06-03-11 BPU RPT 06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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W A T E R • F it f R G v L ; F , El RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum P U B L I C U T [ L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: June 3, 2011 ITEM NO: 6 SUBJECT: AGREEMENT FORMALIZING THE SANTA ANA SUCKER FISH CONSERVATION TEAM ISSUE: That the Board of Public Utilities consider approval of an Agreement among the City of Riverside,Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority member agencies and other local water purveyors to formalize the Santa Ana Sucker Conservation Team, RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council approve the Agreement Formalizing the Santa Ana Sucker Conservation Team. BACKGROUND: The Santa Ana Sucker is a"threatened"species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This fish is native to southern California including the Santa Ana River. The Santa Ana Sucker Conservation Team has been conducting"River Walks°in the river to document the available habitat in the river channel and tributaries and determine where populations of Santa Ana Sucker are actually located along the river. In addition, the Conservation Team has developed preliminary agreements with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to allow habitat enhancement activities in the river and a general permitfrom the United States Army Corps of Engineers to allow activities in the river channel that will preserve and enhance the habitat forthe Santa Ana Sucker. The Conservation Team predates the more recently formed Santa Ana Sucker Task Force, which was established in response to the 2010 Critical Habitat Designation process. Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) has volunteered as the meeting coordinator for the Conservation Team for many years. The City of Riverside—with staff from Public Utilities and Public Works Departments— are active members of the Conservation Team and the City has contributed funds over the last few years to support the Team's activities. Historically, the ten participating agencies have contributed equally for the Conservation Team's $100,000 annual budget; $10,000 per agency. The Conservation Team has concluded that the present loosely organized group needs to be formalized into a task force. As presently configured, eight agencies will participate on the Conservation Team. Additional members may be added to the Team by unanimous consent of the members. The primary purpose of the Conservation Team is to continue earlier work related to study and maintenance of conservation efforts for the Santa Ana Sucker fish and to coordinate permitting activities through a variety of Federal agencies that have regulatory oversight for the fish. Under the terms of the Agreement, participating agencies will set the annual budget for the Conservation Team activities,with unanimous approval required. Costs would then be divided equally amongst the agencies.