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• • Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Page 1V.F-3 Forward Inc. Landfill 2018 Expansion Project • • is present on and around the proposed onsite development areas. Emergent freshwater marsh • is present along the creek channel. Other than the freshwater marsh, which has colonized the altered and maintained creek channel, no native plant communities are present within the study • area. Each of these habitats is discussed below. • • Nonnative Annual Grassland. Nonnative annual grassland is generally found in open areas in • valleys and foothills throughout coastal and interior California (Holland 1986). It typically occurs on soils consisting of fine-textured loams or clays that are somewhat poorly drained. This vegetation type is dominated by nonnative annual grasses and weedy annual and • perennial forbs,primarily of Mediterranean origin, that have replaced native perennial • grasslands, scrub and woodland as a result of human disturbance. Scattered native wildflowers and grasses, representing remnants of the original vegetation may also be common. • Nonnative annual grassland most closely conforms to the Wild Oats Grassland series as • described in Sawyer, et al. (2009), and would be classified as upland, following Cowardin, et al. • (1979).At the time of the 2018 site visit, only limited areas of non-native grassland were present within the proposed development areas. The proposed northeast landfill disposal area was disked and devoid of vegetation;it is expected that this area contains non-native grasses and • weedy plant species between disking cycles. Large portions of the proposed relocated • southeast landfill area (south of the creek) are actively used as a composing and material recovery facility, and are covered with piles and rows of compost material; these areas are • generally devoid of vegetation and in their current condition are not non-native grasslands. . However, non-native grasslands occur along the upper banks and bordering the South Branch • of South Littlejohn Creek (within the proposed relocated southeast landfill disposal area) and • within other isolated areas in the development area. Non-native grasslands also are present on portions of the landfill that are outside of the proposed development areas. • • Characteristic nonnative annual grasses commonly found on site include wild oats (Avena • fatua), ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus), foxtail barley (Hordeum murinum), Italian rye grass (Festuca perennis), and Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon). Common nonnative forbs include • yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), field bindweed (Convovulus arvensis), bur-clover • (Medicago polymorpha),black mustard (Brassica nigra), long-beaked storksbill (Erodium botrys), • broadleaf bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Italian thistle (Carduus p, cy nocephalusl, and milk thistle (Silybum marianum) among others. Ornamental • plants have also been planted on portions of the project site, including rows of oleander, • patches of evening primrose, pricklypear, as well as a windrow of trees along the site's eastern • boundary. In the proposed relocated southeast landfill area, there are also existing buildings and a small • garden. There is a large detention basin in the southwest corner of site, which contained standing water at the time of the May 2018 site visit. There is also a drainage ditch (dry at the • time of the site visits), which directs surface water during storms events to the detention basin. • Nonnative annual grassland provides habitat for a wide variety of common wildlife species in • the Central Valley. Nonnative annual grasslands on site are generally limited to small roadside • areas and unmaintained edges of the landfill. Due to the intensive agricultural land use on • • • •