Inland Empire Resource Conservation District
Current Conservation Easements & Mitigation Projects
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Inland Empire Resource Conservation District's Current Conservation Easements & Mitigation Projects.
Inland Empire Resource Conservation District's Current Conservation Easements & Mitigation Projects.
Conservation Easements
Centex Sycamore Heights
In 2005, Centex Homes was required to mitigate for impacts resulting from the construction of Tract 14551, commonly referred to as the Centex Sycamore Heights Development. The Tract was planned to include 324 single-family units, 216 multi-family units, associated infrastructure, and 63-acres of preserved open space on a 197-acre parcel of land in the City of Chino Hills, in the County of San Bernardino. Centex Homes applied for permits for the work from the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Regional Quality Control Board, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and were ultimately allowed to proceed with the project as-planned. Total project impacts to natural open spaces as a result of Tract 14551 included .44-acres of waters of the United States of which .38-acres were wetland habitat, as well as .82 acres of southern willow scrub habitat, and 8.85-acres of coastal sage scrub.
The mitigation requirements were outlined in project permits, and consisted of two separate assignments. The first was the preservation of 25 acres of open space, which housed valuable mixed woodland, elderberry woodland, and coastal sage scrub habitats suitable for sustenance for area native wildlife. The second requirement involved 4.8-acres of created habitat within the Tract, of which 3.3-acres represent a mix of riparian and woodland habitat, and 1.5-acres represent coastal sage scrub creation on former grassland habitat. Additionally, Centex was required to restore portions of Drainage A, an ephemeral drainage also located within Tract 14551.
The 25-acre parcel was preserved in 2006 through the recordation of a conservation easement in favor of the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District. The conservation easement will ensure continued protection of the on-site sage scrub, woodlands, and riparian vegetation suitable for local species of wildlife, including the least Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) and California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica). The preserved area will also serve as a buffer between the project site and Chino Hills State Park in order to protect species of vegetation and wildlife from excessive human contact.
The created and restored habitat located within the development recently received its agency approvals for successful establishment of desired vegetation communities. The IERCD is negotiating with the developer and consulting firm regarding details of the conservation easement to be placed on all conserved, restored, and created habitats.
ProLogis Beaumont
ProLogis LLC was required to mitigate for the construction of the Crossroads Industrial Park,located off of west Fourth Street, south of the intersection of the 10 and 60 freeways, in the city of Beaumont and County of Riverside. The project involved the construction of multiple light industrial buildings and associated infrastructure, north of Cooper’s Creek, a tributary to San Timoteo Creek which feeds into the Santa Ana River. In order to perform work, the developer applied for and secured permission from the three major regulatory agencies, all of whom issued permits for impacts to surrounding open space.
The California Department of Fish and Game determined projected impacts to include 2.8-acres of ephemeral streambed and the removal of 41 coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees; for these impacts, the CDFG assigned mitigation consisting of the creation of 1-acre of scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia)/ chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) habitat with a minimum of 82 trees, and the conservation of that acre and an additional eight surrounding acres within an area preserved in perpetuity. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board determined projected impacts to be .011-acres of seasonal, ephemeral pools constituting non-Federal waters of the State, for which it assigned the creation of one such 490-square foot pond within the nine-acre conservation area mandated by the CDFG. The United States Army Corps of Engineers assigned 1.2-acres of mitigation credits to be purchased from the Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA), and otherwise concurred with the mitigation mandated by the CDFG and CRWQCB.
Other measures included ProLogis being required to perform work within the conservation area outside of nesting season and also being required to avoid impacts to the riparian habitat comprising Cooper’s Creek. The creation of the ephemeral pond was mandated to be done with 3-6 inches of topsoil from the existing ponds, and was required to be suitable for colonization by fairy shrimp. In general, within the conservation area, ProLogis also revegetated disturbed areas and removed invasive species that were present. To protect this conservation area, a fence and signage was installed explaining the purpose of the land area.
In 2010, the required conservation easement was recorded in favor of the Inland Empire RCD, which obligated the District to maintain and monitor the site in perpetuity. These responsibilities will commence once the site is declared a success by the regulatory agencies, which is projected to occur in 2013. Following that declaration, District staff will begin quarterly monitoring, trash abatement, weed removal, and reporting for regulatory agencies.
