ARCHIVED REPORTS_1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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According to records and maps maintained by the California Native Plant Society, no rare or endangered plants have been reported within the Linden or Waterloo quadrangles. Although it is doubtful that a comprehensive survey for rare or endangered plants has ever been conducted at the site, it is very unlikely that rare or endangered plants could have survived the prolonged, heavy grazing pressure_. Rare or endangered plants generally are classified as such because of narrow environmental requirements or an inability to com- pete effectively with the more hardy species as found on-site. Although use of the site for a landfill operation would eliminate virtu- ally all vegetation on-site, this is not considered significant due to the ruderal nature of vegetation inhabiting the site. Upon closure of the landfill operation, vegetation impacts could be fully mitigated by revegetation of the entire site as desired. The major limitation would be that deep rooting plants would not do well since develop- ment of their root system would be inhibited by the compacted, final landfill 'cover layer. Wildlife and Fish During a site inspection, it was noted that wildlife habitat on-site was limited and of poor quality due to extended, intensive grazing use. Wildife populations appeared to be limited mostly to rodents such as the California ground squirrel (Citellus beecheyi), botta pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) and various species of mice. Other mammals observed or which could be anticipated to use the site include the black -tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), coyote (Canus latrans), and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis). Numerous red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) were observed; undoubtedly due to a large rodent population. Other birds which could be expected to use the site, at least on a part-time basis, include white tailed kite (Elanus leucurus), marsh hawks (Circus cyaneus), American kestrel (Falco sparverius), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), mourning dove (zenaidura macroura), burrow- ing owl (speotyto cunicularia), and western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta). Reptiles and amphibians which could inhabit the site include gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleuecus), garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), pacific tree frog (Hyla regilla), western toad (Bufo boreas), and western spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus hammondi). There are no bodies of water or streams on-site capable of supporting significant populations of fish. However, as discussed in the hydrology sec- tion, most runoff from the site collects in a small tributary to South Paddy Creek which then travels to South Paddy Creek, Bear Creek then to the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta by way of Disappointment Slough. The Sacramento -San Joaquin Delta is one of the largest and most important fisheries in California. It is possible that a very small amount of runoff