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New department APNR outlines forest‑health push, parks growth and ag inspector recruitment challenges
Summary
The newly formed Agriculture, Parks & Natural Resources (APNR) department told supervisors it is consolidating operations, advancing forest‑health projects and handling park growth; the department flagged difficulty recruiting agricultural inspectors and uncertainty about federal forest funding and staffing.
Josh Hunsinger, director of the newly formed Agriculture, Parks & Natural Resources (APNR) department, briefed the board on accomplishments and challenges as APNR moves into a consolidated operating structure. Hunsinger said APNR brings together agriculture, parks and regional forest health programs in order to coordinate wildfire fuel‑reduction, open‑space management and recreation resources.
On forestry, Hunsinger highlighted the county’s 10‑year forest‑health action plan (adopted last year) and said the county is moving to implementation, focusing on removing fuels and standing up on‑the‑ground operations. He described federal changes that could ease some permitting burdens (categorical exclusions or streamlined NEPA in specified cases) but cautioned that funding and federal staffing levels remain uncertain and are critical to delivery at scale.
Parks and trails account growth is a prominent near‑term priority. APNR said it will take on dozens of new parks tied to West Placer development and highlighted trail projects (Dry Creek and other local trail improvements) and completed projects including the Granite Bay Walk of Honor flagpole replacement. The department is studying nonfunctional turf replacement in response to AB 1572 water‑use rules and is evaluating sites for potential solar or turf conversions.
On agriculture and weights & measures, Hunsinger said the department led the state in pesticide enforcement metrics on a per‑capita basis even while the ag inspector team experienced turnover. He described a pattern of high inspector churn: seven allocated ag inspector positions had nine turnovers in three years and two open vacancies at the time of the presentation; a recruitment was in progress.
Hunsinger said APNR staff will consolidate into a single DeWitt campus building in mid‑May and complete the physical consolidation by late summer to improve coordination. APNR made several supplemental requests in its packet for park capital needs (pool decks, restrooms and other prioritized replacements), with Dutch Flat pool deck replacement listed as the highest near‑term priority.
