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Project and Restoration Management Plan Paula Lane Nature Preserve

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Project and Restoration Management Plan Paula Lane Nature Preserve PROJECT AND RESTORATION MANAGEMENT PLAN PAULA LANE NATURE PRESERVE Prepared by: Paula Lane Action Network and the City of Petaluma Approved by: Sonoma Co. Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District - January 29, 2013 CONTENTS Acknowledgments 2 SECTION 1: Introduction and Background 3 - 4 SECTION 2: Project Structure 5 - 6 SECTION 3: Implementation Plan 7 - 11 SECTION 4: Education/Research and Conservation in Sonoma County 12 - 13 SECTION 5: Reporting 14 SECTION 6: Photo Collage 15 - 16 EXHIBITS Exhibit 1: Conceptual Plan – Paula Lane Open Space Project Exhibit 2: Matching Grant Agreement Exhibit 3: Conservation Easement Exhibit 4: City/PLAN Agreement Exhibit 5: Residential Lease Agreement Exhibit 6: Work Plan Exhibit 7: Overall Project Budget Sample Quarterly Reporting Form – Financials and Narrative APPENDICES Appendix A: Tree Report, McAnany Appendix B: American Badger Habitat Survey and Map, Bioconsultant LLC 2004 Appendix C: Avian Survey, Paula Lane Birds, Dan Nelson 2004 Appendix D: Wildlife Inventory List – Paula Lane (ongoing) Appendix E: Community Outreach – Inspiration & Examples Paula Lane Nature Preserve Management Plan page 1 Acknowledgments In keeping with connectivity of the Paula Lane Nature Preserve open space project to Sonoma County conservation efforts and broad support from citizens in the San Francisco Bay Area, we express gratitude for the support and guidance of Joan Vilms Consulting, Bodega Land Trust, Sonoma Land Trust, LandPaths, Petaluma Wetlands Alliance, Madrone Audubon Society, Russian Riverkeeper, Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, Friends of Paulin Creek, Friends of Villa Grande, Sonoma County Conservation Council, iNaturalist, Worth a Dam/Martinez Beavers protectors, Bioconsultant LLC, Sonoma Co. Fish and Wildlife Commission, biologist Dan Nelson, Susan Brandt-Hawley, Esq., Irv Piotrkowski, Esq., biologists of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Brock Dolman and the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, daily acts, Andrea Mackenzie and the Bay Area Open Space Council, Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District & Sotoyome Resource Conservation District, Pepperwood Preserve, Petaluma Arts Council, El Dia de Los Muertos community, Rebuilding Together Petaluma, members of the Citizens Advisory Committee of Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, staff and management of Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, George Martinez, Esq., and Alice and Dale Vesterfelt and Diana Corralejo, former owners of the Paula Lane property who became willing sellers and patiently moved through the process over a period of years. With guidance and mutual support of strong conservation and community service organizations in Sonoma County and the Bay Area, achieving goals for our communities, connecting to the land and Nature, may always be possible – even if those goals take a very long time to reach, step by step, paw print by paw print, winged flight by winged flight, inch by inch, mile by mile. Paula Lane Nature Preserve Management Plan page 2 SECTION 1 Introduction and Background The Paula Lane Nature Preserve, an 11.22 acre property on Paula Lane, comprised of annual grassland, upland habitat, and mature clustered trees, 1.4 miles west of downtown Petaluma and in a rural neighborhood, transitioning to rural West Petaluma, has received regional recognition in two areas: (1) The community organized in 2001 and sustained through opposing a residential development proposal, then advocated for an additional six years for the property to become protected and acquired open space for the City of Petaluma in the Open Space District’s Matching Grant program. The tenacity and perseverance of the group has been recognized by local and regional media, such as KRCB-FM Radio, Bay Nature Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Throughout the years, grassroots fundraising, community outreach and cooperation were and continue to be hallmarks of the nonprofit, Paula Lane Action Network. The long-awaited acquisition has completed and project implementation and management now begin. Cooperation among all engaged in the process – elected officials, City of Petaluma management and staff, the community group, which organized into a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2004, fiscal sponsor Bodega Land Trust, County officials and staff of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, with broad support expressed locally and regionally, have brought this property into the consciousness of the San Francisco Bay Area and Bay Delta Region. People feel hope about the “little person” being able to organize