15 ATTACHMENT 1-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

' ~ DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME POST OFFICE BOX 47 YOUNTVILLE, CALIFORNIA 94599 (707)944-5500 July 11, 2007 ATTACHMENT 1 5 ° . ae' 4 2800 COTTAGE WAY, Room W-2605 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95825 (916) 414-6600 To the Mayors and City Councilmembers of the Cities of Livermore, Dublin, and Pleasanton, the Board of Supervisors of Alameda County, and Boards of Zone 7 and Alameda County Congestion Management Association: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, supports the development of a regional conservation strategy for East Alameda County, and encourages the County, local cities, and other pertinent agencies and districts in the Tri-Valley area to participate in this planning process. It is anticipated that the conservation strategy, developed with the participation of Federal, State, and local agencies and stakeholders in the Tri-Valley would serve to coordinate biological preserves appropriate for mitigation of local land use, transportation, and related infrastructure projects. The strategy would also establish a coordinated biological framework upon which future regulatory actions will be based. The conservation strategy would provide the biological basis and framework for a permitting process and establish interim and long-term mitigation requirements and designate Resource Agency approved conservation areas that will satisfy mitigation requirements. The conservation strategy will describe how preserves will be established, managed, and funded to assure they are permanently maintained. The first conservation strategy was developed for the Santa Rosa area and completed in 2005. This would be the second regional conservation strategy in the State and would be formulated over the next 18 months. What follows is a brief overview of the purpose, needs and benefits of the program, activities to date, and resources that participating entities would need to contribute to develop the program. There is a recognized need for a regional strategy to replace the present incremental, case-by-case processing of environmental permits for infrastructure and other planned development projects in East Alameda County. Public agencies and private developers encounter delays and uncertainty regarding required mitigations that can prevent projects from being completed on time and within budget. The end result is: • Project mitigation and conservation programs in the area occur piecemeal and are less effective at preserving natural resources; • The limited capacity of County based mitigation banks leads to some mitigation occurring outside the County providing no local benefit; and The permitting process can be time consuming and costly to both the permitting agencies and applicants, in part due to mitigation being developed and analyzed on a case-by-case basis.