CC SR 20241106 H - 2023 Annual Report Draft
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 11/06/2024
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive the 2023 Annual Report for the Palos Verdes
Nature Preserve.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file the 2023 Annual Report for the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve; and,
(2) Authorize the City Manager to sign the Annual Report Certification Statement
required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Eric Wolterding, Administrative Analyst
Katie Lozano, Open Space Manager
REVIEWED BY: Dan Trautner, Recreation and Parks Director
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. 2023 Palos Verdes Nature Preserve Annual Report and Appendices (made
available to the City Council and public on October 16, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
The City’s Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan
(NCCP/HCP) requires the City and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
(PVPLC) to submit an Annual Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service (CDFW), collectively referred to as the
Wildlife Agencies, each year and a Comprehensive Monitoring and Management Report
every three years. The NCCP/HCP also establishes the PVPLC as the City’s Habitat
Manager for the City-owned Palos Verdes Nature Preserve (Preserve) and in this role,
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the PVPLC monitors and manages the biological objectives of the NCCP/HCP on behalf
of the City. These objectives include:
• Maintaining or increasing populations of covered species to ensure long -term
viability and sustainability of native ecosystem function
• Documenting changes in the population of covered species through monitoring
covered species within conserved habitats
• Maintaining or increasing the acreage of habitat for covered species within the
Preserve through enhancing and restoring wildlife connections to adjoining habitat
• Documenting the loss of and protection of covered species and their habitats in
the annual Habitat Tracking Report and Covered Species Report (reported in
Annual Report)
• Managing populations of non-native invasive plant species in the Preserve through
the Targeted Exotic Removal Plan for Plants (TERPP)
• Describing any new biological data collected, though this is not the primary focus
of the monitoring program
• Applying Adaptive Management to adjust conservation actions where needed
Per the City Council-approved Management Agreement between the City and the
PVPLC, below are some of the tasks the PVPLC conducts to implement the NCCP/HCP:
• Prepare the three-year Comprehensive Monitoring and Management Report
• Prepare the Annual Report
• Conduct wildlife and botanical surveys for covered species
• Meet monthly and as needed with City Staff to coordinate Preserve management
• Restore new habitat (required minimum of 5 acres annually)
• Conduct targeted Exotic Plant Control (5 acres or 20 small sites annually)
The PVPLC prepares the Annual Report based on the calendar year to evaluate the
implementation of the NCCP/HCP during the preceding year and evaluate the overall
progress being made toward reaching the NCCP/HCP conservation goals. Required
elements of the Annual Report are:
• Gains/losses to habitat within the Plan area by project, including a list of all covered
activities performed, the review process for each covered activity, and impacts to
covered species and vegetation from each project
• Impacts of public uses and recommendations, if necessary, for minimizing impacts
to the Preserve
• A summary of nighttime use of the Preserve
• All contributions toward the preservation of habitat lands
• Description of the management of invasive plant species
• Documentation of the habitat restoration efforts to enhance and restore native
plant communities and the results of biological monitoring
• Annual evaluation of management activities, enforcement activities, funding
needs, and ability to accomplish resource management goals
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• A separate fiscal report prepared jointly by the City and PVPLC
• Summary of clerical changes made to the NCCP/HCP, including corrections to
maps or exhibits, changes made to survey, monitoring, or reporting protocols
The PVPLC also prepares the Comprehensive Monitoring and Management Report every
three years. The next Comprehensive Monitoring and Management Report will cover
2022-24 and is anticipated to be presented to the City Council in June 2025.
Comprehensive Monitoring and Management Reports include a synthesis of all data
collected in the preceding three years and an analysis of trends in biological resources.
