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3.3.2 Loss of Habitat for Special Status Animals
<br />Potential Impacts. Twenty-nine special status animal species occur, or once occurred,
<br />regionally (Table 2). Of these, twenty-five species would be absent from or unlikely to occur on
<br />the site due to a lack of suitable habitat for these species or because the site occurs outside of the
<br />species' known range. These species the longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool fairy shimp, San
<br />Bruno elfin butterfly, Califomia tiger salamander, western spadefoot, California red-legged frog,
<br />foothill yellow-legged frog, western pond turtle, coast horned lizazd, San Joaquin whipsnake,
<br />Alameda whipsnake, golden eagle, northern harrier, bald eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Califomia
<br />black rail, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, Alameda song sparrow, tricolored blackbird, pallid
<br />bat, Townsend big-eared bat, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat, San Joaquin kit fox, and
<br />American badger.
<br />Three special status animal species -the white-tailed kite, loggerhead shrike, and ring[ail -may
<br />occasionally forage on the site. These species either occur on the site incidental to home range
<br />and migratory movements, thus using the site infrequently, or may forage on the site yeaz-round
<br />or during migration. Project buildout may cause disturbance to nesting individuals of white-
<br />tailed kite and loggerhead shrike, as there is suitable habitat adjacent to the site (and within 250
<br />feet of the site). However, there is no suitable nesting habitat for these species on the project
<br />site; therefore, potential impacts to nesting raptors and loggerhead shrikes are discussed below in
<br />Section 3.3.4. Project buildout would have no effect on the breeding success of the ringtail.
<br />Additionally, project buildout would, at most, result in a relatively small reduction of foraging
<br />habitat for the white-tailed kite, loggerhead shrike, and the ringtail. Furthermore, similar habitat,
<br />as well as more suitable foraging habitat are regionally abundant for these species. Therefore,
<br />the loss of habitat for these species would be considered less than significant.
<br />The remaining species, the burrowing owl, may occur on the site more frequently. Direct
<br />impacts by the proposed project to individuals of this species, if present, would be considered
<br />significant. These species is discussed individually below.
<br />Mitigation. No mitigation measures are warranted for loss of habitat for special status species.
<br />Ironwood 55+ Biotic Evaluation Live Oak Associates, Inc.
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