14 ATTACHMENT 6 - Appendix A - E

19 evaluating the value of a landscape linkage. A long narrow corridor would most likely only be useful to wide ranging animals such as cougars and coyotes when moving between core habitat areas. To the extent practicable, conservation of linkages should address the needs of “passage species” (those species that typically use a corridor for the primary purpose of moving from one intact area to another) and “corridor dwellers” (such as plants and some slow moving species such as amphibians and reptiles that require days or generations to move through the corridor). While no detailed study of animal movements has been conducted for the study area, knowledge of the site, its habitats, and the ecology of the species potentially occurring onsite permits sufficient predictions about the types of movements occurring in the region and whether or not proposed development would constitute a significant impact to animal movements. As noted in Section 2.1, a number of reptiles, birds, and mammals may use the project site as part of their home range and dispersal movements. Creeks and drainages are known to facilitate wildlife movement, however, the intermittent channels of the site occur within the open space area of the site and will not be impacted by the project. Further, these drainages are unlikely to provide significant movement habitat for wildlife as they do not support riparian vegetation and do not appear to provide a link between important habitats. For instance, with the exception of the drainage in the northernmost portion of the site which connects to Sycamore Creek, the other drainages originate within and dissipate into upland grassland habitat and are not connected to any other creeks or drainages. 2.3 SPECIAL STATUS PLANTS AND ANIMALS Several species of plants and animals within the state of California have low populations, limited distributions, or both. Such species may be considered “rare” and are vulnerable to extirpation as the state’s human population grows and the habitats these species occupy are converted to agricultural and urban uses. As described more fully in Section 3.2, state and federal laws have provided the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with a mechanism for conserving and protecting the diversity of plant and animal species native to the state. A sizable number of native plants and animals have been