Las Piletas Ranch Habitat and Resiliency Improvement Project - Phase 2

Phase 2 of the Las Piletas Ranch Habitat and Resiliency Improvement Project encompasses two distinct restoration efforts across the San Juan and North Carrizo Units in San Luis Obispo County, California, aimed at enhancing ecological resilience and reducing livestock impact on sensitive riparian areas. On the San Juan Unit, the project installs a solar-powered water system including a retrofitted and a newly constructed well, nine 5,000-gallon polyethylene water tanks, 21 425-gallon troughs, and approximately 14 miles of 1.25-inch polypipe distributed 10 to 15 inches below ground through grasslands and oak woodlands. This infrastructure enables off-channel water access for cattle, complementing Virtual Fence technology to guide grazing patterns that promote grassland diversity, protect sensitive plant species like the Cammata Canyon Amole, and alleviate pressure on the San Juan riparian corridor. The North Carrizo Unit, spanning 1,200 acres of former dry-farmed land suffering from soil compaction and runoff, will undergo restoration through re-contouring, erosion feature repair, mulching to increase organic matter, native seeding, and conservation grazing. These actions aim to restore hydrologic function, improve forage availability for pronghorn, and reestablish native shrubs and grasses that enhance overall habitat productivity. The project is led by the Upper Salinas - Las Tablas Resource Conservation District with support from The Nature Conservancy as the applicant, funded through a prior California Department of Fish and Wildlife Watershed Restoration Grant, and implemented under a CEQA categorical exemption (Class 4(a,c,d,f)) due to minimal ground disturbance and habitat enhancement outcomes. While the scope includes detailed specifications for water infrastructure and land treatment, no federal contract clauses, pricing details, acquisition codes, or formal evaluation criteria are stipulated. The work is site-specific with no defined delivery schedule or contract value provided, and responsibilities for oversight and acceptance rest with the RCD and CDFW, though no official COR, COTR, or PCO roles are designated. All equipment and installations are deployed on-site, with no packaging, marking, or preservation requirements outlined, reflecting a streamlined environmental restoration effort rather than a traditional federal procurement. Contact for project coordination is Hailey Leurck of the RCD, and all activities are grounded in state-level environmental compliance rather than federal acquisition regulations.