ProLogis Ontario
In December of 2002, Catellus Development Corporation, a division of ProLogis LLC, initiated the application process to secure permitting for the creation of a light industrial park in the City of Ontario and County of San Bernardino. The project site selected was over 85-acres in size, with a 13.2-acre piece of lower Etiwanda Creek running through it. The plans for the industrial park included the addition of three industrial buildings along with necessary infrastructure, including the extension of Ontario Mills Parkway through the entire site. In the process of constructing this park, the entire 13.2-acre piece of lower Etiwanda Creek, a dry arroyo classified as Waters of the United States.
For the predicted project impacts, Catellus Development Corporation was required to purchase 9.5-acres of mitigation credits from the Vulcan mitigation bank located in the Cajon Pass region of the County of San Bernardino. In addition to this off-site mitigation, Catellus was also required to create a linear vegetated drainage alongside the planned development, in order to treat nuisance and stormwater flows that would otherwise have been conducted through lower Etiwanda Creek. Catellus retained a consultant to design the drainage and plant palette, and met with the Inland Empire RCD intermittently over the next several years to discuss project progress in the face of economic downturn.
The mitigation measures assigned as a result of impacts from the ProLogis Crossroads Business Park are meant to have two purposes. First, the creation of the vegetated linear drainage as well as the contribution to the mitigation bank is meant to offset the loss of valuable upland/riparian transitional acreage due to the park’s creation. The heavily industrialized city of Ontario is short on the natural habitat required to sustain native wildlife; the addition of 4-acres of open space vegetated with native vegetation will help to ensure survival of the species that depended on East Etiwanda Creek for their continued existence. Second, the drainage will act as a conduit for nuisance flows that are projected to increase as the area around the project site continues to be developed. Water that passes through the drainage will also have the added benefit of undergoing filtration through native species before exiting the area.
In 2010, Catellus Development Corporation elected to proceed with the project; however, in order to do this, the IERCD had to be in possession of an easement recorded in favor of the District as well as an endowment substantial enough to provide for the in-perpetuity maintenance and monitoring of the site. The easement was executed in January of 2010, and Catellus began construction of the light industrial park and adjacent 4-acre linear vegetated drainage over which IERCD held the easement, shortly thereafter. Once the drainage is planted and is given its 5-year success criteria approval, the District will assume complete responsibility for this four-acre portion of the site.
Mitigation Projects
CalNev Pipeline Project
The CalNev Pipeline Company LLC (CPC) was required to mitigate for three separate petroleum pipeline washout stabilization projects in the Devore region of San Bernardino County. This stabilization work involved a variety of tasks, including excavation of channel banks and bottom, installation of concrete mats over the pipelines, installation of rip-rap, and bank stabilization via construction of a retaining wall. The work of all three projects led to permanent impacts to ephemeral drainages in the upper Santa Ana Watershed.
In the CalNev – Cajon Project, CPC was required to mitigate for work done to stabilize two petroleum pipelines that cross an un-named ephemeral drainage and tributary to Cajon Creek. For the CalNev – Deadmans project, washout repair work performed to stabilize a 14-inch petroleum pipeline located near Deadman Junction in San Bernardino County resulted in impacts to an unnamed drainage and tributary to Cajon Creek. In the CalNev – Swarthout project, work done to prevent erosion around an existing 8-inch petroleum pipeline in Swarthout Canyon Road in San Bernardino County caused temporary impacts to an unnamed riparian streambed in a perennial tributary to Cajon Creek. The total degradation to natural lands in this region, resulting from these three projects was 1.08-acres. Permits for all three projects required the mitigation to consist of invasive plant removal followed by six years of maintenance and monitoring, in an area in close proximity to the sites of the original impacts.
The first option for application of these mitigation projects was Lost Lake, a sag pond created by the motion of the San Andreas Fault and located in the Cajon Pass portion of San Bernardino County. The lake is surrounded by valuable coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitat; however, it is also moderately infested with invasive species including mustard (Brassica nigra). The IERCD has conducted previous removal projects in the area, including eradicating 17-acres of giant cane (Arundo donax), including periodic monitoring to prevent re-growth. It was thought that the application of funding from mitigation projects would be beneficial; however, delays forced the project to be relocated to the adjacent Cajon Wash region, located to the east of the lake.
