Assembling the Reserve System
By permit year 45, the PCA will assemble a Reserve System spanning 47,000 acres in Western Placer County. The land will mainly be acquired by purchase, but some will come from land dedicated in lieu of paying fees and cooperative agreements with other land management entities, including private mitigation banks. Lands will only be acquired through a willing seller process. Acquisition may be by outright purchase of fee title or by a conservation easement. Land acquisition will follow an initial process of site assessment for conservation objectives, followed by Wildlife Agency concurrence. Once the purchase is complete, the PCA will develop a Reserve Unit Management Plan for Wildlife Agency approval.
All Reserve Unit Management Plans will include:
Where relevant, Reserve Unit Management Plans will include:
The Plan assumes that the PCA will purchase approximately 20 percent of the land for the Reserve System in conservation easements. An easement allows productive use of land consistent with the land’s conservation purpose and is recorded in the favor of the wildlife agencies to assure that purpose. In some cases, after a conservation easement is recorded, the land may be sold to a third party. For example, rice lands may be purchased, placed under a conservation easement, and then sold to a rice farmer to continue rice cultivation on the lands - subject to the terms and conditions of the easement.
Operating Reserves, Management and Monitoring
Lands in the Reserve System with similar management needs will operate under a reserve unit management plan based on either a Valley or Foothills template. The unit plans will set long range objectives and guide day-to-day operations. Operations will comprise enhancement and restoration of natural communities and Covered Species habitats as well as land stewardship such as maintaining fencing and fire breaks. Monitoring will be used to show compliance with the Plan and to verify progress toward achieving the biological goals and objectives.
Monitoring will measure the effectiveness of management actions and guide future implementation. Monitoring for Covered Species will rely on protocols adopted by the wildlife agencies where available. Monitoring for other species and for habitat is based on current knowledge of their ecology.
The Plan outlines the general approach to monitoring; Western Placer-specific protocols will be developed during the first five years of Plan implementation and as land is acquired as part of the Reserve System. The conservation strategy sets forth comprehensive objectives. At the planning stage, it is uncertain which management techniques are best suited to fulfilling objectives, particularly for habitat enhancement and restoration—all habitat restoration and creation measures must be completed by Year 40 to allow time to meet performance criteria within the permit term. The PCA will begin applying methods from other programs to Western Placer County and improve on those methods using an adaptive management approach which measures performance, tests alternative management methods, and adjusts future management actions based on the new information. The formal adaptive management process will be administered by the PCA. An independent Science Advisor group will evaluate the effectiveness of existing and proposed management actions and changes would be approved by the Wildlife Agencies.
The PCA will prepare annual reports over the term of the PCCP that document permit compliance, conservation measures, management measures, restoration/creation measures, and monitoring results.
Proceeding with Covered Activities
Plan Permittees will have take authorization for projects if they are Covered Activities and comply with the terms of the Plan. The process of initiating participation in the Plan will be integrated into the local jurisdictions’ normal CEQA procedures for discretionary permits or, for ministerial projects, the normal land development review process. For Public projects, carried out by a Permittee, the Permittee must document consistency with the Plan and provide a copy of this documentation to the PCA.
Private projects subject to permits or other land use regulation by either the City of Lincoln or Placer County will need to provide information to the City or County so it can determine the type and scope of Covered Activities, the impact on Covered Species and wetlands, applicable project conditions, and applicable fees. Click here for table that lists applicant submittal items and City or County action in response, determining what further information is needed. In practice, most development projects would consult with the land use authority, conduct surveys, and combine most of the relevant items in one submittal.
The Wildlife Agencies issue the PCCP permits based on a consideration of the environmental setting prevailing during the PCCP planning period and have set 2011 as the baseline year for evaluating covered effects. The baseline conformance step is used to determine whether the site conditions – particularly wetlands that may have been present – have been altered by activities not covered by the PCCP. If this is the case, the City or County would assess special habitat fees based on the baseline conditions rather than current conditions.