These reports include the following components:
• Updated Covered Species Surveys
• Updated Predator Control Plan
• Updated Habitat Restoration Plan
• Management recommendations based on species monitoring and management to
minimize loss or negative impacts to natural resources
• The Annual Report for the third year of the period covered
DISCUSSION:
2023 Annual Report
The 2023 Annual Report (Attachment A) for City Council’s consideration includes the
required annual submittals listed above, including habitat loss tracking for 202 3. A more
comprehensive tracking of habitat loss associated with the NCCP/HCP for the past
duration of the permit term will be provided with the 2022 -24 Comprehensive Monitoring
and Management Report, tentatively scheduled to be considered by the City Council in
June 2025. Below are some highlights and pertinent data contained within the 2023
Annual Report.
Habitat Restoration Activity
Per the NCCP/HCP, 250 acres of habitat must be restored within the Preserve over the
50-year NCCP/HCP permit term, typically by restoring a minimum of 5 acres of habitat
each year. PVPLC performs this habitat restoration on behalf of the City and creates
habitat restoration projects in coordination with the City and Wildlife Agencies every three
years.
• In 2023, the PVPLC’s largest and most active habitat restoration project was the
Abalone Cove Restoration Project. This 20.3-acre restoration was divided into four
phases, and active restoration took place between 2019 and 2023. The project
restored 20.3 acres of coastal scrub and mixed Southern California bluff
scrub/southern cactus scrub within the Abalone Cove Reserve. The City and
PVPLC worked closely with the City Geologist to establish an irrigation method
that would not impact the landslide that consisted of minimally hand -watering to
establish new plantings. Monitoring and maintenance of the site will continue in
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future years until the habitat restoration success criteria defined in the NCCP/HCP
have been met.
• In 2023, the PVPLC monitored and performed maintenance within phase 4 of the
22-acre Alta Vicente Habitat Restoration project to evaluate the restoration areas
progress toward meeting restoration success criteria defined in the NCCP/HCP.
The NCCP/HCP encourages the City and PVPLC to pursue funding to exceed minimum
habitat restoration thresholds to maximize habitat and protected species in the Preserve.
These efforts are included in the 2023 Annual Report, and some highlights include:
• In October 2022, the PVPLC was awarded funding in the amount of $161,150 from
the USFWS for the Lunada Canyon Habitat Restoration for the Reintroduction of
the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly into the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve project. In
2023, the PVPL removed non-native vegetation, installed irrigation, restored 13
acres of host plant, and conducted Palos Verdes blue butterfly releases in
coordination with the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly Recovery Partners.
• In June 2023, the PVPLC was awarded funding in the amount of $322,400 from
the California Coastal Commission for the Fuel Load Reduction in the Palos
Verdes Nature Preserve for the benefit of the NCCP/HCP Covered Species’
Habitat and the Surrounding Communities Project. This project consists of
purchasing a mower and enhancing habitat within the Alta Vicente, Filiorum, and
San Ramon Reserves through the removal of approximately 46.8 acres of non-
native perennial shrubs and annual brush, and then broadcast seeding the areas
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with evergreen low growing host plant species for the Palos Verdes blue butterfly
and the El Segundo blue butterfly. This type of non-native plant removal can serve
the dual purposes of targeted exotic plant removal and fuel load reduction . In
2023, the PVPLC removed approximately 15 acres of acacia in Alta Vicente and
Filiorum Reserves and seeded these sites with host plant and cactus pads
associated with this project.
Trail Counter Data
The Annual Report includes trail counter data within the Quarterly Enforcement Reports
(Appendix H). The City has trail counters at the following popular trailheads:
• Burma Road Trailhead (Portuguese Bend Reserve)
• Rattlesnake Trailhead (Filiorum Reserve)
• Pirate, Fossil, and Purple Sage Trailheads (Forrestal Reserve)
Because the Burma Road and Rattlesnake Trail Counters were installed well before the
other locations, the City has the most thorough data at these most popular locations.
Below are monthly averages from 2019 to 2023. The Preserve experienced a great
increase in use during Pandemic-related closures in 2020, returned to typical use in 2022,
and experienced a slight decrease in use in 2023. Staff believes that the decrease in use
in 2023 is partly due to the increased number of rain-related closures of the area and the
beginning of landslide-related trail closures.
