Parks Board Focuses on Open Space Stewardship

At a regular meeting on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, the Board of Directors for the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District learned about conservation and stewardship efforts from park ranger staff.

Chief Ranger Pat Sotelo spoke about LARPD’s open space parks and preserves, which provide habitats for a variety of endangered animals including the San Joaquin kit fox and the red-legged frog. Sycamore Grove Park has three mitigation ponds providing breeding sites for the California Tiger Salamander. Sycamore Grove is also home to a native plant nursery

Other open space conservation efforts include partnering with Tri-Valley Conservancy, wood duck and bluebird nest boxes, prescribed burns, reducing water use and more. Prescribed burns can increase the variety of plant and animal species while helping to control invasive, non-native weeds - all with the side benefit of increasing public safety by reducing fuel levels for grass fires. LARPD also assists with community cleanups, the Living Arroyos project and scheduling projects to accommodate wildlife - such as delaying pruning when raptors were living in park trees. Rangers lead nature programs in Livermore and at Camp Shelly, do classroom programs and provide tours of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve. New trail cameras help monitor wildlife, which helps the District’s ability to manage open spaces for wildlife and visitor enjoyment.

Also during the meeting, the Board discussed possible future trails adjacent to Sycamore Grove Park, specifically the viability of a trail linking upper Sycamore Grove to the new extension property in lower Sycamore Grove. Directors discussed how this potential project would fit into the existing capital improvement plan, and provided direction to staff to research feasibility and costs. Staff will report their findings to the Facilities Committee in January.

The meeting also included the Board approving revisions to the District’s Records Retention and Destruction Schedule. Originally adopted in September 2012, the schedule lists retention periods based on the needs of individual divisions and complies with state, federal and local statutes. The program has worked well and has assured no record is destroyed prematurely. After working with the schedule for a few years, staff has determined that several revisions to the descriptions and retention periods are appropriate. All records have been reviewed to make certain the revisions still comply with the laws. Revisions include clarifications, omissions and deletions, plus organizational updates. Staff and District Counsel also shared their thanks with LARPD Administrative Volunteer Angie Solbeck for her work in developing this comprehensive schedule and ensuring it is up-to-date.

Information submitted by Livermore Area Recreation and Park District; Photo via Shutterstock