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MOUNTAIN HOUSE NEIGHBORHOODS K AND L INITIAL STUDY 5.ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST 4.BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES 1 forage in the project area on occasion, and there is suitable nesting and foraging habitat along the Old River corridor. i White-Tailed Kite. The white-tailed kite is protected during its nesting season by the federal MBTA,and is a fully protected species by CDFG. White-tailed kites forage in grasslands and agricultural fields. Suitable nesting habitat occurs in the f project site, in trees along the Old River corridor, although no nests have been reported during recent surveys conducted in 2007 and 2010. Western Pond Turtle. The western pond turtle is considered a California SCS by the CDFG. This turtle requires permanent or nearly permanent freshwater aquatic habitats with adequate basking sites such as logs or islands. Their nest locations may be found up to one-half mile from water. Old River,the lower t reach of Mountain House Creek, and Wicklund Cut provide suitable habitat for western pond turtle,and this turtle was observed in Old River adjacent to the project area(Baseline Environmental Consulting, 1994). E — San Joaquin-Kit Fox. The San Joaquin kit fox is a federally listed endangered and state-listed threatened species. The kit fox dens in subterranean burrows and forages primarily for small mammals and insects in annual grasslands, pasturelands, and cultivated fields, and along the edges of orchards. The majority of the project site is considered potential San Joaquin kit fox wandering Fl and foraging habitat, although intensive agricultural operations, residential i buildout on adjacent properties, and human activity have substantially reduced habitat suitability. No San Joaquin kit fox or concrete evidence of kit fox(i.e., scat,tracks, Y photographs)has been observed on the project site. However, there are two �. recorded sightings within a couple of miles. In 1991, prints of a San Joaquin kit fox were observed on a track plate about 1.1 miles north-northwest of the - Henderson and Bethany Road junctions. In 2000,several recent dens were observed on Bureau of Reclamation property approximately one-quarter mile northwest of the intersection of Kelso Road and Mountain House Road,west of Neighborhood K. Other Special-Status Bird Species. The project area contains patches of habitats that may be used by a number of non-listed birds that are either protected during their nesting seasons by the MBTA and/or California Fish and Game Code. For example, northern harrier(Circus cyaneus) is widespread in the Central Valley and may nest on occasion in agricultural fields or the few patches of emergent marsh habitat associated with Mountain House Creek and Old River. Similarly, California horned lark(Eremophilia alpescris actica) may forage in agricultural fields within the project site and could conceivably nest in on-site grasslands. Loggerhead shrike(Lanus ludovicianus) and snowy egret(Egretta Chula) could nest in on-site trees. Species such as white-face ibis(Plegadis chihi)and Aleutian Canada goose(Branca canadensis leucopareia) may forage on-site, but i the site is not within the breeding range of these species. (917M 1) 5-53