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Burrowing Owl Habitat Assessment and Burrow Survey border the Project site to the east. A commercial composting facility borders the Project site to the south. Hospital Creek, which has been channelized and partly riprapped into a drainage canal, is located in the southern portion of the Project site. Annual grassland, the Delta-Mendota Canal, and private property(developed areas and grassland)are found to the west of the Project site. Areas determined to be unsuitable for burrowing owls included orchards, developed areas(e.g., occupied buildings and paved or gravel roads), and agricultural fields that were recently tilled or were in production. Areas determined potentially suitable for burrowing owls included grassland and ruderal areas (e.g., the levees of the Delta-Mendota Canal; the banks of Hospital Creek;and the margins of the dirt roads, orchards, agricultural fields, and equipment storage areas in the — Project site).Figure 2 indicates areas unsuitable for burrowing owls, areas potentially suitable for burrowing owls, and areas potentially suitable for burrowing owls that could not be accessed during the surveys (i.e.,private property). Burrowing owl foraging habitat in the Project site and its vicinity is limited. The majority of the area is orchard,developed for agriculture,or active agriculture, which are not suitable for burrowing owl burrows.Potentially suitable areas within the Project site included dirt berms (some with short grass) located in the margins of the orchards or agricultural fields and along — roads, some agricultural fields, and the banks of Hospital Creek. Potentially suitable areas within 500 feet of the Project site included a small strip of grassland in a transmission line right-of-way north of the Project site, grassland to the west of the Project site along both sides of the Delta- Mendota Canal, and the levees of the Delta-Mendota Canal. The nearest known occurrence of burrowing owl is along Hospital Creek,five miles to the west- — southwest of the Project site, 2.7 miles southwest of the junction of Interstate 580 and Interstate 5, and 7 miles southwest of Vernalis,where one owl was observed at a burrow entrance on private ranchland in 1992(CDFG,2004). — Winter and Breeding Season Surveys No owls or signs of owl use were detected in the Project site or within 150 meters of the Project site during either the winter or breeding season surveys. The site exhibits low suitability for — burrowing owls because of its low abundance of ground squirrel burrows and the limited areas of suitable habitat. Many small mammal burrows are present, but are not adequately sized for owls. Only a few ground squirrel burrows or complexes large enough to support owls were detected — within 150 meters of the Project site (Figure 3). The only ground squirrels observed were in riprap in the banks of Hospital Creek near the Delta-Mendota Canal.No owls or signs of owl use were observed or detected at any of the ground squirrel burrows detected. Photographs of the site are presented in Appendix A. A list of wildlife species observed or detected through sign(e.g., scat,track,and pellet) during the surveys is presented in Appendix B. Vernalis Quarry Mining and Rer madon Project 4 ESA 1203015 Surmwing Owl Habitat Assessment and Burow Survey February 2006