ARCHIVED REPORTS_1993_1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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0 Impact 4.2-4 Potential Direct Mortality of San Joaquin Kit Fox Because the species may use the project site infrequently, San Joaquin kit foxes could be killed during construction and ground -disturbing activities. Implementation of the measures listed below would reduce construction -related impacts on the San Joaquin kit fox to less -than -significant levels. Mitigation 4.2-4 Conduct preconstruction surveys and undertake appropriate precautions during construction. Biologists experienced in identifying San Joaquin kit fox dens should survey suitable habitat (i.e., intact grassland habitats) within construction zones within 39 60 days before the start of construction. These surveys would be conducted after the areas to be disturbed were staked. Related project sites, such as staging areas and access roads, would also be surveyed. Any potential dens found would be conspicuously marked, and attempts would be made to determine kit fox presence with spotlighting and scent stations as previously described. Additional detail is provided below on precautions to be taken if kit foxes are found on the site. • Buffers 100 feet wide around new dens would be marked with stakes and flagging to alert construction personnel to avoid these areas. These measures would be developed through consultation with USFWS and DFG. • Construction activities would be avoided in a 100 -foot -wide buffer zone around potential dens. If destruction of a potential den is unavoidable, with USFWS permission the den may be excavated by hand under a biologist's supervision before construction to ensure that no kit foxes are present. • Construction activities would not occur within 1 mile of active kit fox dens between early December and late May to ensure that kit foxes are not disturbed when pups may be in or near the dens. • Vehicle traffic would be restricted to designated access roads and the immediate vicinity of construction sites. Speeds would be limited to 20 mph and enforced by erecting speed limit signs and instructing construction workers. • To discourage harassment or killing of kit foxes, no pets or firearms would be permitted on construction sites. Construction workers would leave the construction area and adjacent potential kit fox habitat each night to minimize disturbance to actively foraging animals. • To prevent entrapment of kit foxes, construction excavations deeper than 3 feet would either be fenced, covered, or filled at the end of each working day or provided with escape ramps. • All construction pipes, culverts, or similar structures with a diameter of 4 inches or greater that are stored at a construction site more than 8 hours would be inspected for kit foxes before the pipe is subsequently buried, capped, or moved in any way. All food -related trash would be deposited in closed containers and regularly removed from work sites. ER -93-1 -43- (9-27-93)