Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Friends of Lincoln Crossing request update; city staff says oak‑planting project included in 2025–27 budget
Summary
Marcia Schnapp, a board member of the Friends of the Lincoln Crossing Nature Preserve, asked the City Council for an update on maintenance and enhancement plans for the federally protected preserve.
Marcia Schnapp, a Lincoln resident and board member of the Friends of the Lincoln Crossing Nature Preserve, asked the City Council for a status update on maintenance and planned enhancements for the federally protected Lincoln Crossing Nature Preserve, which she said includes Auburn Creek and a salmon‑spawning stream.
“Last year, we were lucky enough to have a pair of bald eagles visit the nature preserve,” Schnapp told the council, and she asked for a reply to several email inquiries the group sent to city staff on Dec. 3, March 13 and April 6.
City staff responded that earlier conversations with the friends group had shifted from questions about what should and should not be done to planning how best to restore and revegetate the preserve. Staff said the city intends to fund a larger‑scale oak‑planting and restoration effort through the city’s oak tree mitigation fee program and that the project is proposed in the FY 2025–27 budget.
A staff representative explained the project will be designed by a biological arborist, and that past planting without professional design led to poor survival. The city told the council it intends to include irrigation and protective measures around new plantings to improve long‑term survival. Staff said the expected cost “is probably in the neighborhood of $300,000” and that the oak mitigation fund would likely be tapped to pay for the work; construction would likely start in late summer or fall depending on expert recommendations.
City staff also noted that a portion of oak mitigation funds previously supported the Clover Valley preservation project and that remaining funds had been earmarked for larger planting efforts in Lincoln Crossing. Staff offered to review the project emails with the friends group offline and to provide more detailed scheduling and scope information.
Schnapp thanked staff for the update; council members asked staff to keep the friends group informed as design and timing are finalized.
