT AND WE'RE MOSTLY JUST MANAGING AND MONITORING FOR WEEDS OUT THERE AND MAKING SURE NOTHING BLOWS UP IN A BIG STORM WE HAVE DONE ONE FOLLOW-UP REPAIR ON THAT BERM IN THE 2022-2023 WINTER STORMS IT DID BLOW OUT IN A DIFFERENT PLACE AND SO WE DID A DIFFERENT TYPE OF REPAIR AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL DO THE TRICK FOR ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS FOR THAT POND.

MOVING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PRESERVE OVER TOWARDS THURGOOD MARSHALL ON THE UPPER HESS PROJECT SITE WHICH IS ADJACENT TO KIRKER PASS ROAD. THIS IS AN EVEN EARLIER PROJECT THAT WE COMPLETED AND THIS ALSO INVOLVES A LARGE ALLUVIAL VALLEY, A STOCK POND AND SOME STREAM RESTORATION.

AGAIN THIS IS A SORT OF CARTOONY VERSION OF WHAT THAT PROJECT IS WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LARGE FOOTBALL FIELD IN THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN IS A LARGE ALLUVIAL VALLEY THAT IS WETLAND-ISH, MORE WETLAND-Y IN SOME YEARS THAN OTHERS AND WE HAVE LEARNED AND I THINK THIS WAS A WAS THE SITE THAT I THINK HIT HARDEST WITH DROUGHT. STUFF IF YOU MAKE A REALLY REALLY REALLY LARGE WETLAND AND THERE'S A DROUGHT YOU REALLY REALLY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY WETLAND AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE LESSON LEARNED WAS MAKE LOTS OF SMALL WETLANDS AND RATHER THAN ONE BIG WETLAND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE DESIGN WORK AS IT PROGRESSED ANYWAY THIS ISN'T A DIFFERENT AREA OF THE COUNTY IT IS THE PARK DISTRICT AND THE COUNTY AND THE PRESERVE SYSTEM SO WE'RE FURTHER WEST TOWARDS THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH AND THIS WAS A SMALLER PROJECT IT WAS $610,000 AND THIS WAS ACTUALLY FUNDED BY THE HABITAT CONSERVANCY. THIS WAS NOT GRANT FUNDED.

BUT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, AND SO WE WENT AHEAD AND MOVED FORWARD WITH IT

[01:05:02]

SO THOSE ARE THE TWO PROJECTS WE'VE COMPLETED. WE COMPLETED PROBABLY NINE OTHER PROJECTS OF SORT OF THAT MAGNITUDE ACROSS THE DISTRICT BUT WE DID JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TWO OF THE ONES WE'VE COMPLETED AS WELL AS TWO THAT ARE ANTICIPATED FOR NEXT YEAR OR EAGERLY ANTICIPATED I SHOULD SAY TO GO TO CONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR. YEAR.

SO WITH THAT, WE JUST WANT TO RETURN TO THIS SLIDE TO PUT IT ALL BACK AND TO STEP BACK AND PUT IT ALL INTO PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE WORKING AND THE PARTNERSHIP AND ALL THAT WE WERE BEING ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER.

I THINK, NAOMA.

YEAH, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS EITHER ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP OR SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE TWO PROJECTS THAT ABBY HIGHLIGHTED.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? WHAT ARE THE TWO THAT ARE GOING TO GO FORWARD NEXT YEAR? THE TWO THAT ARE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD TO CONSTRUCTION ARE THE ONES THAT REN OUTLINED.

OH, OKAY. NOT MORE? NOT MORE.

WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING. YOU NEVER KNOW. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WE MIGHT START UP.

BUT WE ANTICIPATE ACTUALLY A LOT OF TIME WILL BE TAKEN UP WITH THE TWO PROJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION.

YEAH, I HAVE ONE. REMIND ME AGAIN, SO WITH THE HABITAT CONSERVANCY, WHAT IS THE APPROXIMATE AMOUNT THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE FOR ACQUISITIONS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US FOR FUTURE ACQUISITIONS? DO YOU MEAN DOLLAR AMOUNT? DOLLAR AMOUNT, YES. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DYNAMICALLY FIGURE OUT AS WE GO. WE ANTICIPATE GETTING, ACQUIRING ABOUT ANOTHER 14 TO 15,000 ACRES TOGETHER. AND WE'VE BEEN HUGELY SUCCESSFUL SECURING FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING. AND SO I THINK THE AVERAGE OVER THE 40 SOMETHING PROPERTIES WE'VE JOINTLY ACQUIRED IS THAT REGIONAL PARKS IS PAYING ABOUT 25% OF THE LAND VALUE AND THE REST IS EITHER FUNDED BY THE CONSERVANCY OR THROUGH GRANTS THAT THE CONSERVANCY HAS ACQUIRED.

I HAVEN'T DONE THE CALCULATION BUT IT'S BETWEEN 0 AND 30 PERCENT THAT REGIONAL PARKS ENDS UP PAYING FOR THAT LAND COST. AND I DON'T KNOW BECKY IF YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT NUMBER. I DON'T HAVE, THIS IS BECKY BREMSER, DIVISION LEAD FOR LAND ACQUISITION AND I DON'T HAVE THAT AT MY FINGERTIPS EITHER.

BUT I'LL JUST SAY THAT WE HAVE REGULAR CHECK-IN MEETINGS WITH THE CONSERVANCY AND OUR PARTNERS THERE. I MEAN WE JUST HAD ONE THIS MORNING AND LOOKING AT SOME OF THE ACQUISITIONS THAT ARE BECOMING MORE MATURE AND STARTING TO LOOK AT WHAT IS THE FUNDING PLAN FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE TAPPING INTO THESE FEDERAL AND STATE SOURCES WITH THE CONSERVANCY TAKING THE LEAD TO BE THE APPLICANT IN THOSE APPLICATIONS PUTTING THE APPLICATIONS TOGETHER SO REALLY I MEAN MUCH MORE THAN JUST A PARTNERSHIP BUT IT'S LIKE AN EXTENSION OF OUR STAFF AND THEN FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND WE ALSO HOLD FUNDS WITH THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION FOR THE HCP I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE ABLE TO JUST SHARE A FEW LEVEL POINTS ON THAT. YEAH, SURE. SO OUR PROGRAM IS REQUIRED TO CONSERVE THESE LANDS IN PERPETUITY, AND OUR MECHANISM TO DO THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED. SO, WE HAVE AN ENDOWMENT THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, AND THAT ENDOWMENT IS HELD BY THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION. I THINK THE BALANCE RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT $11 MILLION.

OUR GOAL IS TO GET CLOSER TO $80 MILLION, BUT THAT HAPPENS WITH TIME. THAT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW. DEPOSIT $80 MILLION INTO YOUR ENDOWMENT AND IT GROWS TO THAT. SO, THE IDEA IS THAT THAT'S A NON-WASTING ENDOWMENT. IT'S HELD BY THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION THAT CAN BE USED WHEN OUR PROGRAM SUNSETS TO MANAGE THE LANDS IN PERPETUITY.

COMMENT I'M REMINDED FROM THE MAP THAT WE'RE VERY MUCH CONCERNED WITH THE STATUS OF EMPIRE MINE ROAD IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE HORSE VALLEY WHERE IT'S ACCESSED THROUGH EMPIRE MINE ROAD TO WHAT WAS GOING

[01:10:01]

WE HAVE IN THE PAST COMMENTED ON THAT AS IT RELATES TO OTHER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT THE CITY HAS WORKED ON IN THAT SAND CREEK FOCUS AREA THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, KIND OF EMPIRE MINE ROAD AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. WE HAVE NOT SUBMITTED A COMMENT LETTER YET SPECIFICALLY ON THE GENERAL PLAN, BUT WE HAVE HAD PLANNING STAFF ATTEND SOME OF THE MEETINGS AND MONITOR.

WE ARE DEFINITELY HIGHLY ENGAGED, AND WE HAVE MET STAFF TO STAFF, CERTAINLY WHEN DIFFERENT PROPOSALS HAVE COME UP AND WE'VE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT WITH CONVEYING OUR INTERESTS IN EMPIRE MINE ROAD AND JUST THE GREATER CONNECTIONS DOWN INTO DEER VALLEY AND, OF COURSE, WEST TOWARDS BLACK DIAMOND MINES. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD THING.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON THE I WAS CURIOUS REN ON THE GOLF COURSE. ARE THERE ANY LEGACY CHEMICALS OUT THERE FROM ALL THE GOLF COURSE USE OVER ALL THESE YEARS? ARE THERE INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS OR ANY EXPOSURE POSSIBLY THERE? IS THAT ALL TAKEN CARE OF? I DON'T HAVE ALL THAT SPECIFIC ANSWERS FOR YOU RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN GET THAT BACK TO YOU.

THAT IT HASN'T BEEN A BIG THING. CONCERN AT THIS POINT FOR OUR DEVELOPMENT, NO, BUT I WILL FIND OUT MORE SPECIFICALLY. WHAT YEARS DID THE GOLF COURSE OPERATE OUT THERE? UNTIL 2014, I'VE BEEN TOLD.

CURIOUS. AND YOU MENTIONED THERE'S EDUCATION OR NATURALISTS PLANNED OUT THERE.

I JUST THINK THIS IS SUCH A, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE TO PUT IT AT AN EIGHTH-GRADE LEVEL SOMEHOW OF THIS TRADE FOR HUMAN IMPACT, FOR DEVELOPMENT. I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE A KID AND START EXPLAINING CEQA TO HIM OR HER.

BUT I DON'T KNOW. IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY OF RESTORING A GOLF COURSE, AN URBAN AREA, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO NOT JUST HAVE TOURS OUT THERE, BUT TO SOMEHOW, THESE ARE OUR FUTURE PLANNERS, CITY PLANNERS, HOW THIS WIN-WIN OF ACHIEVING BOTH CAN REALLY BE DONE OUT THERE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TYPE OF NATURALIST TOURS YOU'RE DOING. IT'S JUST FASCINATING TO ME THAT THIS WORKS THIS WELL.

YEAH, I'M, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO RETURN. I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THIS. WE'RE HAPPY TO RETURN AT SOME POINT TO THIS COMMITTEE TO SPEAK MORE ABOUT THE EDUCATION PROGRAM THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED.

BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH INR AS WELL AS OUR CREATIVE DESIGN GROUP TO, IN FACT, WE'VE JUST LAUNCHED IT IN THE LAST MONTH OR SO, A WORKING GROUP TO REALLY START LOOKING.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN INTERPRETIVE PAVILION AT THE GOLF COURSE.

SO WE'VE JUST STARTED THINKING ABOUT WHAT WOULD BE THE EXHIBITS THERE, HOW WOULD IT LOOK, AND THEN OF COURSE INR HAD CREATED AN A FOUNDATION DOCUMENT FOR THEIR INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM AND SORT OF THE GOALS THERE AND THEY WILL AND THEY HAVE BEEN BASED ON THAT DOCUMENT THAT IS PART OF THEIR LAND BANK TOURS I GUESS THEY'RE NOT LAMBING TOURS, BUT YOU KNOW THEIR TOURS THAT THEY'VE BEEN LEADING OUT THERE AND I THINK THERE'S ONE MORE THIS YEAR IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THEY'VE BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VERY INTERESTED IN THEM THEY THEY'RE LIMITED TO ABOUT 20 PEOPLE BUT THEY HAVE IT'LL BE IT'S SIMILAR TO THE THURGOOD MARSHALL TOUR WHERE YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO DO THOSE TOURS UNTIL WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO OPEN UP THE PARK MAYBE DURING CONSTRUCTION MAYBE THERE'LL BE A BIT OF A LULL IF WE CAN'T SAFELY GET PEOPLE OUT THERE BUT UM 100 WE ARE VERY FOCUSED ON PROVIDING A REALLY GOOD BASE OF INFORMATION AND SO PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND YOU KNOW HOW SPECIAL THIS PLACE REALLY IS AND ITS CONNECTION TO THE LARGER PRESERVE SYSTEM THE RODDY RANGE GOLF COURSE IS LIKE 260 ACRES HUGELY IMPORTANT RESTORATION PROJECT BUT IT'S ALSO KIND OF THE LAUNCHING PAD FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND LEARN ABOUT THE GREATER PRESERVE SYSTEM AND THEN OF COURSE GO OUT AND RECREATE ONCE WE CAN OPEN UP THE NEXT ONE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS CLAYTON RANCH, WHICH WE'RE HOPING WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY AFTER RODDY RANCH GOLF COURSE.

UM, MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT. ANY FURTHER PEER? I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO NAOMA, REN, AND ABBY. I HAD THE CHANCE

[01:15:01]

SEQUOIA REVIEW OR TRADE OFFICER MITIGATION SOMEHOW OR A BAD WORD BUT I THINK THIS IS THE WAY THAT THIS CAME ABOUT AND ALLOWING DEVELOPERS TO DO THIS TRADE FOR A WIN-WIN AND I HOPE WE DO GET ANOTHER FOURTEEN THOUSAND ACRES AND ANOTHER SIXTY MILLION AND KEEP DOING ALL THIS SOME STRAIGHT GREAT WORK. SO, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

OKAY, WE'LL TAKE A SHORT SEVEN-MINUTE BREAK.

OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO GET GOING ON INFORMATIONAL ITEM 5D, MAPPING THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES TO GUIDE OUR DISTRICT DECISIONS. AND I THINK WE HAVE MATT, OUR DIVISION LEAD OF STEWARDSHIP.

YEAH, THANKS, MATT GRAW, DIVISION LEAD FOR STEWARDSHIP. THANK YOU, CHAIR DESCHAMBAULT AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE AND INTRODUCE THIS ITEM. SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN...

WORKING ON IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND I KNOW THAT REALLY THIS CAME OUT OF QUESTIONS FROM DIRECTOR DESCHAMBAULT VARIOUS TIMES OF HOW DO WE KNOW WHERE ENDANGERED SPECIES ARE AND SHE'S ASKED SEVERAL TIMES AND DIRECTOR SANWONG AND I HAVE BEEN OUT IN PLACES AND SHE'S HAD SIMILAR QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE HOW DO WE KNOW ABOUT ALAMEDA CREEK OR WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SPECIES IN VARIOUS AREAS AND SO THIS IS REALLY JUST AN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AND EXPLAIN HOW OUR BIOLOGISTS AND HOW WE ASSESS DATA WHEN MAKING DECISIONS. AND JUST A REAL QUICK LITTLE ANECDOTE ON THIS IS LIKE THIS SIMILAR DATA AND THE DATA THERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALK SOME OF THE DATA SETS WE HAVE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT REALLY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING US HELPING THE DISTRICT GET A BIOLOGICAL OPINION FOR OUR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES SO FOR YEARS WE WOULD HAVE TO GET INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS APPROVED AND WE HAVE 50 PROJECTS A YEAR THE SERVICE COULD APPROVE MAYBE 10 A YEAR AND IT WAS REALLY CREATING A MAINTENANCE BACKLOG AND SO STAFF THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY USED SIMILAR DATA TO DEVELOP A BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT THAT ALLOWED US TO GET A LONG-TERM AGREEMENT IN PLACE IT'S REALLY HELPED US TO MANAGE OUR PARKS AND DO A LOT OF SMALL RESTORATION PROJECTS WITHOUT A LARGE COMPLEX PERMITTING EFFORT.

SO THAT'S JUST ONE QUICK EXAMPLE, BUT REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THE STAFF WORK THAT WENT INTO PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.

UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, JOSH PHILLIPS, OUR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES MANAGER, WAS REALLY THE LEAD ON THIS PRESENTATION AND WAS GOING TO KICK IT OFF AND HELP TO PREPARE THIS WITH A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM NATALIE AND TAMMY. SO, IT WAS A REAL TEAM EFFORT. BUT JOSH IS OUT SICK THIS WEEK, UNFORTUNATELY. SO, I REALLY THANK NATALIE NOW FOR STEPPING UP AND DOING SOME OF JOSH'S PORTIONS AND JUST REALLY PROUD OF OUR TEAM BECAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE STRESSFUL WHEN WE HEARD JOSH WAS GOING TO BE OUT, BUT I THINK IT'S BEEN FAIRLY EASY BECAUSE OF ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.

AND SO I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR NATALIE AND TAMMY TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER IT IN THIS EFFORT.

YEAH, THANK YOU, MATT. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M NATALIE REEDER.

I'M A WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST IN THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT.

AND TAMMY AND I WILL BE TALKING TO YOU TODAY ABOUT HOW WE KNOW WHERE OUR THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ARE AND HOW WE USE THAT INFORMATION TO GUIDE DECISIONS AT THE DISTRICT TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION STATEMENT OF PRESERVING OUR NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES AND BEING GUIDED BY AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC AND ALL THAT WE DO. AND WE TAKE THIS MISSION VERY SERIOUSLY. WE LIVE IN A VERY SPECIAL PLACE.

CALIFORNIA IS A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT. IT'S ONE OF 35 GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED. BECAUSE WE HAVE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES AND THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF ENDEMIC SPECIES MEANING SPECIES THAT EXIST IN CALIFORNIA AND NOWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY. SO MORE SPECIES AND MORE SORT OF SPECIAL SPECIES THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. AND THEN THE BAY AREA IS A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT WITHIN A HOTSPOT.

SO WE'RE FAMOUS FOR OUR MICROCLIMATES WHICH ARE CAUSED

[01:20:02]

AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAINTAIN THIS BIODIVERSITY BOTH FOR THE INHERENT VALUE OF THESE SPECIES, BUT ALSO FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF THE PUBLIC THAT USES THE PARK DISTRICT.

WE WANT ALL OF THESE SPECIES TO CONTINUE TO EXIST FOR THE CURRENT GENERATION AND GENERATIONS TO COME AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY BRINGING BACK SOME SPECIES THAT WE'VE ALREADY LOST.

BUT WE REALLY CAN'T DO ANY OF THAT WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT WE HAVE, WHERE IT IS, AND HOW IT'S DOING.

SO WE DO THAT THROUGH MONITORING. WE HAVE MULTIPLE MONITORING PROJECTS TO COLLECT DATA ON THE LOCATION, STATUS, AND TRENDS OF VARIOUS SPECIES.

THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. SO RARE PLANTS ARE REGULARLY MONITORED BY STAFF BOTH IN GRASSLANDS AND OTHER CONTEXTS.

WE HAVE A LARGE GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS AND COLLABORATORS WHO WORK TOGETHER TO COLLECT DATA ON GOLDEN EAGLES AND THEIR BREEDING.

STEWARDSHIP STAFF DO POND AND CREEK SURVEYS TO COLLECT DATA ON FISH, AMPHIBIANS, AND REPTILES. WE ALSO RELY A LOT ON PARTNERS. YES? WHAT'S THAT PLANT? THAT'S A MANZANITA.

OH, IT IS. PALLID MANZANITA.

PALLID MANZANITA. YEAH. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND WE ALSO RELY ON PARTNERS TO DO SOME OF THIS MONITORING. SO FOR EXAMPLE, INVASIVE SPARTINA PROJECT MONITORS CALIFORNIA RIDGEWAYS RAIL AS PART OF THEIR WORK TO MANAGE THE INVASIVE SPARTINA CORDGRASS ON OUR SHORELINES. WE ALONG WITH OUR EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK PARTNERS HAVE CAMERAS OUT TO MONITOR MAMMALS.

AND WE HAVE A SMALL ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS WHO CATALOG THOSE IMAGES FOR US. WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY STARTED WORKING WITH CALIFORNIA BUMBLEBEE ATLAS TO TRACK BUMBLEBEES AND THE NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLY ASSOCIATION TO TRACK BUTTERFLIES.

