Agneda Item 9 Attachment East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan Annual Report 2018 (DRAFT) April 2019 Agneda Item 9 Attachment Cover Photograph: Goldfields on Vaquero Farms Photo credit: Stephen Joseph Agneda Item 9 Attachment TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .............................................................................................. vii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 1 Covered Activities ........................................................................................................................... 2 Urban Development Area Projects .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Land Acquisition and Stay-Ahead Provision ................................................................................... 3 Habitat Restoration and Creation ................................................................................................... 4 Coordinated Wetland Permitting ................................................................................................... 4 Funding ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 East Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP Background ......................................................................... 1 Annual Report ................................................................................................................................. 2 Covered Activities and Impacts .................................................................................................. 3 Land Acquisition ......................................................................................................................... 3 Habitat Restoration and Creation .............................................................................................. 3 Preserve Management ............................................................................................................... 3 Monitoring, Research, and Adaptive Management ................................................................... 4 Stay-Ahead Provision .................................................................................................................. 4 Changed Circumstances and Remedial Measures ..................................................................... 4 Finances ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Program Administration ............................................................................................................. 4 Covered Activities and Impacts ....................................................................................... 5 Covered Activities Receiving Take Coverage .................................................................................. 5 Conditions on Covered Activities .................................................................................................... 5 Impacts on Land Cover Types and Covered Plants ......................................................................... 6 Land Acquisition ............................................................................................................. 7 Preserve System .............................................................................................................................. 7 Acquisition Analysis Zones ......................................................................................................... 7 2018 Land Acquisition ................................................................................................................ 8 Habitat Restoration and Creation ................................................................................. 12 Wetlands and Streams .................................................................................................................. 12 East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy Page i Agneda Item 9 Attachment Alkali Wetlands ............................................................................................................................. 12 Mitigation and Contribution to Recovery ..................................................................................... 12 Upper Hess Watershed Habitat Restoration Project (2011) ........................................................ 13 Monitoring and Adaptive Management................................................................................... 14 Recommendations.................................................................................................................... 14 Vaquero Farms Seasonal Wetlands Creation Project (Seasonal Wetlands 1 and 2) (2012) ........ 14 Hydrologic Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 15 Vegetative Cover Monitoring ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Wildlife Monitoring ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Recommendations.................................................................................................................... 15 Vaquero Farms Seasonal Wetland 3 Creation (2015)................................................................... 15 Hydrologic Monitoring ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Vegetative Cover Monitoring ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Wildlife Monitoring ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Recommendations.................................................................................................................... 16 Ang Riparian Restoration Project (2017) ...................................................................................... 16 Horse Valley Wetland Creation and Creek Restoration Project (2018) ........................................ 17 Preserve Management ................................................................................................. 18 Preserve Management Plans ........................................................................................................ 18 Conceptual Ecological Models .................................................................................................. 19 Natural Community Enhancement ............................................................................................... 19 Land Management ........................................................................................................................ 21 Vasco Hills/Bryon Vernal Pools Preserve Management Actions .............................................. 25 Monitoring, Research, and Adaptive Management ....................................................... 27 Monitoring .................................................................................................................................... 27 Effectiveness Monitoring ......................................................................................................... 27 Compliance Monitoring ............................................................................................................ 29 Independent Conservation Assessment Team ............................................................................. 30 Directed Research ......................................................................................................................... 31 Special-Status and Invasive Plant Management Pilot Project.................................................. 32 Evaluation of Efficacy of Wildlife Undercrossings .................................................................... 32 Longhorn Fairy Shrimp Study ................................................................................................... 34 Bat Fatalities in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area ......................................................... 34 Invasive Species Weed Mapping .............................................................................................. 35 Adaptive Management ................................................................................................................. 37 East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy Page ii Agneda Item 9 Attachment Stay-Ahead Provision.................................................................................................... 38 Stay-Ahead Provision .................................................................................................................... 38 Stay-Ahead Assessment ..........................................................................................................