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Provide a detailed scope of work, including a list of specific tasks, a detailed budget, and a timeline for Project implementation
(including a completion date for each task).
Task Completi Applicant’s SMMC Other Other Funds Total
on Date Funding Request Funds (pending)
(pending)
Appraisal January $8,000 $8,000
completion 2017
Phase I August $8,000 $8,000
Environmental 2017
Assessment
Fee title Dec 15, $10,000 – $1,000,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $2,510,000
acquisition 2017 Closing LA County WCB
Costs
Total Project $2,500,000(acquisition fair market value)
costs $26,000 (due diligence and closing costs)
IV Preliminary Project Plans
As this is an acquisition Project, there are no preliminary Project plans.
V Need/Urgency
What is the need for the Project? Why is immediate implementation of the Project necessary to reach near and long-term
conservation, carbon reduction, and climate adaptation targets? Is the Project site subject to imminent threat of development that
would preclude future implementation value? See page 3 of guidelines for examples. For acquisitions: Is the site available under
extraordinary or opportunity sale conditions?
The need to preserve the 51.4-acre Robin's Nest property is immediate. The owners are willing to sell due to
the damage sustained in the Sand Fire, but are fully prepared to develop the property if a conservation
purchase is not successful. As experienced real estate investors, we have every reason to believe they will be
successful in redeveloping the land if not purchased and protected.
Beyond the need to act quickly, the property is also necessary for its range of conservation targets: riparian
habitat along the regionally important Santa Clara River, critical habitat for the federally endangered arroyo
toad (Bufo microscaphus californicus), its position in a critical wildlife corridor, soils conducive to groundwater
recharge, and portions of the river itself. The Project is a priority in a litany of plans for wildlife and habitat
protection as well as for organizations such as the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Its success would generate
significant habitat and watershed benefits now and in the future, described in detail in Section VI below. If
the Project cannot move forward, this critical gap in protected land in Soledad Canyon could be lost to
development forever.
VI Multi-Benefit Ecosystem, Water Quality, Water Supply, Water Protection and Other Public
Benefits Provided by the Project
Water
In 2005, the Santa Clara River, the largest natural river remaining in Southern California, was selected by
American Rivers as one of the nation’s ten most endangered rivers. While subsequently removed from the
1
list, threats to its ecological health, including urban development and stormwater runoff pollution, persist.
Protection of the property will both maintain the largely unaltered hydrological features of the upper Santa
1 Friends of the Santa Clara River: http://www.fscr.org/
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