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Ms. Kim Tarbell September 16, 1996 Page 2 All potential and active kit fox dens were assigned a number and mapped. Information on the size and number of openings,signs of activity, surrounding terrain and habitat type,and distance to ground squirrel colonies and other potential or active kit fox dens was recorded. Kit Fox Status in the Project Area Biologists reviewed existing information to determine if there are any recent records of kit fox presence in the project area or vicinity. Other Special-Status Species Biologists conducted surveys and assessed habitat suitability concurrent with the San Joaquin kit fox surveys for special-status species with potential to occur in the area including,but not limited to,the state threatened Swainson's hawk(Buteo swainsoni),the state and federal species of concern burrowing owl (Athene cunicularis), and the federally proposed endangered showy Indian clover (Trifolium amoenum). Results ' Den Surveys Jones & Stokes Associates located one potential kit fox den in the survey area (Figure 1). The potential den was 4 inches high by 4 inches wide and located within the 30-foot buffer around the 156-acre orchard, on a berm adjacent to a farm road, in an active ground squirrel colony. No potential dens were located in the orchard although several ground squirrel burrows that were too small to be considered potential kit fox dens were observed. The 156-acre orchard is still actively farmed and was being plowed, pruned, and irrigated during our surveys. The rows were plowed and then flood irrigated so that any burrows within the orchard were flooded. The 156-acre orchard is surrounded on all sides by mining, orchards, alfalfa, and row crops (Figure 1). Kit Fox Status in the Project Area There are 10 historical records within several miles of the project site. EIP Associates conducted kit fox surveys for the draft Habitat Compensation Plan and reported three confirmed kit fox sightings, three records of kit fox tracks, and two records of photographs of kit foxes within Jones & Stokes Associates, Inc. 2600 V Street,Suite 100•Sacramento,CA 95818-1914•Fax 916n37-3030•916/737-3000