Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors (Open)

1. Call to Order of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors

The Board Chair will call the meeting to order if a quorum is present. Announcements by the Board Chair or Executive Director may be made at this time. Board members may make announcements at this time as well.

2. Public Comments

Opportunity for members of the public to address the Conservancy’s Board of Directors.

3. Approval of the Minutes

All items listed as Action by Consent, including minutes, are considered and acted upon by one Motion. Any Board member may request an item be removed for separate consideration.

The Board Chair will request approval of the consent items and minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of August 6, 2025.

Download the Conservancy’s August 6, 2025 Board meeting minutes (PDF, 4 MB)

4. Barn Funding

In early 2024, significant wind damage destroyed the large dairy barn on the Conservancy’s Silva tract. The Conservancy filed an insurance claim for the loss and received a payment of $158,120.76. This claim allowed for the Conservancy to receive an additional $68,381.60 if the Conservancy rebuilt the facility within two years. Originally, management was unsure the Conservancy would be able to construct a new barn in the required two-year timeframe.

Once the Conservancy secured necessary permitting and a contract for the barn rebuild, staff sent the insurance company a copy of the signed contract for the barn reconstruction. The Conservancy recently received a check for the claim’s remaining $68,381.60.

This item’s request is merely housekeeping in nature. The current contract for rebuilding the Silva barn is $444,738.00 and construction work is currently on budget. To comport with the Board’s previous authorization to apply the $158,120.76 insurance payment to the Silva barn construction, management seeks authorization to apply the remaining insurance payment of $68,381.60 to the Silva barn construction.

This item requests:

1. Board approval of the second Silva barn loss associated insurance payment of $68,381.60 be applied to the Conservancy’s 2025 budget in the same manner as the first insurance payment of $158,120.76, and that this second payment be applied to paying for the Silva barn reconstruction, just as was the first payment, and
2. authorizes and directs either the Conservancy’s Executive Director, John Roberts, or Chief Financial Officer, Kimberli Burns, to take all actions deemed necessary or appropriate to implement this action.

5. Pedro Barn #2 Electrical

The Conservancy has begun Phase 2 of the Pedro barn project which has moved along more quickly than anticipated. Recently, Conservancy staff began what they thought would be a long SMUD Design and Permit Process. In a previous project, this process required over 6 months. In a surprising turn, SMUD approved the Phase 2 project without requiring its Design and Permitting Process, thus allowing the project to move forward with only Sacramento County permitting. The Conservancy moved forward with the electrical work. The Pedro barn 2 electrical project includes the following: LED motion lights on the outside corners of the barn, interior LED lights, overhead fan for exhaust and air circulation, GFI protected outlets and hook-ups for the existing on-site CCTV camera. The total amount of the electrical project is $32,024.28.

Management originally budgeted for this project in 2026, anticipating a long approval process. However, given the change in pace of the project, management is requesting a change in the 2025 budget.

This item requests:

1. Board approval and ratification of expenses for the installation of the electrical elements for the Pedro barn 2, including a 10% contingency, totaling $35,226.71,
2. authorization to adjust the 2025 budget as may be needed, and
3. authorizes and directs either the Conservancy’s Executive Director, John Roberts, or Chief Financial Officer, Kimberli Burns, to take all actions deemed necessary or appropriate to implement this action.

6. SSMP Updates

The Conservancy is required to prepare and keep updated Site Specific Management Plans (SSMP) for each property held for mitigation purposes under the HCPs. The properties needing new or updated SSMPs are as follows: Bennett North, Betts, Lauppe West, Nestor, Rosa Central, and Rosa East.

This item requests:

1. Board authorization to assemble all new SSMPs for Bennett North, Betts, Lauppe West, Nestor, Rosa Central, and Rosa East into the existing approved SSMP document with a cost not to exceed $30,000.00,
2. authorization to adjust the 2025 budget as may be needed, and
3. authorizes and directs either the Conservancy’s Executive Director, John Roberts, or Chief Financial Officer, Kimberli Burns, to take all actions deemed necessary or appropriate to implement this action.

7. 2026 GGS Monitoring Changes

In keeping with changes to biological monitoring necessitated in 2024, this item requests Board approval to complete the final biological monitoring effort hand-off to the successor contractor, GEI Consultants, Inc. In this case, this item proposes to complete the hand-off by transferring the Giant garter snake (GGS) component of the biological effectiveness monitoring project to GEI.

This item requests:

1. Board approval to amend the contract between the Conservancy and GEI Consultants, Inc. to include GGS monitoring beginning in 2026, and continue it for the duration of the Board-approved GEI contract (such amendment will replace the GGS monitoring now performed by the U.S. Geological Service),
2. add Eric C. Hansen, Consulting Environmental Biologist, to serve as an approved subcontractor with GEI, specifically in the area of GGS monitoring,
3. the total amount of the amendment to the GEI contract, including a 10% contingency, is $137,500.00, and
4. authorizes and directs either the Conservancy’s Executive Director, John Roberts, or Chief Financial Officer, Kimberli Burns, to take all actions deemed necessary or appropriate to implement this action.

The 2026 draft budget for biological monitoring, including the above-noted GGS changes, is $459,360.00. With the previous vendor, the 2026 budget would have been $541,062.00, a difference of approximately $82,000.00.

8. City of Sacramento Report

Report from the City of Sacramento regarding HCP-related activity and other topics.

9. County of Sutter Report

Report from the County of Sutter regarding HCP-related activity and other topics.

10. Financial Report

A financial statement will be provided for the period ended August 31, 2025 (unaudited). Additional financial information will be provided.

If you would like a copy of the document included in this item, please contact the Conservancy office.

11. Draft 2026 Budget

Staff will discuss with the Board the draft 2026 budget. The submitted draft is for familiarization and review by the Board. The final 2026 budget will be included with the NBHCP Finance Model update and presented for approval to the Board at its December 3, 2025 meeting.

If you would like a copy of the document included in this item, please contact the Conservancy office.

12. Managed Marsh Construction Update

Staff will update the Board on managed marsh construction projects.

13. GGS Identified in Fisherman’s Lake Reserve Area

The Conservancy’s biological effectiveness monitoring team found and recorded vital statistics on a female GGS, about two years old, on the Conservancy’s Anne Rudin Preserve managed marsh. After a long period of no GGS found in the Conservancy’s Fisherman’s Lake Reserve Area (FLRA), this changes management’s thinking about opportunities at this unit.

The FLRA properties are difficult and expensive to manage, and there are numerous intrusions on the properties there including frequent low-flying aircraft, neighborhood dogs, drug use and hypodermic needle disposal, trash dumping, firearm discharge and general trespass, among other effects of advancing urbanization. Indeed, Sacramento County is at present considering an urbanization proposal in the area that would bring a projected 9,300 new homes and 25,000 more people to the vicinity.

Now that a GGS has been found, there is at least evidence that spending Conservancy funds on habitat there isn’t entirely wasted. Management will discuss this with the Board.

14. Executive Director’s Report

Various matters for Board members’ general information will be presented by the Conservancy’s Executive Director.

If you would like a copy of the document included in this item, please contact the Conservancy office.

Executive Session (Closed)

15. Executive Session

No Executive Session planned.

Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors (Open)

16. Adjournment of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors

Official adjournment of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors.

Upcoming Regular Meetings

• December 3, 2025
• February 4, 2026
• April 1, 2026