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40 <br />Anecdotal evidence indicates that salamanders have a high degree of site fidelity to their <br />breeding ponds and also to the small mammal burrows they use for refugia (Shaffer et al. 1993). <br />Sites used for reproduction are typically natural pools that fill with rainwater and artificial stock <br />ponds; however, salamanders have also been observed to breed in springs, wells, artificial <br />reservoirs, quarry ponds, man-made canals, and rarely, in the slack waters of oxbows in small- to <br />medium-sized streams. Such sites may, or may not contain dense amounts of aquatic and <br />streamside vegetation. The highest numbers of larvae appear to occur in aquatic habitats that are <br />largely devoid of any vegetation and contain very turbid water. Salamanders may also turn up in <br />certain man-made structures (e.g. wet basements, wells, swimming pools, underground pipes, <br />and septic tank drains), sometimes many years after their local breeding site has been destroyed <br />by urbanization (Storer 1925; Pickwell 1947). <br />Juvenile and adult salamanders typically use the burrows of California ground squirrels and <br />pocket gophers as underground refugia (Storer 1925; Jennings and Hayes 1994; Jennings 1996; <br />Loredo et a1. 1996) but may use a variety of burrows including cracks within the soil that may <br />extend up to 15 feet (4.6 m) deep from the soil surface (Jennings, unpub. data). Juvenile and <br />adult salamanders are especially common in situations where piles of concrete, rock, or other <br />rubble are mixed with dirt and are located near breeding sites (Jennings, unpub. data). Findings <br />from the limited research on the species suggest that 95% of a CTS population estivates within <br />2,000 feet of a breeding pond and that 99% of the breeding population estivates within 0.7 miles <br />of a breeding pond; however, the USFWS considers suitable habitat within 1.3 miles of a known <br />breeding pool to constitute potential upland habitat for the salamander. <br />Occurrence on the Site. There is no suitable breeding habitat for CTS on the site as seasonal <br />wetlands of the site lack a suitable hydrologic regime for this species. According to Marcia <br />Grefsrud/CDFW, however, ponds and wetlands on conservation areas to the east and south of the <br />adjacent Callippe Golf Course property support CTS breeding in ponds, wetlands and at least <br />one seep. The closest of these breeding sites is a pond occurring 0.31 miles east of the proposed <br />development area of Spotorno Ranch. Therefore, it is possible that CTS estivate on the Spotorno <br />project site.