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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Page rJ.F-12 • Forward Inc.Landfill 2018 Expansion Project Due to the presence of Sacramento splittail within the San Joaquin River and tributaries, this • species could possibly get as far upstream in Littlejohn's Creek at the project site during wet years(Beira Frost and Associates, 1999). However, fisheries surveys of the North Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohn's Creek within the study area did not detect this species (A.A. Rich and • Associates,2002). All of the species detected were warm water species that could tolerate high • water temperatures. Furthermore, these surveys were conducted during a wet year and likely detected a greater number of fish species than would occur in a dry year(A.A. Rich Associates 2002). It is unlikely that Sacramento splittail occurs within the study area due to the extreme i fluctuating water levels of Littlejohn's Creek, as a result of its use as an irrigation channel for agriculture. Therefore,this species is not further addressed in this section. The relocation and habitat restoration proposed as part of this project to the South Branch of the South Fork of • Littlejohn's Creek would improve native riparian habitat for semi-aquatic and terrestrial • wildlife, but this is not expected to improve conditions for fisheries due to the extreme fluctuations in water levels (pers. comm. Sydney Temple, Questa Engineering Corporation). San Joaquin Kit Fox • The San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) is a federally Endangered and state Threatened species. Critical Habitat has not been designated for this species. A recovery plan was published for the San Joaquin kit fox on September 30, 1998 (USFWS 1998a). • The San Joaquin kit fox is the smallest canid species in North America. Currently there are two recognized subspecies of kit fox: V. m. mutica and V. m. macrotis (USFWS 1998a). Historically, they occurred extensively throughout California's Central Valley and parts of the Salinas and Santa Clara valleys. They currently inhabit the valley bottom and foothills from southern Kem • County north to Contra Costa,Alameda, and San Joaquin Counties on the west, and near La • Grange, Stanislaus County on the east side of the Valley and some of the larger scattered islands of natural land on the Valley floor in Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno,Madera, and Merced Counties (USFWS 1998a). San Joaquin kit fox occupy habitats with open or low vegetation with loose . soils. In the northern portion of their range, they occupy grazed grasslands and, to a lesser • extent,valley oak woodlands (USFWS 1998a). Kit foxes are also found in grazed grasslands including areas adjacent to tilled or fallow fields, and suburban settings (USFWS 1998a). San Joaquin kit fox are predominantly nocturnal;hunting and most other activities are restricted to after dark. , Suitable breeding habitat is present within the grasslands located in the southwest portion of San Joaquin County (SJCOG 2000), within the Southwest and Central Southwest Transitional zones of the SJMSCP. The project site is located within the Central Zone of the SJMSCP, and the CNDDB (2018) does not include any recorded observations of kit fox within approximately 20 a miles of the project site. Suitable breeding habitat for San Joaquin kit fox is absent within the • study area due to the lack of suitable grassland habitat and rodent burrows. The SJMSCP does not require preconstruction surveys for kit fox within the Central Zone.