Summary and Overview of Plan

This Oak Woodland Management Plan (OWMP) complies with 2004 General Plan Measure CO-P. Measure CO-P requires that the County develop and adopt an Oak Resources Management Plan. The OWMP is the first component (oak woodland portion) of the Integrated Natural Resources Management P]an (INRMP) required by Measure CO-M and Policy 7.4.2.8.

The loss of oak woodland in El Dorado County was a key issue of the 2004 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (FIR). Oak woodland habitat removal and fragmentation from development, and a reported low rate of blue oak regeneration, are primary concerns. Measure CO-P and Policies 7.4.4.4, 7.4.4.5, and 7.4.5.2 require mitigation for the loss of oak woodland and oak trees. This plan identifies specific oak woodland conservation areas and methods for the County to implement an oak woodland ordinance that fulfills the requirements of the 2004 General Plan and HR.

The OWMP has three purposes. First, it complies with Measure CO-P. Second, once the OWMP is adopted, the County will have a conservation fee option to applicants for mitigating impacts to oak woodlands (Policy 7.4.4.4, Option B). And third, the OWMP will establish a plan that landowners, the County, and others can use to seek grants (including cost-sharing options) from State/Federal programs (e.g., California Oak Woodland Conservation Program) for oak woodland conservation in El Dorado County.

The OWMP is a Landscape level planning tool for long-term conservation of oak woodland resources in El Dorado County

The County began preparing the OWMP in September 2006. Public workshops and hearings were held throughout the process with the Planning Commission, Agricultural Commission, and Board of Supervisors to discuss the mapping and Option B fee elements of the OWMP. A County Staff Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) guided the drafting of the OWMP through early 2007, through this process; many issues were raised regarding the mapping, Option [3 fee. and other elements of the OWMP. The County is now seeking public comment on how best to finalize and implement the plan.

The OWMP is a ‘landscape level’ planning tool for long-term conservation of oak woodland resources in El Dorado County. The OWMP identities Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) where oak woodlands would be acquired through conservation easements or fee title purchased from willing landowners. The OWMP also identifies Oak Woodland Corridors (OWCs) between PCAs that represent areas of connectivity to be considered in the INRMP process. OWCs include north-south crossings of Highway 50 that would link PCAs in the northern and southern parts of the County. Funding for vegetation (including fuels) management, fencing, and noxious plant control, and funding for land acquisitions could include Option B fees, State and Federal conservation grants, and public/private conservation organization partnerships.

The OWMP will he adopted and implemented several years before the INRMP is completed. As a result, the PCAs and OWCs recommended by this OWMP may be changed or further refined through the 1NRMP process.