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AUGUSTIN BERNAL MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL PROJECT DRAFT INITIAL STUDY habitat likely to support the subspecies. Despite the presence of suitable habitat,the species has not been observed on the site during regular visits by the City biologist since 2018,despite their actively looking for it(Gruber, pers. comm. 2021). Sensitive Vegetation Communities Special-status or sensitive natural communities are vegetation communities that are of limited distribution statewide or within a county or region. CDFW's Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) works to classify and map the vegetation of California and determine the rarity of vegetation types. Communities with a state rarity ranking of S1 through S3 in CDFW's Natural Community list(CDFW 2020) are considered highly imperiled,and project impacts on high-quality occurrences of these communities are typically considered significant under CEQA. The CNDDB contains occurrences of sensitive natural communities based on Preliminary Descriptions of the Terrestrial Natural Communities of California (Holland 1986).Since the mid-1990s,CDFW and its partners(including the California Native Plant Society) have been working on classifying California vegetation using updated standards that comply with the National Vegetation Classification Standard. Current classification of vegetation alliances in California is codified in the Manual of California Vegetation online edition (CNPS 2021b). The CNDDB documents three sensitive natural communities in the project vicinity: sycamore alluvial woodland,valley sink scrub, and valley needlegrass grassland (CNPS 2021a).The current terminology for these communities(i.e., using CDFW nomenclature consistent with the Manual of California Vegetation) is California sycamore woodland (Platanus racemosa - Quercus agrifolia woodland alliance), iodine bush scrub(Allenrolfea occidentalis shrubland alliance),and needle grass- melic grass grassland(Nassella spp. - Melica spp. herbaceous alliance).None of these communities or any other sensitive natural communities were observed on the project site during the April 2021 field reconnaissance. Jurisdictional Aquatic Resources No wetlands or waters supporting jurisdictional aquatic resources were observed on the project site during the April 2021 field survey. Aerial imagery further indicates that no aquatic features are present or historically have been present within the project site. Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Linkages The project site is in the"East Bay Hills-Diablo Range"critical linkage mapped by the Critical Linkages: Bay Area and Beyond project(Penrod et al. 2013). It is one of 14 landscape-level habitat linkages identified by Critical Linkages that, together with the Bay Area Open Space Council's Conservation Lands Network, provide a comprehensive plan for the preservation and maintenance of wildlife habitat connectivity throughout the nine-county Bay Area. The preliminary mapping of this linkage was based on the needs of bobcat (Lynx rufus), ringtail (Bassariscus astutus), and black-tailed deer, but it is also intended to serve several other species, such as American badger (Taxidea taxus), brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), California quail (Callipepla californica), white-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), California red-legged frog(Rana draytonii),wrentit,and Alameda whipsnake. 12956 DUDEK 37 April 2022