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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4 Gnatcatcher Survey H. Lee Jones, Ph.D. Consulting Biologist P. O. Box 1214 • 9452 Angelly Way • Cobb, California 95426 • 909-856-6346 • bzbirdman@gmail.com 30 June 2018 Stacey Love, Recovery Permit Coordinator U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2177 Salk Avenue, Suite 250 Carlsbad, California 92008 [via email] Subject: Results of breeding season California gnatcatcher presence/absence surveys on Tentative Tract Map 20079, Fontana, San Bernardino County, California (Permit No. TE-829204) Dear Ms. Love: The project addressed by this California gnatcatcher breeding season survey is Tentative Tract Map (TTM) 20079, a proposed 21-unit single-family residential project within the Hunter Ridge Specific Plan in northwestern Fontana, San Bernardino County, California (Appendix A, Exhibit 1). The site comprises approximately 9.5 gross acres, which includes a remainder portion of approximately 3.4 acres and a letter lot (Lot “A”) of approximately 0.3 acres. The project also includes two drainage easements 10 and 15 feet wide, respectively, across the remaining portion, and a fuel modification area north of the subdivision. The area surveyed includes the 9.5-acre project site and 21.5 acres of coastal sage scrub north and northeast of the project site (Appendix A, Exhibit 2). TTM 20079 is included within the City of Fontana’s multi-species habitat conservation plan, now called the North Fontana Conservation Plan. The site is three miles southwest of Lytle Creek Wash in a broad alluvium on the southern flank of the San Gabriel Mountains and is within the U. S. Geological Survey 7.5- minute Cucamonga Peak quadrangle, with Its center point at 34° 10’ 02” N; 117° 29’ 05” W (Appendix A, Exhibits 1 and 2). It is bounded by residential neighborhoods on the south, coastal sage scrub and a Southern California utility line easement on the north, Foxborough Drive and open space to the east, and a flood-control levee and channel and open space to the west. The site is relatively flat, sloping north to south, with a maximum elevation of 1945 feet above sea level at the northern boundary and a minimum elevation of 1771 feet above sea level along the southernmost boundary. No significant drainages, canyons, or hillside slopes are found on the site. The predominant soil type is Soboba stony loamy sand. METHODOLOGY The standard USFWS breeding season protocol (USFWS 1997) for entities not enrolled in the state Natural Communities Conservation Planning program requires a minimum of six visits, each spaced at least one week apart, during the breeding season which extends from 15 March through 30 June. I conducted the required six breeding season surveys between 18 May and 22 June 2018 under USFWS Permit No. TE Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 2 829204. All surveys were conducted between sunrise and 9:30 a.m. (see Table 1 for survey dates, times, weather summaries, eBird1 checklist number, and total species recorded per visit). At 31 acres, the total amount of suitable California gnatcatcher habitat within the project site and surrounding areas (the survey area) was well within the maximum single-day coverage area of 80 acres; thus, each survey required only one day to complete. All surveys were conducted by the permittee. Surveys consisted of walking meandering transects in and adjacent to all coastal sage scrub vegetation within the confines of the survey area (Appendix A, Exhibit 2). California Gnatcatcher vocalizations on the Sibley Birds© app for iPhone were played approximately every 100 yards within suitable habitat, the objective being to elicit a response from silent individuals that might not otherwise be detected. Had a gnatcatcher responded in any way, playing of the tape would have ceased in order to avoid further harassment. Table 1. Site survey summary information Survey Date Time Temp Weather conditions eBird1 checklist Species/ survey 1 18 May 0603-0954 56-62⁰F Overcast, calm S 45796881 27 2 25 May 0527-0902 59-60⁰F Mostly cloudy, calm to light wind S 46009810 30 3 1 June 0557-0910 55-65⁰F Clear, calm S 46209807 29 4 8 June 0550-0914 60-73⁰F Clear, calm S 46394847 31 5 15 June 0547-0914 63-77⁰F Partly cloudy, calm S 46563732 28 6 22 June 0607-0857 63-68⁰F Light fog clearing after 0700, calm S 46718736 27 EXISTING CONDITIONS Weather conditions were appropriate for maximizing the likelihood of gnatcatcher detection. Temperatures ranged from a low of 55° to a high of 77° Fahrenheit. Visibility was good to excellent on all six occasions with skies ranging from clear to overcast and no precipitation (Table 1). Classic mature coastal sage scrub vegetation, considered prime California gnatcatcher habitat, dominates the project site (see Appendix B, Photos 1–9). The dominant plant species on the site were, in approximate order of abundance, coastal sagebrush (Artemisia californica), white sage (Salvia apiana), coastal California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum var. fasciculatum), annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus), pine-bush (Ericameria pinifolia), and Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica), with lesser amounts of other species typically found in coastal sage scrub. Aside from coastal sage scrub, narrow strips of roadside ruderal vegetation are found in some places along the edges of the property. 