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PUC outlines grazing license and carbon study for former Sonoma Valley Golf Course site
Summary
Tim Ramirez told the commission the former Sonoma Valley Golf Course is secured and temporarily hosts staff; near-term plans call for a grazing license to manage vegetation and a carbon sequestration study to establish a baseline before any further land-use decisions, with community outreach planned.
Tim Ramirez, division manager for Natural Resources and Lands Management, briefed the commission on Oct. 10 about the former Sonoma Valley Golf Course property the PUC now manages.
Ramirez said the utility secured the site after tenants left in January 2016, addressed fencing, trespass and decommissioning of a wastewater facility, and has relocated staff temporarily to the clubhouse area to provide a regular presence along the highway. He told commissioners that the PUC manages roughly 36,000 acres in the East Bay and that this parcel adds about 300 acres to that portfolio.
Ramirez presented two actions the staff intends to take immediately: seek a license for a nearby grazing tenant to manage vegetation cost-effectively and move forward with a carbon sequestration study to establish a baseline of current carbon storage in the watershed before pursuing any additional projects. He said one of the division's biologists, Scott Cimino, prepared an overview on carbon storage and watershed management that will inform the study.
Ramirez said staff plan community engagement, including outreach to the local citizens advisory committee and neighboring land managers such as East Bay Parks, and that archaeological work and agreement terms with the local Muwekma representative are already informing project timing. He said the watershed education center remains on the radar but will require contracting authority and funding before re-bid and construction can proceed.
Commissioners asked about procurement and timing; Ramirez said staff expect to scope work and likely rely on existing contract authority or established agreements (for example with a resource conservation district) and aim to have a scope by early next year to begin baseline measurement and potential pilot work.
Next steps: staff will pursue a grazing license, scope the carbon study, engage community stakeholders, and return with updates when contracting and funding are further defined.
