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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Page IV.F-13 Forward Inc. Landfill 2018 Expansion Project Steelhead The Central Valley steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) ESU12 is federally listed as Threatened. This ESU covers "all naturally spawning anadromous populations of O. mykiss ' (steelhead)below natural and manmade impassable barriers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries,excluding steelhead from San Francisco and San Pablo Bays and their tributaries, as well as two artificial propagation programs:the Coleman NFH, and Feather River Hatchery steelhead hatchery programs (NOAA 2005). Critical habitat for the Central Valley steelhead Distinct Population Segment(DPS)was designated in 2005 and corresponds with the ESU coverage (NOAA 2005). The South Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohn's Creek flows through the study area, and is a tributary to the San Joaquin River. This Branch is dry during most of the year(pers. comm. Sydney Temple,Questa Engineering Corporation), and does not provide suitable habitat for steelhead due its current use as an irrigation channel. The lack of permanent water in the creek precludes steelhead from breeding,however adults could attempt to migrate up the creek during heavy storm events and/or large water releases. Swainson's Hawk The Swainson's hawk(Buteo swainsoni)is a State-listed Threatened species. A great majority of the Swainson's hawks are migrators,nesting in northwestern Canada, the western U.S., and Mexico,then wintering in South America, a round trip which can exceed 14,000 miles. Swainson's hawks are summer breeders in California with approximately 80 percent of the pairs nesting in the southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valleys. The migrating birds return to California between late February and early April. Swainson's hawks nesting in the Central Valley are generally found in scattered trees or along riparian systems adjacent to agricultural fields or pastures. Breeding occurs from late March through late August, with peak activity from late May through July (CDFG 2005).These open fields are the primary foraging areas. Swainson's hawks generally search for prey by soaring and several hawks may be seen foraging together following tractors or other farm equipment capturing prey escaping from farming operations. The non-native grasslands and disked fields within the study area could be used for foraging by Swainson's hawk, although the ongoing rodent control program limits the extent of small mammals on the landfill property. As shown in Figure IV.F.1,numerous Swainson's hawk nests have been documented in the project vicinity,with 6 nests being documented within approximately 1-mile of the project site. WRA (2017) observed an active Swainson's hawk nest in a valley oak(Quercus lobata)tree along Austin Road adjacent to the landfill during surveys iz Evolutionarily Significant Unit r r