To: Board of Supervisors
From: Greg Baer, Director of Airports
Report Title: APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Director of Airports, or designee, to execute a two-year extension of the grazing licenses with the current grazing tenants at Byron Airport.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Director of Airports, or designee, to execute a two-year extension (December 1, 2025, thru November 30, 2027) of the three license agreements between the County and the current grazing tenants (Gary and Delores Kuhn and Gary L. Kuhn Jr., Alfred Mendoza Jr. and Laurel Mendoza, Joseph C. and Patricia A. Borges) on the Byron Airport Habitat Management Lands (HML), and the license agreement with grazing tenant, Elmiro Belo, of The Brushy Creek Conservation Bank (BCCB).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Airport Enterprise Fund will continue to receive license fees during the extension period as required under each agreement. Specifically, the HML annual license fee for the Borges, Mendoza, and Kuhn agreements are $6,279.84, $2,046.24, and $1,331.82, respectively. The annual fee associated with the BCCB grazing license with Mr. Belo is $1,698.48.
BACKGROUND:
Byron Airport is bordered by 814 acres of Habitat Management Lands (HML) and 120 acres of Brushy Creek Conservation Bank (BCCB) property, where each area is being managed by the Airports Division in accordance with their respective habitat management plan. The habitat management plans were created for the protection of endangered and special-status species. An integral aspect of each management plan for habitat health is to use cattle to graze the sites. To that end, the County has entered into three license agreements for the HML property, and one license for the BCCB property. The Borges family grazes five pastures, the Mendoza family grazes one pasture, and the Kuhn family grazes two pastures. Mr. Belo grazes the BCCB property. All of the grazing licenses originally took effect on December 1, 2010, for a term of five years, with two additional five-year extension options, both of which have been exercised.
In 2023, staff intended to initiate a new solicitation for grazing licenses, with a goal of having new agreements in place by November 2025. However, the process was paused due to the anticipated impact of the Los Vaqueros Project, which was to traverse the HML and BCCB and disrupt existing and future grazing operations. As of last year, the Los Vaqueros Project was cancelled, and no future disturbance of the properties is expected.
With the cancellation of the Los Vaqueros Project, staff recommends extending the existing grazing licenses for an additional two years, from December 1, 2025, thru November 30, 2027. This extension will allow sufficient time to resume the solicitation process and ensure a smooth transition for current licensees, including adequate time for them to relocate cattle if necessary. The extension also maintains continuity in land management practices without interruption.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the recommended two-year extension of the licenses is not approved, the current licenses will expire before a new solicitation process can be completed resulting in a gap in land management activities, increased fire risk, and non-compliance with habitat conservation requirements.