Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Nicholas J. Calderon, Parks Director
Subject: Appropriation of California Fish & Game Propagation Funds
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Adopt a resolution authorizing the Parks Director, or the Parks Director’s Designee, to execute grant agreements with the San Bruno Mountain Watch ($11,500), the San Mateo County Parks Foundation ($15,000), the San Mateo Resource Conservation District ($22,156.16), and Vida Verde Nature Education ($10,000) totaling $58,656.16, using appropriations from the County’s California Fish & Game Propagation Fund in accordance with Section 13100 of the California Fish & Game Code.
body
BACKGROUND:
The California Fish & Game Propagation Fund (“Fund”) is a special revenue fund that is maintained by the Parks Department (“Department”) and comprised of revenue generated when individuals are fined for violating Sections 12009 and 13003 of the California Fish & Game Code while in San Mateo County. Pursuant to Section 12009, “the money collected from any fine or forfeiture imposed or collected for the taking of abalone for any purpose other than for profit in violation of this article or any other provision of law shall be deposited” in the treasury of the county in which the violation occurs. Section 13003 states “[u]nless otherwise provided by law, all fines and forfeitures imposed or collected in any court of this state for violations of any of the provisions of this code or regulation made pursuant thereto, or any other law providing for the protection or preservation of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibia, shall be deposited as soon as practicable after the receipt thereof with the county treasurer of the county in which the court is situated.”
Section 13100 of the California Fish & Game Code states, “[t]he amounts paid to and retained in the county treasury pursuant to Sections 12009 and 13003 shall be deposited in a county fish and wildlife propagation fund and expended for the protection, conservation, propagation, and preservation of fish and wildlife, under the direction of the board of supervisors, pursuant to this chapter.”
Pursuant to County Ordinance Code Section 2.63.020, the County Parks and Recreation Commission (“Parks Commission”) is responsible for making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding the expenditure of Fish and Game Propagation funds.
On July 23, 2024, the Department opened the Call for Grant Applications process and published all application materials and guidelines on the Department’s website. The due date for applications was August 22, 2024. The Department received five timely applications for Fish & Game Propagation funds, and the Evaluation Committee, which was comprised of one member of the Parks Commission, the Parks Director, and the Assistant Parks Director, met to review and score the applications pursuant to the published scoring matrix. The Evaluation Committee’s recommendations were then presented to the Parks Commission for consideration.
The FY 2023-24 Year-End Fund Balance for the Fish & Game Propagation Fund was $61,096.
DISCUSSION:
At its October 3, 2024 meeting, the Parks Commission reviewed and approved the Evaluation Committee’s recommendation that this Board appropriate grant funding to four of the five applicants, as detailed below.
1. San Bruno Mountain Watch: San Bruno Mountain Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plant Propagation Project
The San Bruno Mountain Watch’s Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plant Propagation project will increase the abundance and expand the geographic distribution of rare, threatened, and endangered plant species on San Bruno Mountain. The project proposes to implement key management and stewardship efforts for four of the plants most urgently prioritized on the mountain-the San Francisco campion (Silene verecunda ssp. verecunda), Pacific manzanita (Arctostaphylos pacifica), Leo Brewer’s Manzanita (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi forma leobreweri) and miniature manzanita (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi forma suborbiculata).
This project is eligible for funding under California Fish & Game Code section 13103(e) as it focuses on the restoration and recovery of vulnerable plant species at San Bruno Mountain that are habitat for four species of federally protected butterflies - mission blue, callippe silverspot, San Bruno elfin, and bay checkerspot butterflies.
The applicant requested $11,500 from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund, with $38,262 in matching funds for a total project cost of $49,762.
The Parks Commission recommends that the Board award Fish & Game Propagation funds to this applicant in the amount requested ($11,500).
2. San Mateo County Parks Foundation: Memorial County Park Nature Center Interpretive Media
The San Mateo County Parks Foundation proposes to implement the Memorial County Park Nature Center Improvement Project with support from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund. Through this project, new interpretive media and content will be created and installed at the Memorial County Park Nature Center to support public education related to fish and wildlife conservation, in alignment with California Fish & Game Code 13103(a).
The new interpretive media will educate the public on: ecological concepts regarding watersheds, creeks, riparian areas, and redwood forests; forest health, fire ecology, and ways to mitigation the threat of wildfire; the significance of Pescadero Creek as breeding grounds for steelhead trout; and the presence of the endangered Marbled Murrelet and the need for campers to support its conservation.
This project is eligible for funding under California Fish & Game Code section 13103(g) as it will allow the Foundation and Department to create and own educational and interpretive material pertaining to the scientific principles of fish and wildlife conservation for use at Memorial County Park and in Department programs. This project is also eligible for funding under California Fish & Game Code section 13103(a) as it focuses on education relating to the scientific principles of fish and wildlife conservation.
