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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/05/2017 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 170, 2017, AUTHORIZAgenda Item 12 Item # 12 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY December 5, 2017 City Council STAFF Daylan Figgs, Senior Environmental Planner John Stokes, Natural Resources Director Ingrid Decker, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 170, 2017, Authorizing the Use of the Evans Tract as Match for a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to place a Notice of Grant Agreement on the 240-acre Evans Tract purchased in 2015 as part of Soapstone Prairie Natural Area. The grant will expand upon Bird Conservancy of the Rocky’s (BCR) research and monitoring work on Soapstone Prairie and Meadow Springs Ranch to implement conservation strategies and management for 19 high priority grassland birds that breed within the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project and 28 high priority species at wintering sites in the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The Neotropical Migratory Bird Grant program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a purpose of providing financial resources to conserve neotropical birds throughout the western hemisphere. Neotropical birds are a group of birds that breed and raise young in the United States and Canada and migrate to the warmer climates to winter in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This category of bird species includes high priority grassland birds found on Soapstone Prairie Natural Area, Meadow Springs Ranch, and other properties in the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains (LFMTP) conservation area. The importance of the LFMTP to 19 high priority grassland birds has been documented through work performed by BCR and NAD and is reflected in the adopted Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Management Plan. However, the LFMTP lies only within the breeding range of these species and has no influence on the conservation of these important species and their habitat within their wintering grounds. BCR in partnership with the Natural Areas Department (NAD), the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), IMC - Vida Silvestre A.C. (IMC) and Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED) submitted a 2016 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant to implement actions to improve and restore habitat for priority grassland birds on their wintering and breeding grounds. The project goals are to continue efforts to: 1. Assist NAD sustain the full suite of grassland bird species found in the LFMTP conservation area through monitoring and research aimed at informing management in real time. 2. Create a network of managed grasslands across the full migratory range of grassland birds that can maintain populations in the face of ongoing habitat loss and climate change. Specifically in northern Mexico, the goal is to create a Sustainable Grasslands Network (SGN) of properties in collaboration Agenda Item 12 Item # 12 Page 2 with IMC, and other conservation partners in the region of at least 500,000 acres. 3. Improve knowledge of when, where and why grassland bird populations are limited across a full annual cycle and migratory range to guide on-the-ground management practices and investment of conservation dollars to where they can have the greatest impact on species population growth. Monitoring efforts within the Laramie Foothills funded by past Neotropical Migratory Bird Grants have included extensive point count surveys and demographic monitoring of grassland bird productivity on Soapstone Prairie and Meadow Springs Ranch. NAD is using the point count data to identify important bird resources, breeding sites and habitats that warrant special management attention, guide potential impacts such as oil and gas development away from sensitive species and habitats, and track population changes over time and in response to management and other influences. In addition, NAD is using the reproductive and demographic data to determine baseline reproductive rates and assess effects of recreation and grazing management. Monitoring will continue through the use of grant funds to track the effects of management efforts on grassland bird density and distribution and will be used to help guide decisions concerning the potential for impacts associated with energy development. This information will inform management decisions and the sustainable stewardship of Soapstone Prairie. The NAD match for 2016 grant will come from the Department’s purchase of the 240 acre Evans Tract ($330,000). The 2016 Neotropical grant represent the sixth successful grant application and will provide $200,000 in federal funds to use towards this project. Colorado Parks and Wildlife provided an additional $270,000 of in-kind match to the grant for work conducted by CPW staff on grassland bird monitoring, research and analysis in the LFMTP region. In order for this land purchase to be considered as match for the USFWS grant, the City will be required to record a “Notice of Grant Requirements” that will require the City to be bound by the terms of the grant agreement for the grant, to ensure the long-term conservation of the property, and to obtain the consent of the USFWS prior to transfer or encumbrance of the property. The City has also entered into an agreement with BCR obligating BCR to comply with the terms of the grant agreement. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS The grant will provide $200,000 of federal dollars for use towards this project and will require the Evans tract purchased in 2015 be used as match towards this grant. Using the funds already spent on conservation efforts as match towards the Neotropical grant provides a great secondary benefit for the City. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION At its April 12, 2017 meeting, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board unanimously recommended that City Council approve an Ordinance authorizing the use of funds previously expended to purchase the 240-acre Evans Tract at Soapstone Prairie as match for the 2016 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant and to place a Notice of Grant Agreement on the Evans Tract. PUBLIC OUTREACH Grassland birds are identified as a conservation target within the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Management Plan (2007). ATTACHMENTS 1. Land Conservation and Stewardship Board minutes, April 12, 2017 (PDF) 2. Evans Parcels and State Land Board Holdings (PDF) Land Conservation and Stewardship Board April 12, 2017 ATTACHMENT 1 Esri, Source: HERE, Esri, DeLorme, DigitalGlobe, MapmyIndia, GeoEye, Earthstar © OpenStreetMap Geographics, contributors, CNES/Airbus Esri, HERE, DS, USDA, DeLorme, USGS, MapmyIndia, AeroGRID, IGN, © OpenStreetMap and the GIS User contributors, Community and the GIS user community, Soapstone Prairie Natural Area | State Land Board Mineral Holdings and Evans Parcels City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department Project Area Larimer County 0 0.25 0.5 1 Miles Evans Parcels SLB Minerals City of Ft. Collins Natural Areas ² Date Created: 11/29/2017 3:29:12 PM ATTACHMENT 1 EVANS PARCELS SOAPSTONE PRAIRIE NATURAL AREA WYOMING COLORADO Weld Larimer -1- ORDINANCE NO. 170, 2017 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE USE OF THE EVANS TRACT AS MATCH FOR A NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION ACT GRANT ADMINISTERED BY THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE WHEREAS, in March 2008, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 037, 2008, authorizing the use of the City’s Zimmerman Conservation Easement as a matching contribution for a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”); and WHEREAS, in April 2009, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 032, 2009, authorizing the use of a 440-acre portion of Bernard Ranch as a matching contribution for a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant administered by the FWS; and WHEREAS, in May 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 053, 2010, authorizing the use of a different 660-acre portion of Bernard Ranch as a matching contribution for a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant administered by the FWS; and WHEREAS, in June 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 079, 2013, authorizing the use of the Noonan Tract and the Bowes Homestead Tract as a matching contribution for Neotropical Bird Conservation Act Grant administered by the FWS; and WHEREAS, the City has worked cooperatively with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (“RMBO”) to carry out the terms of the previous grant projects involving the study of neotropical birds, a category of bird species that includes high priority grassland birds found on Soapstone Prairie Natural Area; and WHEREAS, a recent 240-acre addition to Soapstone Prairie known as the Evans Tract, purchased in 2015 and shown on Exhibit “A”, attached and incorporated herein by this reference, has been identified as an appropriate area to be conserved as habitat for neotropical birds in the region; and WHEREAS, RMBO, together with other grant partners, is continuing to study neotropical birds and has applied for an additional grant of $200,000 in 2016 grant funds from FWS; and WHEREAS, RMBO hopes to use this new grant to continue its neotropical bird study as part of the Laramie Foothills Mountain to Plains Project, which includes Soapstone and other geographical areas that the birds inhabit; and WHEREAS, the FWS grant terms will require RMBO to match the grant funds awarded; and -2- WHEREAS, the funds already expended by the City to purchase the Evans Tract may be used to match the grant funds awarded by FWS to RMBO; and WHEREAS, to commit the Evans Tract as the matching contribution for the FWS grant, FWS will require that the City record a Notice of Grant Requirements in the real property records of the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder for the property; and WHEREAS, the Notice of Grant Requirements requires the City to be bound by the terms of the grant agreement between FWS and RMBO, including the obligation to ensure the long- term conservation of the Evans Tract and to obtain the consent of the FWS prior to conveying or encumbering the Property; and WHEREAS, the City’s consent to these restrictions on its property constitutes an encumbrance on the City’s real property; and WHEREAS, the City will also enter into an agreement with RMBO requiring RMBO to comply with the terms of the grant agreement between FWS and RMBO; and WHEREAS, the data acquired from the study will allow City staff to more effectively form conservation strategies and manage high priority grassland birds that are found at Soapstone; and WHEREAS, at its regular meeting on April 12, 2017, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board unanimously recommended that the City Council approve an ordinance authorizing the use of the funds used to purchase the Evans Tract as a match for the 2016 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant and the placement of a Notice of Grant Agreement on the Evans Tract; and WHEREAS, under Section 23-111 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, the City Council is authorized to sell or otherwise dispose of any and all interests in real property owned in the name of the City, provided that the City Council first finds, by ordinance, that such sale or disposition is in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the City Council hereby finds that use of the Evans Tract as a match towards a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant to the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, including execution and recording of a Notice of Grant Requirements as described herein, is in the best interests of the City. Section 3. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute a Notice of Grant Requirements consistent with the terms of this Ordinance, along with such other terms and -3- conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines are necessary or appropriate to protect the best interests of the City, including, but not limited to, any necessary changes to the legal description of the property to be encumbered, as long as such changes do not materially increase the size or change the character of the property. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 5th day of December, A.D. 2017, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of December, A.D. 2017. __________________________________ Mayor Pro Tem ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 19th day of December, A.D. 2017. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk EXHIBIT A Legal Description THE NE 1/4 AND TliE N 1/2. OF TliE SE 1/4 OF SECTION 23, TOWNSHIP 11 NORTH, RANGE 69 WEST OF THE 6TH P.M., COUN1Y OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO EXCEPT RIGHT OF WAY FOR COUNTY ROADS AS EST"ABUSHED AND/OR USED