The final project conceptualized and to which the mitigation funds were applied, consisted of the removal of four targeted invasive species from the aforementioned Cajon Wash, followed by six years of maintenance and monitoring. The site selected for application of the funds was Federal land controlled by the United States Forest Service (USFS) in order to ensure continued protection of the land to which mitigation monies were placed. A project narrative was created and distributed to the regulatory agencies for approvals; following permission, the IERCD began working with the USFS on the project. Thus far, the District has performed initial reconnaissance and removal and will perform additional removal following the end of nesting season in 2010.
Devil's Canyon: Rialto Channel
The San Bernardino County Flood Control District was required to mitigate for 1.1-acres of impacts stemming from flood control prevention work performed on the Rialto channel, an ephemeral drainage and tributary to the Santa Ana River. Improvements to the channel helped to accommodate the escalation of flows during storm events, resulting from increases in area residents as well as impervious surfaces. The flood control work included the construction of a reinforced concrete box and concrete lining of a segment of the channel between Riverside Avenue and the Southern Pacific Rail Line, and is part of a series of improvements completed within the stormwater conveyance system in the City of Rialto.
While beneficial for flood control purposes, the channelization of formerly natural drainages often results in irreversible impacts to local streambed habitat as well as dependent species. The mitigation assigned for the flood control improvements to the Rialto Channel accounted for the acreage impacted by requiring restoration of at a ratio of 3:1. In order to fulfill this requirement, the San Bernardino County Flood Control District contracted with the IERCD, in association with the Santa Ana Watershed Association, to perform 3.3-acres of removal of invasive species of vegetation focusing on giant cane (Arundo donax), but also including tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), castorbean (Ricinus communis), and tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca). The removal site selected was the Devil’s Canyon region of the City of San Bernardino, located behind the California State University campus at San Bernardino. The initial removal took place between September 16th 2007 and March 15th of 2008, with twenty additional years of follow-up maintenance and monitoring schedule to ensure minimal re-growth.
Currently, the site is in the maintenance and monitoring phase. The initial removal has been completed, and the IERCD field ecologist conducts routine visits to document and treat any re-growth of invasive species at the project site. Site monitoring will continue for a minimum of an additional eighteen years to ensure minimal re-growth. The complete eradication of aggressive invasive plants at the project site will continue to provide benefits for area species of wildlife and vegetation, particularly in terms of improvements in habitat functionality as well as water quality and quantity.
Devil's Canyon: San Sevaine
In 2007, the San Bernardino County Flood Control District applied for permission to channelize the lower reach of the San Sevaine Channel. The project area consisted of approximately 4,900 linear feet of the channel, from Philadelphia Street in Fontana to Jurupa Road in Mira Loma, spanning from San Bernardino County to Riverside County. As with the Rialto Channel project, the San Sevaine project was conducted in an effort to improve the carrying capacity of the San Bernardino flood control system, a method of controlling and distributing stormwater runoff increasingly compromised by expanding local populations and accompanying urbanization.
As a member of the Santa Ana Watershed Association, the Inland Empire RCD was chosen to perform the work required according to the mitigation assignment, consisting of restoration via the removal of invasive vegetation from a tributary of the Santa Ana River. This project was combined with and placed alongside the Rialto Channel project in Devil’s Canyon, in the City and County of San Bernardino; accordingly species targeted for removal were the same in both mitigation projects. As with Rialto Channel, the San Sevaine project requires initial removal, followed by twenty years of maintenance and monitoring to ensure minimal re-growth. Currently, the IERCD is in year two of the monitoring/maintenance phase.
As a member of the Santa Ana Watershed Association, the Inland Empire RCD was chosen to perform the work required according to the mitigation assignment, consisting of restoration via the removal of invasive vegetation from a tributary of the Santa Ana River. This project was combined with and placed alongside the Rialto Channel project in Devil’s Canyon, in the City and County of San Bernardino; accordingly species targeted for removal were the same in both mitigation projects. As with Rialto Channel, the San Sevaine project requires initial removal, followed by twenty years of maintenance and monitoring to ensure minimal re-growth. Currently, the IERCD is in year two of the monitoring/maintenance phase.