AND THEN ALL OF THOSE DATA, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO THEN HOW DO WE USE IT? IN THE PAST WE'VE COLLECTED DATA ON PAPER, SO IT WAS WRITING ON PAPER IN THE FIELD AND THEN THAT USUALLY LED TO A STACK OF PAPER ON DESKS WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE OFFICE AND THEN A PROCESS TO MANUALLY ENTER IT INTO THE COMPUTER WHICH INTRODUCES A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ERROR LOST DATA AND DATA THAT WASN'T ACCESSIBLE BY EVERYONE SO YOU COULD HAVE DATA ON ONE PERSON'S DESK AND ANOTHER PERSON EITHER DOESN'T KNOW IT EXISTS OR CAN'T EASILY ACCESS IT SO WE'VE REALLY BEEN MOVING ESPECIALLY SPEARHEADED BY TAMMY'S MOTIVATION TO GET THESE DATA USABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO STAFF TO USE DIGITAL FIELD ENTRY. SO WE WILL, FOR THE MOST PART, ENTER DATA ON IPADS AND CELL PHONES IN THE FIELD. THAT ALLOWS US TO REALLY STANDARDIZE THE DATA, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE WANT, THAT IT'S LEGIBLE, YOU KNOW, SPELL CHECKED IN SOME SITUATIONS, AND AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED INTO A DATABASE.

AND... WE'RE ELIMINATING THAT DATA BACKLOG BY MAKING SURE WE GO AROUND AND COLLECT ALL OF THOSE PAPERS OFF OF EVERYBODY'S DESKS, DIGITIZE THEM, AND GET THEM INTO THE DIGITAL DATABASES.

WE'RE ALSO, AS PART OF THE SAME EFFORT, GETTING OUR CONSULTANTS AND OTHER PARTNERS TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR DATA, EITHER USING OUR SAME FIELD DATA COLLECTION PLATFORMS OR CONTRIBUTING TO SOME KIND OF PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE PLATFORM LIKE EBIRD OR INATURALIST, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY GATHER ALL OF THE INFORMATION.

AND THEN THAT ALL GOES INTO PARKVIEW AS THE TOOL THAT OUR STAFF USE TO VIEW AND INTERACT WITH THESE DATA.

BUT WE'RE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO STATE, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL DATABASES LIKE SOME OF THOSE LISTED HERE. AND OUR DATA COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED BY ANY NUMBER OF RESEARCHERS AROUND THE WORLD TO MEASURE BIODIVERSITY AND TRENDS. SO LIKE THE CALIFORNIA BIRD ATLAS, WHICH IS CURRENTLY WORKING TO MAP AND ASSESS BIRD BREEDING IN THE STATE. THERE'S ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF OUR DATA BEING USED IN THE PROPOSED LISTING DECISION FOR WESTERN POND TURTLE BECAUSE WE HAD COLLECTED SUCH GOOD DATA ON WESTERN POND TURTLE WHEN THE STATE WAS SEEKING INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THEIR PROPOSED LISTING FOR THE SPECIES. WE PROVIDED DATA AND IT HELPED THEM MAKE A SOLID DECISION.

WE ALSO ARE ABLE, YES, GBF IS LIKE A GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY INDEX FOUNDATION. WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT THE ACRONYM IS,

[01:25:05]

WHAT ELSE IS ON HERE? AND SAME WITH THE COLORFUL SYMBOL UNDER THE STATE IS THE CNDDB, WHICH IS THE CALIFORNIA NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE, WHICH IS RUN BY A CNDDB. CDFW CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE.

AND THIS IS ALSO JUST THESE ARE EXAMPLES BUT THERE ARE POTENTIALLY OTHER DATABASES THAT WE'RE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO.

AND THEN USING THOSE YOU KNOW DIGITAL DATABASES THAT ARE EASY TO INTEGRATE WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO CAPTURE THIS REALLY INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY SCIENCE EFFORT THAT IS REALLY TAKING OFF AROUND THE WORLD BUT HERE JUST IN OUR COUNTIES IN THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.

INATURALIST USERS HAVE CONTRIBUTED OVER 1.6 MILLION OBSERVATIONS AND OVER 6 MILLION EBIRD OBSERVATIONS.

SO ALL OF THOSE, THAT INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DATA, ALL THAT EFFORT AND PASSION THAT OUR PARK USERS ARE PUTTING IN, WE'RE ABLE TO USE THOSE DATA AND BRING ALL OF IT TOGETHER INTO PARKVIEW.

SO YOU CAN SEE HERE ARE MOST OF THE DATA INPUTS AND LAYERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON PARKVIEW. SO WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY SCIENCE DATA SOURCES LIKE INATURALIST AND CALIFORNIA BUMBLEBEE ATLAS, SOME OF THE AGENCY PROVIDED DATA LIKE CNDDB AND CRITICAL HABITAT FROM U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, AND THEN ALL OF OUR INTERNALLY COLLECTED DATA ON, FOR EXAMPLE, WHIP SNAKES, BAT SURVEYS, FOOTHILL YELLOW-LEGGED FROGS, AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO OUR PARK STAFF.

BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED ALL OF THESE LAYERS TO GET A FULL PICTURE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR SENSITIVE NATURAL RESOURCES.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FROM ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T SEEN ONE YOU'RE NOT ALONE IT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT SPECIES TO SEE, A REALLY DIFFICULT SPECIES TO STUDY AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THESE RED SQUARES ARE JUST OUR INTERNAL DATA ON WHERE WE'VE TRAPPED ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE. ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE TRAPPING IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO STUDY ALAMEDA WHIP SNAKE BUT IT'S VERY LABOR INTENSIVE AND VERY DIFFICULT TO DO SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO IT REGULARLY OVER A LARGE AREA SO THESE RED SQUARES ARE JUST WHERE WE'VE TRAPPED WHIP SNAKES WHERE WE HAPPEN TO TRAP THEM BUT IF WE LAYER ON TOP CNDDB DATA SO THESE DATA COME FROM THE STATE THEY ARE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CNDDB BY BIOLOGISTS AND THEN NOW IN RECENT YEARS THEY'VE ALSO INTEGRATED INATURALIST OBSERVATIONS AS WELL. SO, YOU CAN SEE A MUCH MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF WHERE WHIPSNAKE MIGHT BE FOUND IN THIS AREA.

BUT THEN THAT'S NOT ALL, RIGHT? WE KNOW AS BIOLOGISTS THAT WHIPSNAKES ARE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND, BUT THEY ARE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN HABITATS. SO, WE USE THE VEGETATION MAPPING THAT OTHERS IN THE DISTRICT HAVE COLLECTED.

TO OVERLAY YET ANOTHER LAYER OF SUITABLE HABITAT FOR ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AND YOU CAN SEE NOW AN EVEN BIGGER MORE DETAILED MORE SPECIFIC AND MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF WHERE ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE MIGHT BE FOUND AND YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS IS CRITICAL FOR US BOTH TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS EFFORTS TO CONSERVE ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THE EAST BAY, BUT ALSO HOW WE CAN DESIGN PROJECTS AND FUTURE PLANS FOR THE DISTRICT TO REDUCE, TO LIMIT IMPACTS TO THE SPECIES. AND I'LL PASS IT OVER TO TAMMY TO TALK MORE ABOUT HOW WE INTEGRATE THESE DATA INTO OUR WORK, BUT FIRST I'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.

I'M CURIOUS WHAT'S GOING ON THERE AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 13, NOT TOO FAR FROM LEONA. IT LOOKS LIKE A SERPENTINE. IT'S AN INTERESTING DATA SET.

LIKE DID SOMEONE JUST GO OUT AND DO A MASSIVE ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE SEARCH IN THAT AREA OR IS THERE A HOT SPOT OF ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THAT MAP.

YEAH, YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE TWO LARGE CIRCLES RIGHT AT THAT INTERSECTION? THE SNOWMAN THERE, YEAH. YEAH, SO THE WAY CNDDB DATA IS DONE IS SOMETIMES IT'S A VERY SPECIFIC POINT. SOMETIMES IT'S SORT OF A POLYGON OF SOMEBODY SAW AN ANIMAL SOMEWHERE IN THIS AREA. SO PROBABLY WHAT'S GOING ON THERE IS THERE'S REALLY JUST TWO WHIPSNAKE OBSERVATIONS IN THAT AREA BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A VERY PRECISE LOCATION SO IT'S A LARGER CIRCLE AND THOSE TWO LARGER CIRCLES ARE SORT OF MERGED TOGETHER IN THAT SNOWMAN SHAPE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT THERE'S SO MANY MORE INDIVIDUAL WHIPSNAKES. THAT WOULD MEAN A WHIPSNAKE PARTY GOING ON THERE. YEAH, YEAH, THAT COULD VERY WELL BE TRUE. I MEAN, IT'S DEFINITELY AN INDICATION THAT IT'S SOMEWHERE

[01:30:01]

THANK YOU. YEAH, TAMMY.

THANK YOU, NATALIE. OKAY, SO WE'RE USING THESE DATA IN NEW WAYS TO INFORM PROJECT PLANNING, DECISION-MAKING, AND THEN ALSO MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. AND ONE CRITICAL WAY THAT WE'RE DOING THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE POTENTIAL TO OCCUR REPORT. SO SOMETHING TO IMPORTANT...

SHOULD I USE THE LITTLE STEP STOOL? OKAY.

FROM A BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES PERSPECTIVE, THE FIRST STEP IN EVALUATING A PROJECT OR ACTIVITY IS TO KNOW WHAT SPECIES ARE PRESENT IN THE AREA.

IN THE PAST, A LIST OF POTENTIALLY OCCURRING SPECIES WAS COBBLED TOGETHER FROM VARIOUS SOURCES LIKE REVIEWING COMMERCIALLY AND PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES.

BUT THIS PROCESS OFTEN TOOK A REALLY LONG TIME AND WAS INCOMPLETE. SO, WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR GIS DEPARTMENT, WE'VE CREATED AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM TO QUERY THIS PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN ASK ALL OF THESE DATABASES SIMULTANEOUSLY TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF SENSITIVE SPECIES KNOWN FROM OUR PROJECT AREA. ONCE WE HAVE THAT LIST, WE CAN THEN DO A MORE SITE-SPECIFIC EVALUATION OF HABITATS TO DETERMINE WHICH SPECIES DO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO OCCUR AND NEED FURTHER EVALUATION. SO, A FEW THINGS I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT ON THE SLIDE. THE TABLE BELOW ACTUALLY TAKES THE NUMBER OF RECORDS, NOT NECESSARILY THE NUMBER OF OBSERVATIONS.

