Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the CalVTP to protect wildlife and promote wildfire resilience
November 13th, 2024, 1:00 – 3:35pm
Link to webinar recording
This webinar was an opportunity for participants to increase their knowledge of how project proponents can both protect wildlife and, if required (e.g., by the CalVTP), engage with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding listed wildlife species protection for wildfire resilience and vegetation treatment projects. Showcasing best practices on CalVTP projects from the perspective of project proponent and wildlife agency staff about their coordination process, outcomes, and lessons learned.
Lara Rachowicz, Senior Environmental Project Manager and Senior Ecologist at Ascent Environmental, provided an overview of the CalVTP’s strategies for special-status species protection, maintenance of habitat, and process for consultation with the federal and state wildlife agencies. Ryan Olah, Coast Bay Division Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, USFWS, covered the definition of take under the Endangered Species Act, how to determine if you have listed species in your project area that may be affected, and who to contact from USFWS to answer questions regarding listed species. Joseph Brandt, Assistant Division Supervisor, Ventura Fish & Wildlife Office, discussed best practices when engaging with the the Service. Allison Fuller, Senior Wildlife Biologist at Ascent Environmental, explored practical strategies for meeting vegetation treatment project objectives; protecting sensitive wildlife, plants, and habitats; applying the best available science; and maintaining feasible project implementation standards. Matt Abernathy, Senior Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency Program Specialist at the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, and Angie Richman, Forest Health Program Specialist at the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, presented on RCD Santa Cruz’s process of USFWS consultation in developing three different CalVTP Project Specific Analyses in recent years.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 1:00pm | Webinar begins |
|
Lara Rachowicz: Using the CalVTP Program EIR to Avoid and Mitigate Impacts on Special-Status Wildlife |
|
|
Ryan Olah: Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Fuels Reduction Projects: when you should contact the Service and who to contact |
|
| Joseph Brandt: CalVTP Project Coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | |
| Q&A | |
| 2:23pm | Break |
| Allison Fuller: Exploring Solutions for Biological Resource Protection and Vegetation Treatment Project Implementation | |
| Matt Abernathy & Angie Richman: RCD Santa Cruz Examples | |
| Q&A | |
| 3:35pm |
Webinar ends |
Link to presentation abstracts
Trainers:
Lara Rachowicz, Senior Environmental Project Manager, Senior Ecologist, Ascent Environmental
Lara Rachowicz, PhD, is a senior ecologist with 24 years of technical and project management experience throughout California, with a focus on special-status species. She supports environmental review and planning by providing strategic guidance and technical expertise. Lara specializes in advancing efficient CEQA and regulatory compliance strategies for ecosystem resilience and wildfire risk reduction projects and is actively engaged with the US Fish and Wildlife Agency and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop effective strategies to avoid impacts to threatened and endangered wildlife species from vegetation treatment projects. She assists public agencies with CalVTP project-specific analyses that expedite the implementation of wildfire resilience treatments while providing protection of sensitive resources.
Ryan Olah, Coast Bay Division Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
Ryan has worked for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for almost 28 years and has been working on Section 7 projects and Section 10 HCPs in the Sacramento Office for the last 23 years. Ryan’s Division covers projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and he has worked with a large number of the Sacramento Office’s 100+ species in our jurisdiction. Ryan enjoys creating partnerships with project applicants and agencies to help make the consultation process easier and he takes pride in the conservation and protected lands that he has been able to incorporate into his projects. His academic background in Environmental Biology Management come from UC Davis.
Joseph Brandt, Assistant Division Supervisor, Ventura Fish & Wildlife Office
Joseph Brandt began his career with the U.S. Fish an Wildlife Service in 2007 working as a part of the California Condor Recovery Program. In 2019, he started working as a biologist at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office working on Section 7 consultations and incidental take permitting. In 2023, he was named assistant field supervisor of the Central Coast Division of the Ventura Field Office, where he leads a team of biologists who consult on a variety of endangered species primarily in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science and double majored in Biology and Environmental Science.
Allison Fuller, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Ascent Environmental
Allison Fuller is a senior wildlife biologist with Ascent, with 15 years of experience with field biology, environmental consulting, and project management focusing on marine and terrestrial wildlife throughout the state of California. Allison assisted in preparation of the California Vegetation Treatment Program Environmental Impact Report, and multiple project-specific analyses (PSAs). Allison is interested in developing practical, innovative solutions that address natural resources management and vegetation treatment implementation using sound, best available science.
Matt Abernathy, Senior Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency Program Specialist, Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Matt joined the Forest Health Team at the RCD of Santa Cruz County in July of 2020. Shortly after, the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires occurred and completely reshaped the landscape, our community, as well as the RCD’s Forest Health and Wildfire Resiliency projects. Matt was part of the cross boundary collaborative effort to create a new programmatic permit to streamline implementation of Forest Health and Fire Resiliency projects within the Coastal Zone of the Santa Cruz Mountains, called the Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resiliency Public Works Plan (PWP). Matt worked closely with consultants to create Santa Cruz County’s first two PWP projects in the North Coast. Through the development of these two projects, Matt learned a lot about the importance of early engagement and coordination with the regulatory agencies.
Angie Richman, Forest Health Program Specialist, Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Angie joined the Forest Health Team with RCD Santa Cruz in 2022 after working in a wide variety of land stewardship and roles from the Sierra Nevada to the Santa Cruz Mountains. She has a BS in Animal Ecology with a focus in Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University and is currently working towards a Master’s of Natural Resources. She is currently working on a variety of projects under a 1600-acre CalVTP (Lockhart-Zayante PSA #2023-039) which includes some of the sensitive Santa Cruz sandhills habitat. In developing this PSA and project designs Angie has learned a lot about making vegetation treatments environmentally sensitive to a variety of species and engaging with regulatory agencies.