and sustain to bring protection for wildlife and appreciation for and education about open space and ecosystems in our communities. (2) Strong advocacy by Paula Lane Action Network has been based in enhancing awareness and educating about the special nature of the “Paula Lane property” as it has come to be known – because of a 100-year-old habitat area for American Badger, a California Species of Concern, along with multiple other wildlife species, including over 100 identified migratory and resident birds. The atmosphere on Paula Lane is quiet and rural, with no nighttime lighting, supporting a diverse and abundant nocturnal life for the wild. The delicate balance of humans residing in the area with beloved wildlife, with the City of Petaluma’s downtown nearby, supports the American Badger sustaining with an active presence year-round on the Paula Lane property and in the wildlife corridor between Bodega Avenue and Schuman Lane. Twelve plus years of observation of badgers and their burrowing patterns and Paula Lane Nature Preserve Management Plan page 3 seasonal behaviors continue to contribute to regional awareness about an elusive mammal about whom little was known state-wide until Paula Lane Action Network’s dedication and observation began, culminating in the ability to share information with scientists and other naturalists. The Conservation Easement placed and held in perpetuity by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District establishes the priority of protecting Conservation Values of this special property in a unique upland habitat area. The open space project is multifaceted and will provide passive recreation in an underserved area – in unique and harmonious ways – with artistically designed benches, carefully placed for wildlife viewing but not wildlife disturbance, along with enjoyment of gardens and quiet respite from urban life. In addition, two residences on the property are rented and occupied, and the project will represent community at its best - with respect for privacy of the residents and collaboration with the residents for harmonious living on a public property. This Management and Work Plan therefore sets forth the City of Petaluma’s Paula Lane Nature Preserve, open space project, a passive recreational and high level conservation project, to include education and agriculture in the context of honoring Conservation Values of upland habitat and diverse wildlife. The Matching Grant Agreement is Exhibit 2 of the Plan. The Conservation Easement is Exhibit 3 of the Plan. The Project will be part of the City of Petaluma’s inventory of parks and open space and will be in the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s Matching Grant Project portfolio for Sonoma County. Paula Lane Nature Preserve Management Plan page 4 SECTION 2 Project Structure The Paula Lane Nature Preserve will feature heightened awareness in South Sonoma County about upland habitat, fragile and active ecosystems, wildlife and wildlife corridors, with activities and restraint to appreciate and learn about natural resources and how to support biodiversity. The Conservation Easement requirement of protecting Conservation Values on the property will always encompass plans and activities. Policy: Conservation Easement – Land Uses – 5.2 – Use of the Property is restricted solely to natural resource protection, habitat restoration and enhancement, recreational and educational, agricultural and residential uses as defined in this Section 5.2. Commercial or industrial use of or activity on the Property is prohibited except for those commercial uses expressly reserved in Section 5.2.4, 5.2.5, and 5.2.6. 5.2.1 Natural Resource Protection. GRANTOR may take all actions necessary or appropriate to preserve and protect the natural resources of the Property in accordance with sound, generally-accepted conservation practices. GRANTOR and DISTRICT acknowledge that the Property and its natural resources are protected by this Easement and shall not be available to mitigate for the environmental impacts of projects located off site... The Project will contain the following elements, to complement and support goals of conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources, passive recreation and wellbeing for humans: 1. Habitat Preservation and Restoration 2. Native garden(s) and Sustainable Agriculture (Agriculture Area designated in Sonoma Co. Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s Baseline Site Map) 3. Public Access 4. Education and research 5. Residences and Structures (Building Envelope designated in Conservation Easement, which is Exhibit 3 of this Plan) See Exhibit 1, Conceptual Plan for general project layout. Paula Lane Nature Preserve Management Plan page 5 The Financial Pro Forma to be developed by Paula Lane Action Network for the City of Petaluma’s Accounting Process and Disbursement
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