SO ONE ANIMAL DOES NOT NECESSARILY INDICATE ONE RECORD. AND ALSO, IT TOTALS THOSE NUMBERS WITHIN A BUFFER AROUND THE PROJECT SITE. SO, IF YOU CAN SEE, YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE IT ON THE SCREEN, BUT THERE'S FIVE NESTS IN THE REGION IN A THREE-MILE BUFFER OF OUR MADE-UP PROJECT SITE FOR THIS EXAMPLE.

AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE THOSE DATA GRAPHICALLY IN THE HEXAGON ON THE RIGHT. ANOTHER THING I SHOULD POINT OUT TOO IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE HEXAGON ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THAT BY USING ONLY ONE DATA SET, YOU'RE ONLY GETTING HALF THE PICTURE. SO, THE RED OBSERVATIONS AGAIN ARE CNDDB, AND THOSE ARE CALIFORNIA TIGER OBSERVATIONS IN AN AREA KIND OF AROUND BLACK DIAMOND MINES. IF WE WERE TO ONLY USE THAT ONE DATA SET, WE'D REALLY ONLY BE GETTING HALF OF THE OBSERVATIONS.

THOSE YELLOW DOTS ARE LOCATIONS OF TIGER SALAMANDERS THAT DISTRICT STAFF HAVE OBSERVED AND THAT ARE IN OUR DATA SET.

SO BY COMBINING THESE TWO DATA SETS, WE'RE GETTING A TRUER DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE.

SO ANOTHER COOL WAY WE'RE USING THIS TOOL, THESE TOOLS ARE TO DO INFORMED DECISION MAKING.

SO OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT USE THESE DATA FOR PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT PURPOSES. MAY UNDERSTAND SOME THINGS ABOUT A SPECIES BUT MIGHT NOT HAVE THE DETAILS OR KNOWLEDGE A BIOLOGIST DOES. SO, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS IS WITH A CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER, WHICH WE MENTIONED BEFORE.

IT'S A STATE AND FEDERALLY THREATENED SPECIES. THESE SALAMANDERS BREED IN STOCK PONDS OR WETLANDS, AND THAT'S USUALLY WHERE WE MONITOR THEM AND WHERE WE ENCOUNTER THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE THE EASIEST TO SEE IN THOSE AREAS.

HOWEVER, THEY SPEND REALLY MOST OF THEIR LIVES IN THE GRASSLANDS SURROUNDING THE PONDS. SO, THEY ONLY MAKE BRIEF FORAYS INTO THE WATER TO BREED. SO REALLY WHEN WE'RE UNDERSTANDING WHERE SALAMANDERS ARE ACROSS OUR LANDSCAPE, WE NOT ONLY NEED TO LOOK AT THE POND ITSELF, BUT ACTUALLY THE UPLANDS SURROUNDING THAT POND.

SO THIS TOOL IS KIND OF TRYING TO CONVEY THAT MESSAGE THAT WE HAVE TO NOT ONLY LOOK AT WHERE THE ANIMAL IS, BUT FOR TIGER SALAMANDERS, UP TO A MILE AWAY FROM A POND.

THIS TOOL ALSO HAS A LOT OF TEXT ON THE LEFT WHICH...

PROBABLY CAN'T SEE, BUT IT GIVES INFORMATION ON HOW THE ANALYSIS WAS DONE FOR THAT SPECIES, AND THEN ALSO INFORMATION ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SPECIES.

ANOTHER WAY WE'RE USING THIS DATA IS TO SUPPORT NATURECHECK, WHICH ASSESSES THE CONDITIONS AND TRENDS OF INDICATOR SPECIES WITHIN THE EAST BAY STEWARDSHIP NETWORK LANDS. AND WE'VE USED INDICATOR SPECIES THAT INCLUDE FISH, AMPHIBIANS, BIRDS, AND MAMMALS, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO STARTED MONITORING BUMBLEBEES. AND THIS EFFORT PULLS FROM MANY DATA SETS INCLUDING OURS, OUR LAND MANAGEMENT PARTNERS DATA, AND COMMUNITY SCIENCE DATABASES SUCH AS EBIRD, INAT, BUMBLEBEE WATCH, AND OTHERS.

WITH THIS EFFORT WE'RE USING OUR DATA TO TRACK NOT JUST THE SPECIES AND WHERE THEY ARE, BUT CHANGES OVER TIME, TRENDS, AND POPULATIONS.

THESE THINGS CAN ALSO INFORM US ON PRIORITY MANAGEMENT ACTION.

WE'VE TALKED ALREADY ABOUT POND RESTORATIONS. VERY IMPORTANTLY, HAVING INFORMATION AND ROBUST DATA AVAILABLE ALLOWS US TO KNOW WHEN CONDITIONS MIGHT DECLINE AND THEN WHAT MANAGEMENT LEVERS WE CAN ACTUALLY PULL TO BRING THESE SPECIES BACK.

AND THIS IS ALL TO PRESERVE THAT BIODIVERSITY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS PRESENTATION. OUR PONDS

[01:35:01]

KNOWING THAT THIS PARTICULAR POND WAS ESSENTIAL BREEDING HABITAT FOR CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDERS AND AS A WATER SOURCE FOR CATTLE WAS ESSENTIAL IN DEEMING THIS A PRIORITY FOR RESTORATION.

ANOTHER WAY WE'RE USING THESE DATA, BY KNOWING WHAT SPECIES ARE DECLINING, WE CAN DIRECT OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED EXTRA SPECIAL ATTENTION. SO, WE KNOW FROM NATIONAL SURVEYS AND DATABASES LIKE EBIRD THAT GRASSLAND BIRDS ARE IN DECLINE. OUR OWN REGIONAL EFFORTS LIKE NATURE CHECK ALSO SHOW THIS AND ALSO THE FINE SCALE VEGETATION MAP WE UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR GRASSLANDS IS. SO, USING ALL OF THESE DATA WE KNOW WHAT TO DO AND THESE DATA GIVE US THE ABILITY TO PRIORITIZE SPECIFICALLY WORKING ON THESE KINDS OF HABITATS. IN THIS CASE WE CAN APPLY PRESCRIBED BURNS AND CONSERVATION GRAZING AND THEN MANAGE COYOTE BRUSH ENCROACHING ON GRASSLANDS.

ANOTHER REALLY COOL THING ABOUT THESE DATA IS THAT THEY ARE INSTANTLY UPDATED. SO AS NATALIE MENTIONED, A LOT OF THESE ARE REPORTED IN THE FIELD AND THEN UPLOADED INTO A DATABASE PRETTY MUCH INSTANTANEOUSLY. SO, THEY PROVIDE US WITH REAL-TIME INFORMATION.

THIS ALLOWS US THE ABILITY TO KEEP UP ON NEW SIGHTINGS OF RARE SPECIES THAT WE SUSPECT ARE UNDERSERVED, LIKE THIS CROTCHUS BUMBLEBEE, WHICH IS OBSERVED AT ALAMEDA'S CROWN BEACH LAST YEAR BY A COMMUNITY SCIENTIST.

WE CAN ALSO REVIEW DISTRIBUTIONS OF SPECIES LIKE THE SCALY-BREASTED MUNEA, WHICH IS AN INTRODUCED BIRD THAT IS BEING OBSERVED MORE COMMONLY IN OUR AREA IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.

OR WE CAN EVEN VISUALIZE SPECIES PHENOLOGY OR TIMING.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE USE THIS GRAPH FROM INATURALIST TO RECOMMEND THAT THE RATTLESNAKE ADVISORY BE MOVED EARLIER INTO THE YEAR IN ABOUT APRIL BEFORE THE PEAK OF RATTLESNAKE OBSERVATIONS.

SO THE PARK DISTRICT HAS COME A LONG WAY IN OUR DATA COLLECTION. THESE DATA AND ITS ANALYSIS SUPPORTS WORK BY ALL DEPARTMENTS AND GUIDES EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS FOR OUR MISSION STATEMENT, INCLUDING THAT ALL ACTIVITIES ARE, AGAIN, GUIDED BY AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC.

TWENTY YEARS AGO, OR REALLY EVEN JUST LAST YEAR, OUR DATA WAS RECORDED IN PAPER NOTEBOOKS, AND NOW IN ADDITION TO ROBUST IN-HOUSE SURVEY AND MONITORING PROGRAMS, WE HAVE COMMUNITY SCIENCE, WE HAVE SOPHISTICATED GIS DATABASES, AND TOOLS TO CREATE MODELS AND MONITOR TRENDS FROM OUR DATA. MAINTAINING AND EXPANDING OUR DATABASE IS ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE LAND MANAGEMENT AND TO MEETING THE GOALS OF OUR MISSION STATEMENT, BUT ITS IMPORTANCE CAN OFTEN BE OVERLOOKED BECAUSE IT OCCURS BEHIND THE SCENES.

IN CONCLUSION, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF OUR GIS DEPARTMENT AND THE CONSULTANTS THAT HELP SUPPORT THIS WORK.

THANK YOU ESPECIALLY TO VAL LIPMAN, OUR DATABASE CONSULTANT. AND TO OUR INCREDIBLE IN-HOUSE GIS TEAM, ESPECIALLY KRISTI MCCASKEY AND NADIA TARGULIAN. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I HOPE WE CAN THINK ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THIS IN SOME OF OUR EFFORTS. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WHEN WE WERE TALKING WITH THE FOLKS FROM THE LAB GROUP IN COLORADO AND UC SANTA CRUZ. AND YOU KNOW AS WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON FINDING FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL AND FUTURE POND RESTORATIONS, I BELIEVE SOME OF THE CONTENT IN THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL AS YOU KNOW THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IN THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, THESE ARE AMAZING STORIES FOR US TO THINK ABOUT AS WE THEN GO TO PLACES LIKE OUR STATE CAPITAL AND SACRAMENTO FUNDING FOR FUTURE POND RESTORATIONS BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S MANY PONDS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO RESTORE SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO YOU KNOW INCREASE OUR BIODIVERSITY QUOTIENT AND TO REALLY HELP THESE EFFORTS SO I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TODAY BUT I THINK PUTTING TOGETHER THIS PRESENTATION AND HAVING THIS COMBINATION OF PRESENTATIONS TODAY KIND OF HELP IT HELPS ME INDIVIDUALLY THINK ABOUT, OKAY, SO WHAT CAN WE DO THEN FOR THAT EFFORT? SO REALLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, AS WE START TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, HOW SOME OF THIS WORK WILL ALSO GET INTEGRATED WITH SOME OF THOSE CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS.

