Executive/Council Action Form (ECAF)
ITEM TITLE:
Title
CONSERVATION FUTURES TAX FUND GRANT PROGRAM AWARD FOR THE THOMAS EDDY PHASE 2; MOGA PROPERTIES LLC ACQUISITION- RIGHT OF ENTRY PERMIT
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DEPARTMENT: DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
ORIGINATOR: PEJ MORGAN
EXECUTIVE RECOMMENDATION: Approved
PURPOSE: The purpose of the Right of Entry Permit is for the Willing Seller/Owner to grant the County and its Agents access to conduct the necessary preliminary surveys and studies on the 10 proposed acquisition parcels.
BACKGROUND: Moga Acquisition project represents a unique opportunity to acquire land needed to complete a multi-benefit project that will accomplish both open space preservation, and floodplain preservation and reconnection. The stretch of river locally referred to as Thomas’ Eddy was historically a dynamic reach of river, located two miles downstream of the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie Rivers, and at the uppermost extent of Puget Sound tidal influence. When the “Beck Dike” was built along the left bank in the 1930s, it isolated more than 200 acres of Snohomish River floodplain, including approximately 1.5 miles of side channel and oxbow habitat, and added nearly a mile of rock armor to the riverbank. This added constraint to a reach that had already experienced leveeing and draining of nearby French Slough and Marshlands floodplains in the late 1800’s. The area behind Beck Dike was cleared of native vegetation and used for agriculture and gravel mining activities. Today this floodplain property is the publicly owned Bob Heirman Wildlife Preserve at Thomas’ Eddy. Much of the Park’s riverbank remains a deteriorating levee that continues to cut the river off from its floodplain and constrains the natural riverine processes that create and maintain fish and wildlife habitat. The interior of the park is still largely devoid of native vegetation and is blanketed by invasive grasses and other non-native weeds. Floodplain restoration at Thomas’ Eddy on the Snohomish River will improve the quality and quantity of channel edge and off-channel habitat and increase connectivity between the main channel, floodplain, and associated floodplain waterbodies. Proposed restoration actions for the Thomas’ Eddy Phase 1 project include removal of large sections of levee, edge habitat enhancements, large wood placement, and riparian planting. The Thomas’ Eddy Phase 2 project is located across the river from the County’s Thomas’ Eddy Phase 1 project and the largest part of Bob Heirman Wildlife Preserve, a popular park located between river mile 16 and 18 on the Snohomish mainstem. As with the Beck Dike on the left bank of the Snohomish River, on the right bank, at the edge of the Phase 2 area, the Crabbs Dike was similarly constructed in the 1930s and cut off floodplain and off-channel habitat. The Crabbs Dike developed a natural breach at the upstream edge of the Phase 2 property that regularly receives floodwater during flood events. In 2016, working with Mr. Moga, the Snohomish Conservation District, reconnected the lower portion, 6.3 acres of off channel habitat, by constructing floodplain channels and replacing fish barrier culverts with two large culverts that connect the channels to the Snohomish River during normal salmon outmigration flows. While this project didn’t connect the channels to the natural breach at the upstream end of the floodplain, they did account for additional dike erosion in their restoration design.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
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EXPEND: FUND, AGY, ORG, ACTY, OBJ, AU |
CURRENT YR |
2ND YR |
1ST 6 YRS |
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Conservation Futures Tax Fund |
$10.00 |
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TOTAL |
$10.00 |
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REVENUE: FUND, AGY, ORG, REV, SOURCE |
CURRENT YR |
2ND YR |
1ST 6 YRS |
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DEPARTMENT FISCAL IMPACT NOTES: Click or tap here to enter text.
CONTRACT INFORMATION:
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ORIGINAL |
X |
CONTRACT# |
CF24-05 Right of Entry Permit |
AMOUNT |
$10.00 |
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AMENDMENT |
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CONTRACT# |
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AMOUNT |
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Contract Period
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ORIGINAL |
START |
December 27, 2024 |
END |
March 31, 2025 |
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AMENDMENT |
START |
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END |
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OTHER DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW/COMMENTS: Click or tap here to enter text.