DEPARTMENT
Water Enterprise, Natural
Resources and Lands Management
Division
AGENDA NO.
8 MEETING DATE
May 28, 2024
AGENDA ITEM
Public Utilities Commission
City and County of San Francisco
Calendar: Regular Calendar
Contract/Project Manager: Tim Ramirez/Mia Ingolia
Award Contract No. CS-1411, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Collection Agreement
Summary of
Proposed
Commission Action:
Award Contract No. CS-1411 Collection Agreement to the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station ,
to provide technical support for watershed
management for the Alameda Creek, San Mateo Creek, and Pilarcitos Creek watersheds in an amount not-to-exceed $2,000,000, and with a duration of five years.
Background: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) requires technical support for its management of the Alameda Creek, San Mateo Creek, and Pilarcitos Creek watershed
s to address the impacts of
climate change. In the greater Bay Area, there have been several major catastrophic fires and the dire threat of wildfire to destroy the forest and surrounding communities continues. Recent drought stress has caused tree and shrub dieback over thousands of acres throughout the Greater Bay Area increasing fuel loads and raising fire risk even higher. In 2023, extreme storms and heavy rainfall caused la ndslides and flooding.
Improved understanding and management of stresses on the wildland urban interface
forests is required to prevent catastrophic fires and
sustain ecosystem services. Healthy vegetated land cover regulates the flow of water, naturally
filters pollutants, and helps maintain the
usability of water resources. While forests provide many benefits (e.g., water provisioning, wildlife habitat, etc.), there are many challenges to forest health (e.g., invasive and native insects and pathogens, w eeds, excess heat, drought and other climatic extremes, and high tree density).
Via this collection agreement, Forest Serv ice
Pacific Southwest
Research Statio n and collaborators will work with the SFPUC to investigate several aspects of plant health to be tter inform vegetation management (including restoration and conservation efforts), sustain plant health, maintain water provisioning, and address threats.
Agenda Title: CS-1411, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Collection Agreement
Commission Meeting Date: May 28, 2024
This project is a continuation of a partnership between the SFPUC and the United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA), Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station that was formalized in 2008. That first Collection Agreement supported plant health research and adaptive management for sudden oak death, (Phytophthora ramorum), and invasive species prevention. In 2014, the project was expanded to address new species detections of soilborne Phytophthora species in restoration areas. Approximately $2.5 million has been provided to Forest Service P acific Southwest Research Station by the SFPUC to augment more than $12 million from Congress and other organizations for forest health research, from 2002 to the present, in a cooperative plant health program with more than 20 organizations (see https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/partnerships/sod/).
From 2017- 2022, this SFPUC and Forest Service P acific Southwest Research Statio n collaboration focused on research and adaptive management projects to improve restoration success. That agreement (17-CO-021) reached its maximum five-year term.
By the new proposed agreement, SFPUC and the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Stati on plan to continue the program for 2024 – 2028
, known as “Sustaining Plant Health for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the San Francisco Bay Area.” The program will emphasize sustaining biodiversity and ecosystems in the Greater Bay Area by investigating changes caused by interacting biotic and abiotic factors, such as climate (temperature, available water quantity and quality); stand dynamics (i.e., influences of native, non- native, and invasive plants, animals, pests, and pathogens); and past and c urrent stewardship actions.
By this contract, the SFPUC will fund several projects for the program.
The SFPUC plans to fund approximately $400,000 each year for the five-year term, with a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $2 million.
Scope of Contract: The contract work location(s) will include Alameda Creek, San Mateo Creek and Pilarcitos Creek watersheds.
The Contract work consists of:
Sustaining Plant Health for Biodiversity and Urban Ecosystem Services in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Progress reports are required of all cooperators every 6 months for the life of the project (July 1, and Dec 31). Each winter an annual project plan will be developed.
• 2024 Task Order – project list
1. Adapting to Climate Extremes: Investigating Tree Resilience to Weather Whiplash in the San Francisco Bay Area's Wildland- Urban Interface. How much water is drawn out of the watershed by trees? How do trees survive in prolonged drought periods or utilize water under times of abundant precipitation? How will Agenda Title: CS-1411, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Collection Agreement
Commission Meeting Date: May 28, 2024
trees in SFPUC managed lands respond to future drought or flooding? Climate extremes are reaching unprecedented levels with drought and storms. Continued Bay Area tree decline calls for research to determine heat and drought, flooding, and storm impacts on trees and shrubs by size, density, species diversity, as well as a determination over time of fuels profiles and mortality rates, tree regeneration, and weed invasion. We would establish a network of plots to serve as a baseline and provide opportunities for monitoring changes in future years. Water - relations will be evaluated and opportunities to capitalize on plants natural water use efficiency characteristics explored.
2. Riparian Forest Health in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Concerns have been raised about the health of California sycamores (Platanus racemosa) across its range and within areas managed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, (SFPUC). Increased mortality of mature trees has been reported over the past several decades, along with lower -than-expected levels of fruit production and poor recruitment of both seedlings and resprouts. In Bay Area restoration sites (including some on SFPUC-owned watershed lands), planting nursery- origin
sycamores has yielded relatively low succe
ss rates, and
restoration activities in the area have been implicated for unintentional introduction of soil -borne Phytophthora species.