CERTAINLY, I'M THINKING OF DOOLIN CANYON, FOR EXAMPLE.

AND I KNOW WHEN WE WERE AT SUNOL, I MENTIONED MY PERSONAL INTEREST IN MAYBE GOING

[01:40:02]

COULD YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF A GRASSLAND RESTORATION PROJECT? YES, ACTUALLY, OH, ELLIE LEFT.

SO ACTUALLY AT STONEBRAE, WE ARE DOING SOME SCRUB REMEDIATION. SO, WE'RE REMOVING, IT IS FOR ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AND GRASSLAND RESTORATION AT STONEBRAE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT DEVELOPMENT. SO, I THINK WE'RE STARTING THIS YEAR TO REMOVE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF COYOTE BRUSH SCRUB. THERE ARE ALSO SMALLER GRASSLAND RESTORATION PROJECTS LIKE THE SIBLEY PROJECT WHERE UM OUR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR, ROSE SAMUELSON, IS SPEARHEADING A PROJECT TO RESTORE A GRASSLAND PATCH AT SIBLEY.

THANK YOU. AT THE LAST COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THIS COMMITTEE, THE SIBLEY PROJECT WAS PRESENTED. SO, YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE VIDEO FROM THAT, AND ROSE WAS HERE TO PRESENT ON IT.

I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE PARKVIEW, OUR IN-HOUSE. IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S NOT A PUBLIC DATABASE. BUT HOW LONG, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A PLACE WHERE STAFF, WHEN THEY RUN INTO SOMETHING, CAN REPORT IT. HOW LONG HAS THAT BEEN GOING ON, AND IS THERE ANY PLAN TO MAKE THAT PUBLIC? IS IT AVAILABLE TO, I MEAN, AMONGST DIVISIONS, I IMAGINE? YEAH, IT'S CERTAINLY AVAILABLE AMONGST DIVISIONS AMONG DISTRICT STAFF. WE CAN'T REALLY MAKE IT PUBLIC BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE SENSITIVE INFORMATION EMBEDDED WITHIN IT, BOTH SPECIFIC LOCATIONS OF SENSITIVE SPECIES AND VARIOUS PROPERTY SPECIFICS. SO, IT'S NOT REALLY SOMETHING THAT'S GEARED TO BE PUBLIC. BUT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE HOW LONG PARKVIEW HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE, BUT IT'S WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS.

WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER, OUR GIS TEAM IS CONSTANTLY WORKING WITH US TO ADD FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES THAT ALLOW US TO USE IT FOR ALL OF OUR WORK AND TO INCLUDE MORE INFORMATION IN IT.

WE DO TRY TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO USE PARKVIEW IN SOME OF OUR TRAININGS THAT WE'VE GIVEN TO OTHER DIVISIONS LIKE OPERATIONS. RIGHT NOW, I THINK PARKVIEW IS MOST HEAVILY USED BY... BY STEWARDSHIP AND PLANNING STAFF AND OTHER STAFF IN PERALTA OAKS. BUT WE DO TRY TO OUTREACH THAT TO OTHER DIVISIONS AND INCLUDE SOME SPECIFIC TOOLS THAT WOULD BE MORE USEFUL FOR LIKE OPERATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE.

SOME OF OUR TEAMS ARE WORKING ON LIKE THE IPM PORTAL, WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO THIS COMMITTEE.

SO ALL OF THOSE TOOLS KIND OF COME OUT OF THE SAME BASIC DATABASES AND ALL INTEGRATE TOGETHER. AND ARE AVAILABLE TO PARK STAFF. THERE ARE LOTS OF, THERE'S LOTS OF INFORMATION THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, BUT LIKE I SAID, THERE'S REALLY SORT OF TOO MUCH THAT'S SENSITIVE IN HERE THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT WIDELY AVAILABLE.

WHAT I'VE ALSO HEARD I THINK HAPPENED WITH SOME EAGLES THAT WERE NESTING IN LAKE TEMESCAL.

EVERYBODY GOT SO EXCITED, SPENT SO MUCH TIME RUMMAGING AROUND LOOKING FOR THEM, THEY LEFT. SO, I THINK THERE'S A FINE BALANCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU FIND AND WHAT YOU SHARE OUT THERE. I'VE HEARD THAT EVEN THIS WEEK WHEN WE WERE OUT FISH IF YOU TELL PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE THEY ALL WANT TO GO FISHING. YEAH. YOU GOT TO BE REALLY CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE... SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY DIRECTOR SANWONG MENTIONED EARLIER THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN WHAT YOU GO OUT THERE. I'M GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY AND THE CROSS DIVISION OPPORTUNITY AND THE MENTION FROM DIRECTOR SANWONG. I THINK I MEAN, I'D EVEN LOVE TO SEE THIS, WHAT WE'RE CALLING OUR CPP SCORES, WHEN WE DO LOOK AT, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A DISCUSSION, EVEN IF WE DID THREE PONDS A YEAR, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO CATCH UP ON THE PONDS WE NEED. BUT CAN THE CPP HELP US? I GUESS THAT'S NOT A QUESTION, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN APPROACHED TO TRY TO INTEGRATE THAT SOMEHOW IN THE SCORES WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE OUR DECISIONS, WHICH POND, WHICH PROJECT.

I COULD SEE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT. I GUESS THAT'S MORE OF A COMMENT.

AND I GUESS I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT IF YOU THINK THAT THERE'S SORT OF ASK THE FIRST, IS THERE A GAP OR A FOCUS? I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED. I THINK I READ THAT PIE CHART, RIGHT? IT LOOKED LIKE MOST OF THE DATA WAS REALLY MORE

[01:45:02]

BUT ARE THERE GAPS THAT WE'RE MISSING OR YOU WOULD BE MISSING? YEAH, THAT ONE THERE.

THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, 14,000 SPECIES. IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THE RING IS PLANTS, GREEN.

ORANGE LOOKS LIKE INSECTS. I THINK THAT WOULD BEST BE EXPLAINED BY THE FACT THAT INATURALIST IS BASED ON PHOTOS AND PLANTS STAY STILL AND PEOPLE CAN TAKE PICTURES OF THEM. IT'S PROBABLY...

AT LEAST FOR ME PERSONALLY, HARDEST TO GET GOOD PICTURES OF BIRDS. SO ALMOST ALL OF MY PERSONAL BIRD OBSERVATIONS GO INTO EBIRD. AND THEN INATURALIST DOES PHOTOS OF EVERYTHING ELSE THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY CAPTURE WITH THEIR CAMERAS.

SO I THINK THAT'S ALSO WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO GET A DIVERSITY OF DATA SOURCES SO THAT WE ARE COVERING THOSE GAPS. SO, WE GET, WE PROBABLY GET A LOT, WELL WE GET A LOT MORE BIRD OBSERVATIONS. FROM EBIRD THAN FROM INATURALIST AND INATURALIST IS JUST BETTER AT THE STATIONARY ANIMALS AND PLANTS THAT PEOPLE CAN GET GOOD PHOTOS OF. THANKS FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE A SHORELINE BIRD PERSON TOO. IF YOU STICK AROUND, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU.

I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY REAL QUICK WITH INATURALIST, WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, I THINK NINE OUT OF THE TEN, JUST STATISTICALLY, 90% OF THE ITEMS THAT I'VE UPLOADED HAVE BEEN PLANTS. OH, THAT'S INTERESTING. AND THEN I THINK THE OTHER ONE WOULD BE LIKE A BANANA SLUG. SO WHERE DO YOU THINK THE GAP IS IN OUR PLANNING, LIKE FOR NEXT STEPS, IF YOU HAD TO, JUST CURIOUS, WHAT YOU THINK IS MISSING? I MEAN, I THINK DEDICATED EITHER STAFF TIME OR FUNDING FOR THE DATABASE ITSELF, THE DATABASES THAT WE MANAGE IS CRITICAL. WE'VE BEEN KIND OF COBBLING TOGETHER FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE DATA CONSULTANT WHO THERE'S A LOT OF VERY TEDIOUS WORK BRINGING TOGETHER DATA FROM ALL, I'VE HANDED HER LIKE JUST RANDOM PIECES OF PAPER, I SWEAR I'VE HANDED HER NAPKINS, RANDOM EMAILS AND BEEN LIKE CAN YOU PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER SO HAVING CONSISTENT FUNDING WOULD BE GREAT AND THEN THE GIS DEPARTMENT WHERE THEY CAN HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL IN SUPPORTING US AS WELL.

WELL I KNOW WE DEFINITELY AT LEAST I DID CLOSELY AT THAT DURING BUDGET MAYBE WE'LL HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND THE DISCUSSION I KNOW MATT HAS SAID THE COMMITMENT TO HIS TEAM TO GET AWAY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NO BUT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOW REALLY SHOWS WITH THIS DATA THAT YOU CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW WE SHOULD PLAN AND LAND USE AND HOW WE SHOULD AND WHEN DO WE GO OUT THERE AND YOU KNOW DO OUR WORK OR AVOID DURING ANYWAY I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS. I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION. AS FAR AS COORDINATING THIS, BECAUSE I WAS OUT IN THE FIELD THIS WEEK LOOKING AT NEAR THE GOLF COURSE WHERE THE TREES WERE JUST REMOVED, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COORDINATING? I THINK WE GAVE THE PAC SIX MONTHS DIRECTION TO LOOK AT ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY, AND THEY TEAMED THAT UP WITH FUELS MANAGEMENT. I'M JUST CURIOUS IF IT'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE IT. WHEN DO WE HAUL OFF? WOOD CHIPS OR WHERE DO WE LEAVE WOOD CHIPS IN PLACE? THE AREA IN PARTICULAR WE WERE AT HAD A LOT OF POISON, OAK AND BLACKBERRIES, BUT ARE YOU COORDINATING ANY OF THIS DATA YET WITH THE FUELS MANAGEMENT ECOSYSTEM PLANNING OF, OH, WHEN WE TAKE DOWN THESE EUCALYPTUS, WE REALLY NEED TO BE TENDER OR WE NEED TO REALLY HAUL OUT TO LET THE OTHER... IS THAT GOING ON OR POTENTIAL FOR THAT TO GO ON? I KNOW THAT WHEN WE DO THE FIELDS MANAGEMENT, WE ARE LOOKING AT A FEW THINGS.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, A LOT OF THE WOOD CHIPS TRAPPING WAS AN EFFORT THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK AT THE IMPACTS OF VEGETATION REMOVAL ON WHIPSNAKE POPULATIONS.