By permit year 45, the PCA will assemble a Reserve System spanning 47,000 acres in Western Placer County. The land will mainly be acquired by purchase, but some will come from land dedicated in lieu of paying fees and cooperative agreements with other land management entities, including private mitigation banks. Lands will only be acquired through a willing seller process. Acquisition may be by outright purchase of fee title or by a conservation easement. Land acquisition will follow an initial process of site assessment for conservation objectives, followed by Wildlife Agency concurrence. Once the purchase is complete, the PCA will develop a Reserve Unit Management Plan for Wildlife Agency approval.
All Reserve Unit Management Plans will include:
- Biological goals and objectives of the reserve unit
- Biological inventory of the site
- Community and covered species’ habitat management, enhancement and restoration
- Monitoring and adaptive management
- Fire management
- Reserve buffer areas on adjacent development sites
- Invasive species management
Where relevant, Reserve Unit Management Plans will include:
- Management of water and aquatic resources
- Management of rice lands or other agriculture
- Maintenance of infrastructure
- Recreational use and public access
- Mosquito and vector control
- Measures to reduce invasive species and disease affecting Covered Species
The Plan assumes that the PCA will purchase approximately 20 percent of the land for the Reserve System in conservation easements. An easement allows productive use of land consistent with the land’s conservation purpose and is recorded in the favor of the wildlife agencies to assure that purpose. In some cases, after a conservation easement is recorded, the land may be sold to a third party. For example, rice lands may be purchased, placed under a conservation easement, and then sold to a rice farmer to continue rice cultivation on the lands - subject to the terms and conditions of the easement.
Operating Reserves, Management and Monitoring
Lands in the Reserve System with similar management needs will operate under a reserve unit management plan based on either a Valley or Foothills template. The unit plans will set long range objectives and guide day-to-day operations. Operations will comprise enhancement and restoration of natural communities and Covered Species habitats as well as land stewardship such as maintaining fencing and fire breaks. Monitoring will be used to show compliance with the Plan and to verify progress toward achieving the biological goals and objectives.
Monitoring will measure the effectiveness of management actions and guide future implementation. Monitoring for Covered Species will rely on protocols adopted by the wildlife agencies where available. Monitoring for other species and for habitat is based on current knowledge of their ecology.
The Plan outlines the general approach to monitoring; Western Placer-specific protocols will be developed during the first five years of Plan implementation and as land is acquired as part of the Reserve System. The conservation strategy sets forth comprehensive objectives. At the planning stage, it is uncertain which management techniques are best suited to fulfilling objectives, particularly for habitat enhancement and restoration—all habitat restoration and creation measures must be completed by Year 40 to allow time to meet performance criteria within the permit term. The PCA will begin applying methods from other programs to Western Placer County and improve on those methods using an adaptive management approach which measures performance, tests alternative management methods, and adjusts future management actions based on the new information. The formal adaptive management process will be administered by the PCA. An independent Science Advisor group will evaluate the effectiveness of existing and proposed management actions and changes would be approved by the Wildlife Agencies.
The PCA will prepare annual reports over the term of the PCCP that document permit compliance, conservation measures, management measures, restoration/creation measures, and monitoring results.
Proceeding with Covered Activities
Plan Permittees will have take authorization for projects if they are Covered Activities and comply with the terms of the Plan. The process of initiating participation in the Plan will be integrated into the local jurisdictions’ normal CEQA procedures for discretionary permits or, for ministerial projects, the normal land development review process. For Public projects, carried out by a Permittee, the Permittee must document consistency with the Plan and provide a copy of this documentation to the PCA.
Private projects subject to permits or other land use regulation by either the City of Lincoln or Placer County will need to provide information to the City or County so it can determine the type and scope of Covered Activities, the impact on Covered Species and wetlands, applicable project conditions, and applicable fees. Click here for table that lists applicant submittal items and City or County action in response, determining what further information is needed. In practice, most development projects would consult with the land use authority, conduct surveys, and combine most of the relevant items in one submittal.
The Wildlife Agencies issue the PCCP permits based on a consideration of the environmental setting prevailing during the PCCP planning period and have set 2011 as the baseline year for evaluating covered effects. The baseline conformance step is used to determine whether the site conditions – particularly wetlands that may have been present – have been altered by activities not covered by the PCCP. If this is the case, the City or County would assess special habitat fees based on the baseline conditions rather than current conditions.
