CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA PACKET

1 Altamont Open Space Fund grant request for Alameda County Rancher Outreach Program Submitted by Alameda County Resource Conservation District and California Rangeland Trust Project Description: The Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD) and the California Rangeland Trust (CRT) request a grant in the amount of $56,000 for an outreach program to educate Alameda County ranchers about permanent conservation easements. The goal of the outreach program is to generate future grant proposals for the Altamont Open Space Fund by educating county ranchers and other rural landowners about the value of placing perpetual conservation easements on their properties. The outreach program will consist of two in-person workshops, one each in the western 20% and the eastern 80% funding areas, as well as the production of a webinar that can be viewed online at any time. Additionally, the grant proposal includes monies for a unique revolving fund to help landowners cover up-front appraisal costs associated with establishing a conservation easement value, which can be a barrier to participation. Background: The Altamont Landfill Settlement Agreement provides for acquisition in fee or permanent easement of property having significant value for preservation of native biological diversity and/or wildlife habitat, or of property having significant value for visual character and/or non- motorized recreation. Despite being in existence since 2001, the Open Space Committee has funded only one grant, in 2023, for a permanent conservation easement. This compares with 18 grants made for acquisition in fee title. Recent grants for acquisition in fee approved in March 2024 ranged from $16,800 to $31,875 per acre, whereas the grant approved in September 2023 for the Dirrane (formerly known as “DC”) Ranch for a permanent conservation easement was at a cost of $3,083 per acre. The Open Space Fund’s contribution included an endowment for monitoring and enforcement of the easement and other due diligence costs. Simply put, permanent conservation easements are cost effective solutions to preserve native biological diversity and open space. They can significantly extend the life of the Open Space Fund and protect more open space land in the process. The Settlement Agreement allows for the assistance of land trusts, special districts, and members of the ranching community to help the Open Space Committee carry out its mission. About the California Rangeland Trust In 1997, seeing the multitude of challenges facing the agricultural industry, a group of cattlemen and women from the California Cattlemen’s Association identified an inherent need to offer creative conservation solutions to the ranching community. Their vision was to create an organization for ranchers, run by ranchers, to protect the land and its natural resources for current and future generations of Californians. After learning from and networking with like-minded groups, such as the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, the California Rangeland ATTACHMENT 3 Page 256 of 454