SO THAT WAS VERY MUCH RELATED TO FUELS MANAGEMENT. I DO KNOW THE FUELS TEAMS ALSO REFERENCE THE RARE PLANT LAYER SO THAT THEY MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT REMOVING RARE PLANTS WHEN THEY'RE REMOVING FUELS. WE'RE ALSO TRACKING THE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE BOTH STRAINS OR MANY STRAINS OF PHYTOPHTHORAS SO THAT WE HAVE ADDITIONAL BIOSECURITY MEASURES IN THOSE AREAS AS WELL. AND THEN ALL OF THE FIELDS MANAGEMENT TEAMS DO HAVE TO DO PRE-CONSTRUCTION SURVEY NESTING BIRD SURVEYS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. AND THOSE ARE ONE OF THE INSTANCES WHERE BEFORE ALL OF THE DATA THAT A BIOLOGIST MIGHT DO DURING A PRE-CONSTRUCTION SURVEY WOULD GO INTO A PAPER FORM AND THEN GET FILED IN A DESK AND NEVER LOOKED AT AGAIN EVER. NOW THAT A LOT OF THOSE DATA ARE GOING STRAIGHT INTO EBIRDS, SO WE CAN ACTUALLY USE AND ANALYZE THOSE DATA IN FUTURE STUDIES. YEAH, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT.

[01:50:04]

WELL. THANK YOU, TEAM. SORRY.

JOSH COULDN'T JOIN GREAT INFORMATION. THANK YOU I'M EXCITED FLIPPING MY PAPERS AROUND FOR THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ITEM. 5E IS THE FREE ROAMING CAT POLICY AND OUR ANNUAL UPDATE.

SO HI AGAIN, NATALIE REEDER, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST IN THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT.

AND I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR FREE ROAMING CAT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

OR I THINK WHAT'S REALLY BECOME MORE OF JUST A CELEBRATION OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM. WE ARE REQUIRED BY THE POLICY TO GIVE AN UPDATE TO THE BOARD ONCE A YEAR, AND HERE IT IS FOR YOU. SO, THIS PROGRAM IS REALLY HELPFUL IN ACHIEVING OUR MISSION TO PRESERVE A RICH HERITAGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES, AND SPECIFICALLY VERY VULNERABLE GROUND NESTING SPECIES THAT LIVE ON THE SHORELINE, THE CALIFORNIA LEASE TURN SHOWN HERE WITH A CHICK AND THEY FAMOUSLY NEST AT TURNTOWN, A PRETTY MUCH ARTIFICIAL ISLAND OF SAND AND OYSTER SHELLS WHERE THEY LIKE TO NEST. THEY ALSO SHARE THAT ISLAND WITH WESTERN SNOWY PLOVERS THAT DO NEST A LITTLE BIT MORE WIDELY, BUT ALSO SHARE TURNTOWN WITH THE TERNS.

CALIFORNIA RIDGEWAYS RAIL, AN ENDANGERED SHOREBIRD THAT LIKES TO HIDE IN THE MARSH AND BE PRETTY SECRETIVE, BUT ARE EASY TO SEE AT MLK OFF THE BOARDWALK. SALT MARSH HARVEST MOUSE THAT ARE NOT EASY TO SEE, THEY LOVE PICKLEWEED AND THEY'RE GOOD AT SWIMMING, AND BLACK SKIMMERS, A CALIFORNIA SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN THAT HAVE IN RECENT YEARS MOVED INTO TURNTOWN, AND ALL OF THESE SHOREBIRDS COOPERATE WITH EACH OTHER TO FEND OFF AERIAL PREDATORS LIKE FALCONS AND GULLS AND THINGS.

AND THE REAL SUCCESS OF OUR PROGRAM HAS BEEN TO ENCOMPASS WHAT'S BEST FOR WILDLIFE CARE. CATS AND PEOPLE ALL AT THE SAME TIME, RATHER THAN TRYING TO PULL ANY ONE OF THOSE OUT INDIVIDUALLY. IT'S REALLY MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL TO TREAT THE PROBLEM HOLISTICALLY.

AND A BIG SUCCESS FOR US THIS YEAR WAS TO UPDATE THE CAT BROCHURE WITH MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PROGRAM, HOW IT'S WORKING NOW.

YOU'LL HAVE A FULL COPY OF THE BROCHURE IN YOUR PACKETS, BUT THIS IS JUST ONE PANEL. SHOWING THE LIST OF OUR ANIMAL SERVICES AGENCY PARTNERS AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT INDIVIDUALS CAN DO TO BOTH KEEP THEIR CATS AND WILDLIFE SAFE AT THE SAME TIME, FOR INSTANCE, BY KEEPING THEIR CATS IN CATIOS WHEN THEY'RE ENJOYING OUTSIDE TIME. WE'RE CONTINUING PROACTIVE DETERRENCE, MONITORING WHERE CATS ARE, WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE, INSTALLING AND MAINTAINING FENCING WHERE IT MIGHT REDUCE THE IMPACTS OF CATS ON WILDLIFE, AND THEN SECURING DUMPSTERS AND TRASH THAT CAN ATTRACT CATS TO THE PARK WHEN THERE'S FOOD AVAILABLE.

THE REAL CENTERPIECE OF OUR PROGRAM IS OUR COOPERATION AND COORDINATION WITH ANIMAL SERVICES AGENCIES.

WE'RE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ESSENTIALLY EVERY MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES AGENCY IN THE EAST BAY AND WE HAVE BI-MONTHLY MEETINGS WITH THE MANAGERS AND DIRECTORS OF THOSE AGENCIES. WE ALSO HELD MONTHLY MEETINGS INTERNALLY WITH DISTRICT STAFF. AND THEN A WEEKLY MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY CAT COORDINATOR TIFFANY ASHBAKER WHO'S NOW AT CONTRA COSTA ANIMAL SERVICES.

AND TO DATE ALL OF THIS WORK HAS BEEN FUNDED BY THE REGIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT $25,000 TO $30,000 A YEAR, WHICH EQUALS OUT TO ABOUT $500 PER CAT. AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A DIVERSITY OF FUNDING SOURCES TO SORT OF OPERATIONALIZE THIS PROGRAM AND MAKE IT PERMANENT.

THIS YEAR I WAS... ABLE TO GIVE A COUPLE OF TALKS TO OUTREACH THIS PROGRAM TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. I GAVE A TALK AT THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY WESTERN SECTION ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN JANUARY, AND THAT WAS TO AN AUDIENCE OF MOSTLY WILDLIFE SCIENTISTS AND MANAGERS, AND RESULTED IN SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN WORKING SO WELL FOR US AND HOW IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK IN OTHER PLACES. I ALSO GAVE A TALK TO THE GOLDEN GATE BIRD ALLIANCE, THANK YOU.

PART OF THEIR SPEAKER SERIES JUST RECENTLY IN JULY AND THEY

[01:55:01]

WE'RE AVERAGING 49 CATS TRAPPED AND TRANSFERRED FROM OUR PARKS PER YEAR AND YOU CAN SEE ON IN THE GRAPH HOW THAT PROGRESSES OR CHANGES YEAR TO YEAR AND THEN IN THE MAP ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THAT MOST OF THAT EFFORT IS FOCUSED AROUND THE SHORELINE WHERE WE BOTH HAVE THE MOST CATS AND THOSE SPECIFICALLY VULNERABLE GROUND NESTING SPECIES ON THE SHORELINE, BUT WE HAVE ALSO TRAPPED AND TRANSFERRED CATS FROM YOU KNOW THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT AND HERE IS JUST A SUBSET OF OUR CLASS OF 2026 OF CATS THAT WERE TRAPPED AND TRANSFERRED FROM OUR PARKS.

I'LL HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE. SO THE ORANGE CAT IN THE TOP LEFT FROM HAYWARD WAS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

PEOPLE WERE WORRIED ABOUT HIM. THEY WERE PUTTING FOOD OUT FOR HIM. SO, WE WORKED TO QUICKLY REMOVE HIM AND TRANSFER HIM HERE. HE'S SHOWN IN HIS NEW WORKING CAT PLACEMENT TO ALLAY THE CONCERNS OF THE PUBLIC AND TO PUT A STOP TO THE EXCESS FEEDING THAT WAS HAPPENING OUT THERE.

AND THEN JUST SOME OTHER EXAMPLES FROM OYSTER BAY, MILLER KNOX, AND CORRIE LAKES. AND CORRIE LAKES SPECIFICALLY WAS AGAIN OUR NUMBER ONE CAT TRAPPING PARK OF THE YEAR. MEL MCDONALD IN PARTICULAR, A RANGER AT CORRIE LAKES, IS REALLY GOOD AT CATCHING CATS. AND THEY ALSO HAVE A LOT OUT THERE. WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THAT IS. BUT THIS SPECIFIC EXAMPLE WAS A REALLY ODD SITUATION WHERE THE MOTHER CAT WHO YOU CAN SEE IN THE VERY TOP CORNER, GAVE BIRTH TO FOUR KITTENS IN A TRAP. AND THE MOTHER AND THE KITTENS WERE TRANSFERRED TO FULL CIRCLE CATS WHERE THEY WERE FOSTERED BY A VOLUNTEER.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE KITTENS GROW UP FROM NEWBORN TO WHERE THEY ARE RECENTLY.

AND EVEN THOUGH THE MOTHER WAS PRETTY SHY AT FIRST AND SHOWED NO SIGNS OF SOCIALIZATION FOR LIKE THE FIRST TWO OR THREE WEEKS, SHE EVENTUALLY DECIDED THAT SHE WAS COMFORTABLE AND SHOWED HERSELF TO BE FRIENDLY. SO, ALL FIVE OF THESE CATS WILL GO TO PET ADOPTION HOMES.

