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BACKGROUND When Callippe Preserve Golf Course was developed, Federal and State agencies required the City to obtain and preserve open space to provide habitat for several species, as well as preserve channels and streams to improve water quality. As part of that approval process, the City developed, and the agencies approved, the Happy Valley Golf Course Grazing /Resource Management Plan, prepared in November 2001 by Sage Associates ("Grazing & Resource Management Plan"). This plan requires the City to manage the 280 acres of open space adjacent to the golf course through a carefully controlled schedule of: grazing designated pastures only during specific months of the year; specifying the number of cattle permitted on each pasture; allowing grazing only to established grass heights; and provide water for cattle at specific locations. This program ensures that the open space areas will not be over- grazed, which could result in erosion and impacts to water quality. Simultaneously, the plan's requirements provide that grasses be grazed to certain levels to allow native plant species to grow and provide habitat for the Callippe Silverspot Butterfly. The environmental permits encourage cattle grazing because cattle hooves create deep pockets in the ground, which could become habitat for the California Tiger Salamander. Of the 280 acres of open space at Callippe Preserve Golf Course, the City Council previously approved in December 2007 a grazing lease with Tim Koopman, covering approximately 177 acres in the southwest area of the property. The City's original purchase of an open space conservation easement over a portion of the Koopman Ranch provided that the City would lease that land, and other adjacent open space acquired, to Mr. Koopman. The remaining 103 acres of open space are the subject of the proposed lease. If the City does not graze this area, the Grazing & Resource Management Plan provides for controlled burns of the open space as an alternative. The City has not pursued this alternative due to concerns regarding air quality, as well as aesthetic impacts to visitors to Callippe Preserve Golf Course and the adjacent public trails. DISCUSSION To comply with the Grazing & Resource Management Plan, staff recommends that the 103 acres of open space located east of Callippe Preserve Golf Course be leased to AI Spotorno, the adjacent property owner who already maintains cattle on his property. (See the exhibit attached to the lease for a diagram of the pasture areas proposed to be leased.) The proposed lease generally provides that a maximum of 22 cattle graze the pastures from February to June each year of the Agreement. The proposed lease requires the lessee to comply with direction from the City's consulting rangeland manager, the specific terms of the lease, and the Grazing & Resource Management Plan. The current consulting rangeland manager is Wetlands Research Associates (a firm specializing in developing and monitoring environmental mitigation plans). Wetlands Research Associates monitors vegetation plantings in the golf course channels, upper wetlands to the east of the course, and provides consulting Page 2 of 4