AgdaPkt 2000-02-14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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56) REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From. the City Manager February 14, 2000 Subject Service Agreement with the Department of Agriculture (FY2000) - Redwood Shores Levee Improvement Project - Engineering File No. 904-05 Recommendation Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Service Agreement between the City of Redwood City and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services (WS) , to extend the existing predator damage management activities in the Redwood Shores area for an additional year. Background On August 31, 1998, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 13420, approving an agreement to carry out a Predator Management Program (PMP) in the Redwood Shores area, and authorized the City Clerk and City Manager to execute the same agreement. The approval and execution of this agreement is in compliance with a "Condition of Approval" that the Corps of Engineers attached to the Levee Improvement Project. To date, the PMP has not commenced. This program is based on the premise that there will be no interference from the public by way of fencing off portions of the levee. The issue of public exclusionary fencing has been in debate for the past year, therefore, action to satisfy the PMP could not be taken. In addition, special interest groups voiced their viewpoints, shortly after the approval of the PMP agreement. The main concerns discussed were the disposition of the 'predator' animals after they are caught and the method of trapping. Many meetings were held and the groups have narrowed the differences down to a point where a memorandum of understanding is being finalized. This program is intended to increase the survival rate of the endangered species, namely the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and the California Clapper Rail. To achieve this, the population of non-native predators such as raccoons, skunks, red foxes, and feral cats, will be controlled in the region. The City has no flexibility regarding this program, because the Corps of Engineers stipulated this as a permit condition for the Levee Improvement Project, which in itself, was put together to satisfy another Federal agency's (FEMA) requirement; to protect the residential and commercial property in the area from flooding. ".~..,....._" "~"'1r"