• 2019: 20,100
• 2020: 31,500 (during pandemic-related closures)
• 2021: 20,100 (after pandemic-related closures lifted in May)
• 2022: 21,330
• 2023: 13,865
Management Recommendations
The Annual Report includes management recommendations to help reduce natural
resource impacts resulting from public use of the Preserve, and management
recommendations more directly related to enhancing habitat restoration and the health of
natural resources. Below are the key management recommendations related to public
use included in the 2023 Annual Report:
• Continue to fully staff the City’s Open Space and Trails Division and PVPLC Field
Operations Specialist position and continue support for the PVPLC volunteer
programs: These positions and programs work together to educate the public,
shape public use, enforce public use regulations, and address damage caused by
public use of the Preserve. The most detrimental damage caused by public use in
2023, and earlier, is identified as spur trail creation. Creation and use of spur trails
fragments habitat and causes stress and negative impacts to sensitive species
nesting activity, covered species habitat, and sensitive plant species typically
located off trail.
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• Continue coordination Between City and PVPLC staff and volunteers: The City and
PVPLC coordinate closely on NCCP/HCP implementation and Preserve
management. City and PVPLC staff meet monthly, and often more frequently, to
coordinate specific projects and activities. Additionally, Park Rangers meet
monthly with the PVPLC’s Volunteer Trail Watch Program leaders. The Volunteer
Trail Watch is an excellent proactive PVPLC volunteer program by which
volunteers patrol the Preserve in uniform, educate Preserve users with interpretive
and rules information, and provide the City and PVPLC with detailed monthly
reports on public use and maintenance observations. The 2023 Annual Report
emphasizes the importance of continual communication and coordination.
Additionally, PVPLC biologists coordinate with and educate Park Rangers on
Preserve locations containing more sensitive habitat and plant and animal species
for more targeted enforcement.
• Continue to monitor and maintain current regulatory sign s and identify locations
where new or additional signs are needed without causing a proliferation of signs.
Signs are an important element of public education, and they enable enforcement
personnel to issue citations when necessary. In 2023, the City and PVPLC
coordinated on installing monument and regulatory signage at Ocean Trails,
Forrestal, and Jacqueline M. Family Reserves.
Annual Report Certification Statement
Since 2011, the City and PVPLC have been jointly submitting Preserve Annual Reports
and Comprehensive Reports to the Wildlife Agencies. As of recent, the USFWS now
requires, as part of its Section 10 permit, that the City submit an Annual Report
Certification Statement thereby certifying that the information contained in the Annual
Report is factually correct. The City Council is being asked to authorize the City Manager
to sign the required Certification Statement.
Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan
The Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly Recovery Group, consisting of the USFWS, CDFW, City,
PVPLC, U.S. Navy, Moorpark College, The Butterfly Project, Urban Wildlands Group, and
San Diego State University have been engaged in reintroducing the federally endangered
PV Blue Butterfly within the Preserve, consistent with the USFWS PV Blue Butterfly
Recovery Plan and the City’s NCCP/HCP, since 2020. There were several releases in
2023, and the 2023 Annual Report monitoring shows positive trends in the rehabilitation
of PVB within the Preserve.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
2024-2028 Habitat Restoration Project
In 2023, the PVPLC began discussions with the City on the next large-scale habitat
restoration project to meet NCCP/HCP habitat restoration requirements of 250 acres over
the permit term. The next restoration area would have restored 17 acres in the newly
acquired Jacqueline M. Glass Family Reserve (also known as the Wildlife Corridor).
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However, this project was put on hold in consideration of recommendations provided by
the City’s Geologist due to accelerated land movement and impacts caused by the
landslide in the area. PVPLC shifted focus away from the Jacqueline M. Glass Family
Reserve and has since proposed a large-scale restoration project at San Ramon
Reserve, which is currently under review by the City. The San Ramon Reserve Habitat
Restoration Project would restore 20 acres of coastal sage scrub and southern cactus
scrub for the benefit of the NCCP/HCP covered species and goals.
