Memorandum
Date: April 16, 2024
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Scott De Leon, Water Resources Director and Angela De Palma-Dow, Invasive Species Program Coordinator
Subject: (Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District) (a) Consideration of the Cooperative Agreement with Caltrans to provide Blue Lakes Safety Project Mitigation funds to support the Clover Creek Hitch Habitat Restoration Project in an amount not to exceed $246,492 and Authorize the Water Resources Director to sign the agreement; and (b) Consideration of a Presentation of the Proposed Project
Executive Summary:
Caltrans road or bridge projects that are located within riparian areas are required by the State Of California to offset their impact by establishing a mitigation project fund. When funds are distributed, Caltrans works with a local agency to develop and permit a suitable riparian habitat improvement project that will serve to replace the valuable habitat that is being impacted by the original Caltrans projects.
Today, staff is asking the board to approve the first cooperative agreement between Caltrans and the Lake County Watershed Protection District (District) to use Blue Lakes Safety Project Mitigation funds to support the Clover Creek Hitch Habitat Restoration Project, Upper Lake, CA.
If approved, this project will provide $246,491.54 in funds to the District to partially fund a 2.9 acre restoration project in the 1.0 mile section of Clover Creek Diversion Channel that the District manages. In addition to restoring in-stream habitat for Clear Lake Hitch, the project would remove large sediment deposits and significant invasive vegetation that is causing localized flooding issues and contributing to levee integrity loss. As with most mitigation projects, this cooperative agreement initiates with a $60,000 fund advance, so the District can start work as soon as possible without compromising other budget units.
The activities within the ...
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