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as a result of the project") is as follows: Elimination of the wetland area on site would not degrade the habitat or numbers of any,threatened, or endangered plant or animal species, because there are no rare, threatened, or endangered plant or animal species on the site, and the site does not provide suitable habitat for any rare,threatened, or' endangered plant or animal species. The wetland area does not provide likely suitable habitat for any rare, threatended, or endangered plant species. (EIP Associates, Special-Status Species Survey and Habitat Assessment Analysis (May 2006) page 12.) There are only eight special-status plant species listed within the region surrounding the project site. (Habitat Assessment page 7.) Six of those species are not likely to occur due to the extremely disturbed environment present within site and the lack of any remnant foothill or valley grassland habitats. (Habitat Assessment page 12.) a site survey confirmed the absence'of any of the six species. (Habitat Assessment page 12.) With regard to the other two species, rose mallow (a plant listed as rare,threatened, or endangered in California but more common elsewhere) and Mason's liaeopsis (a plant listed as rare in California and elsewhere),the site contains riparian scrub and perennial freshwater marsh similar to the Deltaic habitats with which rose mallow and Mason's liaeopsis are typically associate, but the elevation of the site and the absence of rose mallow and Mason's liaeopsis during site surveys confirm that the site does not provide likely suitable habitat for either species. The wetland area also does not provide likely suitable habitat for any rare, threatened,or endangered animal species. EIP identified only nine special- status wildlife species as being potentially within the region surrounding the project site. (Habitat Assessment page 8.) Of these nine species, only three are rare, threatened, or endangered species: California red-legged from ("CRLF"), Swainson's hawk, and San Joaquin kit fox. (Habitat Assessment pages 8-11.) CRLF is federally listed as threatened. The wetland feature on the project site would likely not support breeding habitat for CRLF. (Habitat Assessment page 8.) In addition, the closest recorded occurrence of CRLF is more than 1,500 feet away (Habitat Assessment at fig. 3), and the site is therefore unlikely to be used by frogs as a travel corridor or for hydration. Further, under the San Joaquin County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation and Open Space Plan ("SJMSCP"), incidental take minimization measures for CRLF do not apply to the project area. Swainson's hawk is listed as a California Department of Fish & Game threatened species. Swainson's hawks often nest within or on the edge of riparian areas adjacent to suitable foraging habitat(Analysis page 9), but no active nests or evidence of abandoned raptor nests were identified during EIP's May 2006 field survey. (Habitat Assessment page 12.) Swainson's hawk was observed by EIP foraging within one mile of the project, but the wetland area does not constitute foraging habitat for the hawk. (Habitat Assessment page 9.) The applicant will conduct pro-construction surveys for Swainson's hawk consistent with the mitigation measures imposed pursuant to Specific Plan 111. San Joaquin kit fox is federally listed as an endangered species and state-listed as a threatened species. The ruderal habitat present on the site may provide limited foraging opportunities for local populations of the kit fox, but the wetland areas on the site do not provide habitat. (Habitat Assessment page 11.) 2