AND THEN I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE AGAIN HOW IMPORTANT ALL OF OUR PARTICIPATORY PARTNERS ARE IN THIS PROGRAM AND THAT WE COULD NOT ACCOMPLISH THIS WORK WITHOUT ALL OF THESE VARIOUS COMPONENTS.

SO DISTRICT STAFF ARE INSTRUMENTAL IN TELLING US WHERE CATS ARE AND HELPING US MONITOR THEM AND TRAP THEM.

TIFFANY, OUR COMMUNITY CAT COORDINATOR WHO'S HERE TODAY, IS REALLY JUST THE LINCHPIN THAT HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER.

FINDS HOMES FOR CATS, HELPS PARK STAFF, HELPS WITH THE TRAINING, COMMUNICATES WITH THE PUBLIC AND PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WHO ARE FEEDING CATS IN THE PARKS. AND OUR LARGER COMMUNITY, BOTH JUST GENERAL VOLUNTEERS, PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT CATS, AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE FULL CIRCLE CATS WHO HAVE BEEN A GREAT PARTNER. AND THEN OUR ANIMAL SERVICES AGENCIES WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US EVEN IN THE FACE OF PRETTY EXTREME SHELTER OVERCROWDING AND VERY SMALL BUDGETS. THEY ARE THEY HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL PARTNERS AND CONTINUE TO TRY TO DO ALL THEY CAN TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM.

SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

AND I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS? TIFFANY DOES... WAS WORKING FOR US IN SOME CAPACITY. IS SHE NOW WITH THE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES? YES, SO THE WAY THAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY SET UP WAS THIS PROGRAM WAS SORT OF DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OAKLAND ANIMAL SERVICES AND FRIENDS OF OAKLAND ANIMAL SERVICES, WHO IS THEIR NONPROFIT ARM. SO, THEY REALLY WERE THE ONES, AND ANNE DUNN IN PARTICULAR, AND BEN WINKLEBLACK, WHO'S NOW THE DIRECTOR OF CONTRA COSTA ANIMAL SERVICES, BUT WAS FORMERLY AT OAKLAND ANIMAL SERVICES. THEY HAD THIS VISION THAT THIS PROGRAM COULD BE POSSIBLE AND THEY BROUGHT ALL OF THE ANIMAL SERVICES AGENCIES TOGETHER AND PROPOSED THAT WE WOULD HAVE A COMMUNITY CAT COORDINATOR TO SORT OF LIAISE BETWEEN THE SHELTERS AND THE PARK DISTRICT. AND SO FRIENDS OF OAKLAND ANIMAL SERVICES HIRED TIFFANY AS THAT COMMUNITY CAT COORDINATOR AND

[02:00:01]

PARTIALLY SUPPORT HER POSITION.

SHE HAS SINCE TRANSFERRED TO CONTRA COSTA ANIMAL SERVICES, AND WE'RE STILL WORKING OUT HOW THE ARRANGEMENT MIGHT BE SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT NOW AT THAT DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, OTHER ORGANIZATION. IT'S A COUNTY ORGANIZATION THAT'S BIGGER, AND WE'RE JUST SORT OF TRYING TO WORK OUT THE DETAILS OF HOW WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT TIFFANY'S POSITION.

SHE'S A LARGE PART OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE BEEN, I WAS AT THE MEETINGS WHERE THE ROOM WAS FULL WITH THE CAT PEOPLE AND WE CAME UP WITH A POLICY IN THE PROGRAM AND TIFFANY REALLY LED US INTO IT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

MUCH, MUCH APPRECIATE IT. I'M REALLY GLAD SHE'S STILL AT IT. TRAPPING CATS IS ENORMOUSLY DIFFICULT IN TERMS OF THE LABOR INVOLVED AND THE TIME AND EFFORT. SO, I REALLY ADMIRE THESE PEOPLE THAT DO IT.

AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE TRAINING PEOPLE TO DO IT IS WONDERFUL.

AND 268 CATS.

THAT MAKES ME SMILE. YEAH, IT'S REALLY GREAT. AND TO BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL CATS WITHIN THOSE NUMBERS AND REALLY SEE THE INDIVIDUAL IMPACT ON SPECIFIC ANIMALS IS PRETTY EXCITING. AND I'M DELIGHTED THAT PEOPLE ARE INVITING YOU TO DESCRIBE THIS PROGRAM. AND SO OUTSIDERS, OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS LOOKING IN UNDERSTAND THIS HAS BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. AND I'M JUST DELIGHTED BY THAT.

YES. THAT'S GREAT AND I THINK AT MY ANNUAL REPORT LAST YEAR I MENTIONED THAT MIDPENN HAD CONTACTED US TO GET SOME MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO ENACT SOMETHING SIMILAR IN THEIR AREA. SO, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO SUPPORT ALSO OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN STARTING SOMETHING SIMILAR.

THE END NOTE IS I'M HOPEFUL THAT MANAGEMENT CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM IF IT'S OPERATIONALIZED MADE PERMANENT BECAUSE IT IS A SUCCESS THAT WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT SO IT DESERVES TO BE FUNDED I MEAN, I'M WILLING TO EVEN SAY AS A BOARD MEMBER. I WOULD PRIORITIZE THAT WE CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS AND SO NOT JUST DEPEND ON MANAGEMENT MAKING THAT DECISION BUT I THINK WE AS A BOARD CAN ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE FUNDING AND BE A PART OF OUR STEWARDSHIP EFFORT. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. DID WE SOLVE THE DUMPSTER PROBLEM? WORKING WITH REPUBLIC WASTE MANAGEMENT BECAUSE IT'S A RACCOON ISSUE, IT'S AN EVERYTHING ISSUE. DID WE EVER WORK THAT OUT? I GOT SOME FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES AT REPUBLIC SERVICES THAT I BOTHERED ABOUT THIS. HAS THAT BEEN, HAVE YOU FIXED IT? I CAN'T SAY THAT WE'VE...FIXED IT BUT WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS.

WE'VE CERTAINLY GOTTEN SOME DUMPSTERS COVERED. SO, LIKE SUNOL HAS THIS REALLY, TAMMY AND I JOKE ABOUT HOW NOW WE, WHEN WE SEE A REALLY GOOD LOOKING DUMPSTER WE'LL STOP AND TAKE PICTURES OF IT. SO SUNOL HAS A REALLY GOOD LOOKING DUMPSTER RIGHT NOW.

AND IT'S COVERED, IT'S EASY FOR STAFF TO USE, IT'S WORKING REALLY WELL AND AS YOU MENTIONED IT'S HELPING TO MITIGATE A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES LIKE RACCOONS. GETTING IN THERE AND POTENTIAL DISEASE TRANSMISSION AMONG YOU KNOW ALL THESE VARIOUS MAMMALS THAT WILL COME AND USE THE DUMPSTERS AND THEN ATTRACTING PREDATORS FOR SOME OF OUR SENSITIVE SPECIES BOTH CATS, RACCOONS, COYOTES, AND THEN ALSO AERIAL PREDATORS LIKE CORVIDS AND GULLS.

BUT YOU KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLEXITY. WE HAVE A VARIETY OF WASTE HAULERS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT SO IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS JUST WORKING WITH ONE. AND THEN EACH OF THOSE WASTE HAULERS HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CAPACITIES, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROGRESS MADE ON THE TRASH CONTAINMENT ISSUE, AND THEN THERE'S PARTICULARS ABOUT EACH SERVICE YARD AND HOW MUCH SPACE THEY HAVE AROUND THE DUMPSTER AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF WHERE THE TRUCK COMES. SO THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLEXITY THAT WE RAN INTO WHEN WE STARTED TO TRY TO TACKLE THAT PROBLEM. SO THERE ARE STILL DUMPSTERS TO BE WORKED ON. WORKED ON, OUR SANITATION DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO REPLACE OUR SORT OF PLASTIC RUBBER MADE TRASH CANS WITH BEAR SAFE TRASH CANS THAT ARE REALLY JUST WILDLIFE SAFE TRASH CANS. SO THOSE ARE CONTINUING TO BE ROLLED OUT.

EVERY YEAR THEY SEEM TO BE TRANSITIONING ABOUT 60-ISH TRASH CANS TO THE WILDLIFE PROOF VERSIONS.

SO IT'S JUST GOING TO TAKE TIME TO GET THOSE ALL INSTALLED.

ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SORT OF THE PLASTIC ONES SO

[02:05:03]

SO EVEN PET CATS ARE OFTEN NOT SPAYED OR NEUTERED, AND THERE'S JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE KITTENS AND CATS COMING IN FROM PET HOMES OR ONES THAT ARE ABANDONED. SO, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE NUMBER OF CATS BEING RELEASED IS INCREASING.

IT'S... PROBABLY JUST CONSTANTLY AN ISSUE BUT WE'VE BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL AT TACKLING SORT OF PROBLEM AREAS WITHIN THE PARK DISTRICT IF FOR EXAMPLE WITH THAT THAT ORANGE CAT WHERE HE'S GETTING A LOT OF PUBLIC ATTENTION AND PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO FEED THEN THAT TENDS TO ATTRACT MORE CATS IN SO THIS PROGRAM HAS WORKED BEST IN THOSE AREAS WHERE WE CAN IDENTIFY A FEEDING PROBLEM TRANSFER THE CATS OUT THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE FEEDING ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE CATS ARE GOING INTO AN ADOPTIVE HOME.

AND THEN THE FEEDING STOPS BECAUSE THERE ARE NO LONGER CATS. SO EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T HAVE GREAT BEFORE AND AFTER DATA ON A DIRECT IMPACT TO THE SPECIES, WE CAN ASSUME THAT IF THERE ARE FEWER CATS IN THE PARKS, THEY'RE HAVING LESS IMPACT ON THE WILDLIFE. AND I THINK IN GENERAL, THE PROBLEM OF PET ABANDONMENT IS A BIG ONE AND REQUIRES A LOT OF CREATIVE PUBLIC OUTREACH BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO REACH ALL AUDIENCES ABOUT THAT ISSUE. PEOPLE HAVE UNWANTED TURTLES THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF GOOD OPTIONS FOR AND THEY THINK THE TURTLE WILL BE HAPPY OUTSIDE. AND THERE REALLY AREN'T A LOT OF TURTLE RESCUES OR PLACES FOR ANIMALS LIKE THAT TO GO.