Essex Nationwide/Orange Show
Location: This mitigation project was assigned to the location of original impacts, Warm Creek, a tributary of the Santa Ana River in the City and County of San Bernardino.
In 2004, the Essex Group was required to mitigate for the construction of a storm drain at the northeast corner of Orange Show Road and Arrowhead Avenue, in the City and County of San Bernardino. This project involved the creation of 90 lineal feet of 30-inch reinforced concrete pipe storm drain outfall, as well as a splash pad; this resulted in .078-acres of impacts to the Warm Creek channel. For these impacts, the California Department of Fish and Game assigned .5-acres of restoration/enhancement in the upper Santa Ana Watershed, in a location as close as possible to the area of impacts of the original project.
In 2005, the East Valley RCD accepted $21,132.80 from the developer in order to perform the mitigation as assigned by the regulatory agencies. Staff from the former EVRCD, then the Inland Empire RCD post-consolidation, performed the removal of invasive species from the area over which the mitigation was applied in Warm Creek; these included Arundo donax, tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), castorbean (Ricinus communis), and Washington fan palm (Washingtonia filfera).
Currently, the IERCD is monitoring the site for re-growth of any of the target species, as well as any other species of non-native invasive plants. District staff is hoping to find sufficient funding to perform revegetation of the former removal site with species of native riparian plants, including willows (Salix spp.), cottonwoods (Populous fremontiii), and mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia). Revegetation of project areas once housing species of invasive plants assists with preventing the site from re-colonization by non-native vegetation. This helps in maintain the biological integrity of the site and its value to native species of wildlife and vegetation.
Mitigation Projects: Fee Title
Joseph Nicholas Homes Project
In 2002, Joseph Nicholas Homes was required to perform mitigation connected with the construction of a residential development, consisting of 48 single-family homes on 96 total acres, on Creekside Drive in the City of Redlands and County of San Bernardino. The development sits adjacent to San Timoteo Creek, a major tributary of the Santa Ana River.
Originally, the development was scheduled to be constructed with no impacts to the creek; however, multiple factors led to erosion of its banks, which ultimately resulted in unavoidable project impacts. Accordingly, Joseph Nicholas Homes was required to mitigate for the .12-acres of impacts to threatened species residing in the creek, including southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and least Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus). Due to their sensitive status, the mitigation for the disturbance was significant, consisting of the creation of .5-acres of wetland, restoration of the .12-acres of temporary impacts, and the recordation of a conservation easement over the created and restored habitat, in addition to 5.5 surrounding acres of property. Finally, JNH was required to fence the entire 6-acre easement site to prevent unlawful entry.
The mitigation assigned for this project was required in order to offset impacts from creation of the development, as well as projected impacts that were thought to potentially result from the population of that development. The restoration of the .12-acres impacted during construction was assigned to guarantee no net loss of valuable habitat utilized by species dependent on the creek for survival. The .5-acre wetland required to be created adjacent to the development was implemented in the form of a series of sediment basins, which would treat the nuisance flows leaving the development, prior to entering the creek. The treatment of water would ensure the minimum pollutants possible entering San Timoteo Creek from the development, particularly due to its position as a tributary to the Santa Ana River, and the riparian and wetland vegetation to be planted in these basins would create valuable habitat for native wildlife. Finally, the 6-acre conservation easement required to be recorded over the site ensured its conservation in perpetuity, and also created a buffer between the development, and the restored/created lands and San Timoteo Creek.
The developer funded the creation of the wetland, the restoration of the disturbed riparian habitat, and also provided a fund for the in-perpetuity maintenance and monitoring of the site. Ultimately, the site was signed over the East Valley Resource Conservation District (EVRCD) in the form of a fee-title property, and subsequently came under the control of the Inland Empire RCD following the consolidation of the EVRCD with the Inland Empire West RCD in 2005. Currently, District staff from the Inland Empire RCD work to maintain and monitor the site, performing multiple annual site visits for the purposes of documenting sensitive species, performing weed abatement, and restoring elements of the property damaged by vandals. The IERCD will continue to care for this site and report annually to the regulatory agencies including the California Department of Fish and Game, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in perpetuity.