Report Submittal Timeline
Per the NCCP/HCP and City-Land Conservancy Management Agreement, the PVPLC
completes the Annual Reports and Comprehensive Reports on behalf of the City in
February of the year following the reported upon period and submits the reports to the
Wildlife Agencies for review. Once the Wildlife Agencies and City review and make
recommendations, the PVPLC makes the changes and submits the final reports to the
City Council for consideration in June. The delay in presenting 2023 Annual Report is
primarily due to additional time required to determine how to report landslide -related
habitat loss tracking and additional review time required by the Wildlife Agencies. The
2024 Annual Report and the 2022-2024 Comprehensive Monitoring and Management
Report are scheduled to come before the City Council for consideration in June 2025.
Public Notification
City Staff releases the Preserve Annual Report to the public and to the City Council three
weeks prior to the City Council Meeting date to give ample time to review the large
document. Staff released the document on October 16, 2024 via City listserv and emails
to the City Council. The upcoming report was also discussed at the October 16 Preserve
Public Forum. Hard copies are also available at City Hall for public review upon request.
To date, no public comments have been submitted to the City.
NCCP Permit Status Update
The NCCP/HCP was adopted by the City Council in November 2019, and in April 2020,
the USFWS issued the City the Section 10 Permit for the HCP. The City continues to wait
on the permit decision from the CDFW on the City’s NCCP permit.
Management Agreement Update
In 2005, the City Council approved a program that would allow certain unnamed Preserve
facilities (trails, overlooks, Reserves, or the entire Palos Verdes Nature Preserve) to be
named after donors who gave considerable monetary donations to the City or PVPLC for
the purposes of land acquisition. This program was primarily put in place because the
City did not yet own all of the properties targeted for inclusion in the NCCP/HCP Nature
Preserve. This program was then included in the 2011 City-PVPLC Management
Agreement, and broadened so that the donations received could be applied toward land
acquisition and maintenance.
In 2014, the City obtained all necessary properties to assemble the 1 ,402-acre Nature
Preserve, and in 2022 obtained the additional Wildlife Corridor property, bringing the
Preserve acreage to 1,500 acres as originally envisioned.
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In 2008, the Preserve Public Use Master Plan Committee (also known as the PUMP
Committee) through a public process recommended, and the City Council approved,
names for Preserve trails, Reserves, and the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve itself. Many
of these names are well established and known by the community and users of the
Preserve.
The language in the current City-PVPLC Management Agreement allows the PVPLC to
rename the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, the Reserves, and trails after donors who
meet defined donation thresholds without City Council approval. The City Council is only
to approve the location, size and signage. Specifically, Section 2.5 of the Management
Agreement reads:
2.5 Preserve Naming Opportunities. The City-owned Preserve properties or
portions thereof, along with scenic points or trails within the Preserve, may be
named after donors who make monetary contributions to the City or PVPLC toward
acquisition or management of the Preserve, pursuant to the provisions of Exhibit
D, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. The installation
of donor recognition overlooks, vista points, trail markers locations and other sites
to recognize such donors is and shall be allowed on the City-owned property in the
Preserve, provided the City Council approves the location, size, and signage
associated with said recognition sites. The sites identified on Exhibit D have been
previously approved as of the date of this Agreement and do not require further
approval.
Staff is bringing this Management Agreement program to the City Council’s attention in
case the City Council would like to direct Staff to bring forward additional analysis, work
with the PVPLC on alternative fundraising opportunities, or take other desired action
including amending the Management Agreement to give the City Council approval
authority. It should be noted that amendments to the Management Agreement have to be
mutually agreed upon by both the City and the PVPLC. The City and PVPLC have been
in discussion on this matter for several months, and the Preserve Ad-Hoc Committee has
met twice on this matter without a clear resolution. If the City Council desires, Staff can
bring forth an agenda topic on this matter as soon as November 19.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council receive and file the 2023 Annual Report and authorize
the City Manager to sign the Annual Report Certification Statement.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council’s consideration:
1. Identify additional information to be included in the 2023 Annual Report and
direct Staff to return at a later date with an updated annual report.
2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
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