1 eBird is a global online database of bird sightings that can be accessed at ebird.org. Each checklist submitted to eBird is assigned a unique checklist number (see Appendix A, column 6) and includes the location where the birds were recorded (in the present case San Sevaine canyon), the date, observer(s), time spent, distance traveled, and other parameters. The main body of the checklist is the list of species detected, along with the number of individuals of each species, and optional species-specific comments such as written documentation to support the occurrence of unexpected species. Photographs, video, and voice recordings can also be uploaded to the list at the observer’s discretion. Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 3 Although most sage scrub associations in the interior (western Riverside and southwestern San Bernardino counties) are referred to as Riversidian or alluvial fan sage scrub, the sage scrub on the site is hillside, not alluvial, in aspect and is essentially indistinguishable in plant species composition and structure from that growing near the coast. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION No coastal California gnatcatchers were detected on or in the vicinity of the project site on any of the six breeding season surveys, nor were any detected on any of the four non-breeding season surveys conducted in Fall 2017. An occasional brown-headed cowbird, a brood parasite of the California gnatcatcher, was either heard flying over or briefly seen on the site. One to two birds were heard flying over the site on Surveys 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and one was observed landing briefly in a tree on Surveys 3 and 5 before flying off. No cowbirds were detected on Survey 6. While these negative results strongly suggest that the California gnatcatcher is absent from the site and near vicinity, one to two California gnatcatchers have been reported occasionally in the past in the general vicinity. It has been found at the North Etiwanda Reserve in Rancho Cucamonga, 2.2 miles west of the project site on multiple occasions between March 2010 and March 2017 (eBird database). Also of note, the author observed one at the Devil’s Canyon Percolation Basins nine miles east of the site on 29 March 2013 (also recorded in the eBird database); however, the bird was not relocated during multiple subsequent visits to the site that spring and was presumed to be a stray. In addition to these records, the California Natural Diversity Data Base (CNDDB) lists one record in 1998 and five in 1999 from southwestern San Bernardino County, all within a few miles of the project site. However, these reports have not been vetted and cannot be confirmed without additional information, most importantly the names and qualifications of the observers. One of these was reported 1.6 miles west of the project site and another 2.2 miles west of the site in the North Etiwanda Reserve, the same location as the birds recorded in eBird. The other four reports in the CNDDB were of birds between 3.2 and 4.4 miles from the project site. The coastal California gnatcatcher is at the extreme eastern edge of both its historic and present range in southwestern San Bernardino County where it may be range-restricted by factors other than suitable habitat, such as occasional sub-freezing winter temperatures, a different rainfall profile—for example, more rain in summer and less rain in winter, and possibly greater interspecific competition for food resources, especially from Bewick’s and house wrens, that share its insectivorous, foliage-gleaning guild. CONCLUSION Although no California gnatcatchers were found on the site during the six breeding season surveys nor during four non-breeding season surveys conducted on the same parcel in Fall 2017, ample suitable habitat for this species is present on the project site and in surrounding areas. The potential for the gnatcatcher to occur periodically, or perhaps even colonize the surveyed parcel at some future date, cannot be dismissed. However, factors other than habitat may be excluding it from occupying the site, as discussed above. Nevertheless, it would be prudent to preserve the 21.5 acres of the surveyed parcel outside the project footprint if feasible. Because a Southern California Edison utility line easement runs through the center of the site, at least some of this land would be preserved regardless. Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 4 CERTIFICATION I certify that the information in this survey report and attached exhibits fully and accurately represents my work. 30 June 2018 ____________________________________________ H. Lee Jones, Ph.D. Date signed Permit No. TE-829204 Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 5 APPENDIX A: EXHIBITS Exhibit 1. Vicinity map for Tentative Tract Map 20079 and surrounding survey area. Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 6 Exhibit 2. Area surveyed. White line represents the survey route. TTM 20079 is outlined in lower left. Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 7 APPENDIX B: SITE PHOTOS 1. View NW from south-central portion of site. 2. View S from central portion of site. 3. View SW from central portion of site. 4. View SW from north-central portion of site. 5. View WNW from eastern edge of site. 6. View N from southeast corner of site. Stacey Love 30 June 2018 P a g e 8 7. Sage scrub in southern portion of site. 8. Sage scrub in C portion of site. 9. Road cut through central portion of site.