A total of 23 permanent plots (12 in restoration sites, 11 in non- restoration areas) were established in 2022 to invent
ory and
track overstory tree health. The focus was primarily on sycamore, but other trees were mapped as well (e.g., oak, cottonwood, willow, etc.). These plots will be remeasured, Additional studies will focus on understanding causes of declining health and mortality of overstory trees and sycamore regeneration. This includes sycamore anthracnose
(Apiognomonia platani), Phytophthora diseases, canker
diseases (e.g., Macrodiplodiopsis desmazieri), wood-decay, and abiotic factors. Rizzo will also work with th e Eviner lab to continue to interpret results from Eviner’s previous project on soil characteristics associated with restoration success or failure with a focus on integrating data on Phytophthora root diseases.
3. Understanding and improving restoration plant establishment and health. Sycamore cover in California’s riparian systems was once common, but is now extremely limited in distribution, and many existing stands are in decline, likely due to a combination of changing hydrology/flooding regimes, and anthracnose disease. Rapid death of sycamore has also been documented in response to multi -year droughts. Decline of mature sycamore stands is of particular concern because of low recruitment of seedlings and sycamore riparian habitats are of particular interest to SFPUC because of their importance in the
Bioregional Habitat Restoration Program on SFPUC -owned Agenda Title: CS-1411, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Collection Agreement
Commission Meeting Date: May 28, 2024
watershed lands. This project aims to improve understanding of sycamore regeneration and increase sycamore recruitment by quantifying seed production and viability, seedling
germination, survival and growth; effects of soil amendments on seedling germination, survival, and growth; soil phosphorus availability and plant health. Eviner will also work with the Rizzo lab to continue to interpret results from Eviner’s previous project on soil characteristics associated with restoration success or failure.
4. Accreditation to Improve Restoration (AIR) for restoration nursery plant production. This accreditation program to prevent pest introductions on restoration nursery stock is now set -up at the UC Davis, Department of Plant Pathology. AIR conducts audits and advises native plant nurseries (including the SFPUC Sunol Native Plant Nursery) on plant production methods to minimize plant pathogen spread and dev elopment. Education for the California native plant nursery community is also provided, on plant health best management practices, pest detection methods, and the like. SFPUC support would
supplement funds being provided by Santa Clara Valley Water District, California Native Plant Society and others to support improvements and implementation of the AIR program for
healthy restoration nursery stock. Allied with AIR, funds would be provided to UC Cooperative Extension to support
coordination of the Phytophth oras in Native Habitats Work Group (www.calphytos.org). This work group brings together the Greater Bay Area restoration community to prevent plant pathogen introductions into high-value habitats.
Funding and Costs: Funding Source: Funds will be available in future years from Water Enterprise Operating funds, 10014854 – Watershed Planning and 10015234 – Long Term Monitoring Permit Program, s ubject to approval of annual work plans and the Controller’s certification of funding availability.
Not-To-Exceed Contract Amount: $2,000,000
Schedule: Estimated Start Date: July 1, 2024
Estimated End Date: June 30, 2029
Duration: five years.
Environmental
Review:
Award of this Collection Agreement does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 because it does not involve a commitment to any specific project that may result in a physical change in the environment. The SFPUC will not allocate funding for any future project s under this
Agreement that may have a potential for reasonably foreseeable Agenda Title: CS-1411, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Collection Agreement
Commission Meeting Date: May 28, 2024
physical changes in the environment until any required environmental review under the CEQA is complete.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS, The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) operates water supply facilities within the Tuolumne River, Alameda Creek, and Peninsula watersheds, consistent with the SFPUC's mission to provide SFPUC customers with reliable, high quality, and affordable water while responsibly managing the resources - human, physical and natural - entrusted to its care; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC adopted its Water Enterprise Environmental Stewardship Policy and its Alameda and Peninsula Watershed Management Plans and initiated the Watershed and Environmental Improvement Program (WEIP) to proactively manage, protect and restore environmental resources affected by SFPUC operations and support projects that enhance public awareness and provide education opportunities related to water quality, water supply, conservation, and environmental stewardship issues; and
WHEREAS, Addressing invasive species and developing science -based approaches to improve the success of restoration activities will help protect the natural resources within the lands associated with the operation of the SFPUC water system; and
WHEREAS, The mission of the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station (USFS) is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations; and WHEREAS, The SFPUC and the USFS have similar natural resource conservation goals including, but not limited to, natural resources enhancement, public outreach and education, and integrated watershed resources management; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC and the USFS have entered into a series of Collection Agreements since 2008 in which the USFS has used SFPUC funding to improve habitat restoration practices, investigate drivers of ecosystem function and health, prevent, manage, and control plant pathogens and invasive species; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC and the USFS desire to continue their cooperation in the pursuit of their common goals; and
WHEREAS, The estimated cost of services is $2,000,000; and
WHEREAS, Services are anticipated to begin on July 1, 2024, and end June 30, 2029, the total duration of this agreement is five years; and
WHEREAS, Funds for this agreement will be allocated on a task order basis and will be available in future years from Water Enterprise Operating Budget funds, subject to Controller certification; and
WHEREAS, Award of this Collection Agreement does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 because it does not involve a commitment to any specific project that may re sult in a physical change in the environment, the SFPUC will not allocate funding for any future projects under this Agreement
that may have a potential for reasonably foreseeable physical changes in the environment until any required environmental review under the CEQA is complete; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Commission hereby awards Contract No. CS -1411 to the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station , to provide technical support for waters hed management for the Alameda Creek, San Mateo Creek and Pilarcitos Creek watersheds in an amount not -to-exceed $2,000,000, and with a duration of five years.
I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Public Utilities Commission at its meeting of May 28, 2024.
Secretary, Public Utilities Commission