SO PEOPLE ARE OFTEN LEFT WITH REALLY DIFFICULT DECISIONS.

AND WE CERTAINLY DO RESPOND TO EXOTIC ANIMALS IN THE PARKS ON A REGULAR BASIS. THERE'S SOME THAT WE SORT OF CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT LIKE RED-EARED SLIDERS BULLFROGS THAT ARE REALLY WELL ESTABLISHED AND JUST SORT OF EVERYWHERE BUT WE'VE HAD INDIVIDUALS OF OTHER SPECIES THAT HAVE HAD TO BE RESPONDED TO SO WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD ALLIGATORS IN THE PARK DISTRICT THAT STAFF HAVE CAUGHT AND REMOVED.

WE'VE TRIED TO GO AFTER SNAPPING TURTLES BUT DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE THEY CAN JUST BE TOO DIFFICULT TO CATCH AND THEY JUST STAY OUT THERE.

IN SOME SITUATIONS, THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT WE CAN DO. THERE'S SOME PLACES THAT WE'RE REALLY PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT IT. SO, I THINK YOU MENTIONED IN AN EARLIER TALK ABOUT THOSE AREAS THAT ARE CLOSE TO URBAN CENTERS WHERE THERE'S A LOT MORE. I THINK THE HCP TEAM WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT IN AREAS WHERE THE SENSITIVE RESOURCE IS CLOSE TO AN URBAN AREA, THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO GET SOME OF THESE SORT OF INPUTS FROM HUMANS. AND SO, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S SOME MITIGATION POLICIES PONDS IN GARIN REGIONAL PARK THAT ARE UPHILL FROM JORDAN POND. AND JORDAN POND HAS NON-NATIVE STUFF IN IT AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN REALLY DO ABOUT IT, FISH AND BULLFROGS. BUT WE'RE MONITORING THE PONDS LEADING UP THE HILL TO THOSE MITIGATION PONDS SO THAT WE FIND OUT EARLY IF THOSE ANIMALS START TO MOVE FROM THE IMPACTED POND TO THOSE PONDS THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PRESERVE FOR SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES HABITAT.

SO WE GET THAT EARLY WARNING AND THEN WE CAN ADDRESS IT RIGHT AWAY BEFORE IT BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE. SO, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO TARGET THOSE AREAS WHERE WE CAN PREVENT THE INTRODUCED SPECIES FROM ESTABLISHING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

FASCINATING. I GUESS ONE LAST QUESTION. I MEAN GIVEN SORT OF THAT AND WHAT YOU JUST SAID AND

[02:10:01]

PEOPLE GET THEM FOR GUARDING THEIR HOUSES. SO WE THOUGHT WE WERE SMART. WE TOOK IT DOWN TO THE STREAM, AND WE RELEASED IT. WE PUT A LITTLE BAND ON ITS LEG, AND WE TOOK IT DOWN. SO, HEARING ALL THIS IS JUST FASCINATING, GOING FULL CIRCLE. AND DAD DID THE WRONG THING.

BUT ANYWAY, HOW BACK TO THE BIGGER PICTURE OF ALL THAT IS AND HEARING EARLIER ABOUT APPLYING SOME OF THIS TO INVASIVE SPECIES OVERALL.

IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS A SUCCESSFUL MODEL. WE'RE SHOWING IT AT OTHER EVENTS. WE'RE HERE AT FIVE YEARS. I HONESTLY, I DON'T WANT IT TO GO AWAY, BUT IT'S PART OF OPERATIONS.

DO WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE YOU COME BACK ON AN ANNUAL REPORT? IT'S JUST A QUESTION. YOU KNOW, IT BECOMES, AFTER A WHILE, IT'S JUST PART OF THE ISO 9000 OR JUST PART OF OPERATIONS, BUT MAYBE EXPAND IT, I DON'T KNOW, TO INVASIVE SPECIES, WHETHER IT'S OTHER THINGS WE HEARD ABOUT EARLIER TODAY.

IT'S SUCH A GOOD MODEL. I DON'T KNOW. MATT SOUNDS LIKE HE WANTS TO, WHAT'S THE FUTURE? YEAH.

WELL, THE FUTURE IS A GOOD QUESTION, BUT I JUST, I WANTED TO RESPOND TO, WELL, MATT, WE'RE ALL DIVISION LEAD FOR STEWARDSHIP, ABOUT WHY WE DO IT EVERY YEAR, AND BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE POLICY. LIKE WHEN WE ESTABLISHED A POLICY ON HOW WE WOULD ADDRESS CATS AFTER SOME OF THE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES THAT HAPPENED, WE WANTED TO SET UP A PROGRAM SO WE COULD BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE PUBLIC AND THE BOARD ABOUT HOW WE WERE MANAGING THE SITUATION, PROTECTING ENDANGERED SPECIES, AND ALSO TRYING TO ADDRESS THE WELFARE OF FERAL CATS. AND SO, AS PART OF THAT POLICY, IT REQUIRES AN UPDATE TO THE NCRC ONCE A YEAR ON THAT POLICY. SO, WE COULD CHANGE THAT AND CHANGE IT TO EVERY OTHER YEAR OR SOMETHING NOW THAT WE'RE IN A STABLE OR HAVE A PRETTY GOOD, SOLID PROGRAM.

BUT THAT WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR A VOTE, YOU KNOW, TO CHANGE THAT POLICY. SO, IT'S A BOARD-APPROVED POLICY THAT WE WOULD DO AN ANNUAL REPORT.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE ALSO DO IS WRITE UP.

NATALIE USES THAT TO INFORM THIS PRESENTATION.

IT'S JUST A WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF WHAT HAPPENS EACH YEAR.

THAT MAKES SOME SENSE. I THINK SANDY FUNKE AT THE MEETING YESTERDAY USED THE TERM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GARDENERS, MASTER GARDENERS OVER TIME.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO REMOVE SOME THINGS AND PLANT NEW THINGS AND MAYBE ADD SOME NEW THINGS TO THE POLICY. I MEAN, I'D BE UP FOR LOOKING AT THAT BECAUSE IT'S SO SUCCESSFUL FOR BEST PRACTICE. PRACTICES I DO THINK IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THIS ANNUAL REPORT SO I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD ASK MAKING A MOTION OR YEAH BRINGING IT TO THE BOARD BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT STILL EVEN THOUGH IT'S YOU KNOW 2021 WAS WHEN A LOT OF THE CONTROVERSY HAPPENED FIVE YEARS AGO IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT STILL COMES UP AND THERE'S SOME THERE'S SOME BOT ON UM X.COM THAT WILL STILL POST ABOUT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT AND THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN 2021, I THINK.

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A YEAR AGO WHEN I SAW THAT ON X.COM, BUT IT COMES UP AS NEW. AND SO I BELIEVE IT'S A BOT. I'M ACTUALLY NOT 100% SURE IF IT'S A BOT THAT'S DOING THAT, BUT THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO BE... IT'S A WEBSITE.

YEAH, TO CONSIDER. AND IT'S A MARIN GROUP.

I THINK IT'S STILL THERE, BUT IF YOU VISIT THEIR WEBSITE, YOU'RE DIRECTED TO PLACES WHERE YOU CAN CLICK TO SEND A MESSAGE. AND THAT'S WHY WE STILL GET THEM.

AND I THINK THIS IS HELPFUL. I LIKE HEARING THAT, OR I DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE HEARING IT, BUT IT'S HELPFUL TO HEAR THAT CORAL LAKES IS NUMBER ONE AGAIN AND MAYBE WE COULD HAVE SOME KIND OF FUN AWARD FOR THE PARK THAT TRAPS THE MOST DOMESTIC CATS OR HAS THE BIGGEST ISSUE.

BUT THEN ALSO HEARING ABOUT THE NEW BROCHURE, ACTUALLY I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THAT BROCHURE. AND THEN I KNOW LAST YEAR I BELIEVE WAS THE YEAR DURING THIS REPORT YOU MENTIONED CATIOS AND TRYING TO HAVE AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT CATIOS SO THERE COULD BE SOMETHING NEW NEXT YEAR I YOU KNOW LISTENING TO THIS AND HEARING ABOUT THE SPAY AND NEUTER UM OPTIONS OR YOU KNOW HOW THERE'S MINIMAL OPTIONS IT'S REMINDING ME YOU KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE CELEBRATING SOON THE OPENING OF THE PHILIP SCHULTZ TRAIL AND PHILIP SCHULTZ IS THE MAN WHO DIED WHILE TRYING TO SAVE SOMEONE AT A CAL TRAIN STATION AND IN HIS MEMORY THERE'S BOTH GOING TO BE A TRAIL AT PLEASANTON RIDGE, THE PHILIP SCHULTZ TRAIL, BUT THEN ALSO THE OTHER PIECE OF HIS MEMORY IS A SURGERY CENTER, THE PHILIP SCHULTZ SURGERY CENTER FOR SPAY AND NEUTER.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR TO TALK ABOUT BOTH THE OPENING

[02:15:01]

AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE DOMESTIC CAT PROGRAMS AT OUR REGIONAL PARKS.

SO, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE A NEW THING BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT YEAR WHEN WE DO THIS ONE OPTION. YEAH, FANTASTIC. I DON'T THINK, MADAM CLERK, WE'VE ASKED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT YET? AND I’M NOT TIFFANY SITTING OUT THERE OR DID YOU COME TO WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SAY ANYTHING TOO EMBARRASSED. NOT A PUBLIC SPEAKER. NONE OF US ARE. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. I’M NOT KIDDING YOU I STILL MY HEART FLUTTERS WHEN THEY PUBLIC SPEAK. I DON'T KNOW, IT'S STILL, IT'S NO NOTHING, NO POP. ANYTHING ONLINE MADAM CLERK THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY BRINGING IT BACK. ANY FURTHER COMMENT? THANK YOU. THANK YOU NATALIE, TIFFANY, PARKS FOUNDATION PARTNERS. OKAY WE ARE JUST ABOUT DONE ON TO ITEM SIX.

ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? OKAY, SEEING NONE, WE ARE THEREFORE ADJOURNED AT 4:23 P.M.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.