The applicant requested $15,000 from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund, with $66,040 in matching funds for a total project cost of $81,040.
The Parks Commission recommends that the Board award Fish & Game Propagation funds to this applicant in the amount requested ($15,000).
3. San Mateo Resource Conservation District: Memorial County Park PIT Tag Antenna Array Project
The San Mateo Resource Conservation District’s Coastside Salmonid Monitoring Project addresses a critical need for long-term monitoring of threatened and endangered salmonid populations in the Pescadero-Butano watershed. This project utilizes passive integrated transponders (PIT) tags and paired antennas (array) to detect the movements of coho and steelhead salmon within the watershed. The Memorial County Park array site is the project that this application seeks funding to support. Data collected will be shared with the Department’s Natural Resource Management Division to inform management and restoration of Pescadero Creek.
This project is eligible for funding under California Fish & Game Code section 13103(i) as it focuses on data collection for monitoring population trends and movement of fish species by qualified researchers and organizations.
The applicant requested $22,156.16 from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund, with $22,156.16 in matching funds for a total project cost of $44,312.31.
The Parks Commission recommends that the Board award Fish & Game Propagation funds to this applicant in the amount requested ($22,156.16).
4. Vida Verde Nature Education: Multi-day Environmental Education Experiences for Students from Low Income Bay Area Schools
Vida Verde Nature Education is a nonprofit organization based in San Gregorio (unincorporated San Mateo County) that promotes educational equity by providing free overnight learning experiences for fourth through sixth grade students. Each camping trip includes a three-day overnight experience at a 100-acre farm, as well as field trips to nearby parks and beaches. The program centers around five core components: (1) nature hike in the redwoods at Sam McDonald County Park, (2) goat milking and cheese making, (3) tidepool, beach, and marsh exploration in Pescadero, (4) night-time hike and trust walk, and (5) organic farm tour and tasting.
Students engage with natural science throughout the camping trip with activities linked to California state education standards, including topics such as ecology, special habitats of redwood forests, decomposers and their importance in the forest ecosystem, flora and fauna adaptations, tidepool exploration, and first-hand exploration and appreciation for various environments. Funds awarded will be used to deliver outdoor, nature-based programs to students from underserved communities.
This project is eligible for funding under California Fish & Game Code section 13103(a) as it focuses on education relating to the scientific principles of fish and wildlife conservation.
The applicant requested $10,000 from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund, with $10,581 in matching funds for a total project/program cost of $20,581.
The Parks Commission recommends that this Board award Fish & Game Propagation funds to this applicant in the amount requested ($10,000).
5. Steve Kennedy: The Cannonball Express” (Elementary School Version)
This application requested Fish & Game Propagation funds to create a video for use in school curriculum “that will encourage kids in grades 5 & 6 to get into the training and education pipeline for the jobs of tomorrow that will help us prepare for, prevent and mitigate the kind of devastating and deadly suburban forest fire that San Mateo County has not yet experienced”. The project would “create a video from a simple coming-of-age story line about two kids and their adult neighbors [that is] much more than an aid to education. The members of the Video Project Committee will bring stakeholders together to influence (County Parks) land management, energy and educational policy makers on the trillion-dollar issue of suburban forest fires”.
The applicant requested $5,000 from the Fish & Game Propagation Fund and estimated the total project cost to be $10,000; however, the applicant indicated that the required matching funds were not secured, and that the applicant would need to seek funding from other sources at an unspecified date/time.
The Evaluation Committee determined that this application was incomplete as it did not provide all items/information required by the grant program’s guidelines. Specifically, the applicant did not provide the signed grant application form or the signed proposed project budget, and had not secured the required 50% matching funding for the project.
Because this application did not meet minimum qualifications to be properly evaluated, and all required items for the application were not provided by the applicant, the Parks Commission does not recommend awarding Fish & Game Propagation funds to this applicant.
Grant agreements will be reviewed and approved by the County Attorney’s Office prior to execution. Funds are to be disbursed on a reimbursement basis upon project completion. Projects require a post-project final report to evaluate the results of the project or program.
EQUITY IMPACT:
All projects recommended to receive grant funding advance research, protections, and education regarding fish and wildlife. Two projects specifically promote nature education to underserved youth and/or park visitors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The four grant agreements would total an amount not-to-exceed $58,656.16. Adequate funding exists within the County’s Fish and Game Propagation Fund, a special revenue fund that is not a part of the General Fund. There is no impact to the Parks Department’s operating budget beyond administrative costs.