3.7. Watershed project requirements: a. Watershed projects may not be located on engineered flood control channels. Engineered channels are shown in red and orange in Attachment 1 (Flood Control Zone Maps). b. Projects may be located in headwater source areas, natural, or modified reaches shown in blue and green in Attachment 1 (Flood Control Zone Maps); streams or rivers; floodplains; wetlands; or estuarine systems. Because these regions within Sonoma County are largely privately owned, WPP partners most often include resource conservation districts and local non-profit organizations that maintain working relationships with landowners. However, WPP funding is not limited to these groups. c. Watershed projects that provide mitigation for other entities or impacts other than those related to the SMP are not eligible. Proposed projects must be standalone projects that will help meet Sonoma Water’s off-site mitigation required by SMP permits. d. The proposer is responsible for acquiring and complying with environmental permits necessary to complete the project. e. The project must be installed by the end of 2025 or March 2026. Project requirements include a 5-year maintenance, monitoring, and reporting period. Annual monitoring must measure or quantify project success and include photo documentation. A technical report documenting project progress is due each year after implementation, with draft reports due November 1 and final reports due December 1. Annual reports must provide, at minimum, an executive summary of project activities conducted to-date, project location maps, and monitoring data and photographs and describe project goals, success criteria, final installation specifications, annual maintenance implemented, annual monitoring techniques and results, current success rate, any remedial measures implemented, and activities planned for the next year. Attachment 2 (Watershed Partnership Program Sample Annual Report Outline) is attached to this RFP, as required. For projects that include native tree or shrub plantings, the required success criteria is a minimum survival rate of 75 percent at the end of the fifth year. This includes trees and shrubs installed as cuttings, direct seed, and from containers. Success criteria for other project types will be negotiated with Sonoma Water and ultimately approved by regulating agencies. Typically, weed removal projects require 100 percent removal of target weeds each year for the project term or a minimum 50 percent cover (or 50 percent increase in cover) by natives at the end of the fifth year. Visual assessments and transect or point-line intercept monitoring may be required for projects that include weed removal, erosion control, rhizomatous plantings, broadcast seeding, installation of speciesspecific habitat features, or livestock exclusion fencing to track and quantify project effectiveness.
