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LFR Levine-Fricke If disturbance is unavoidable, the following conservation measures shall be followed: • Occupied burrows should not be disturbed during the nesting season(February 1 through August 31)unless a qualified biologist approved by the CDFG verifies through non-invasive measures either that the birds have not begun egg laying and incubation, or that juveniles from the occupied burrows are foraging independently and are capable of independent survival. • Avoidance measures outlined by the CDFG(1995)also require that a minimum of 6.5 acres of foraging habitat be permanently preserved contiguous to occupied burrow sites for each pair of breeding owls (with or without dependent young) or single unpaired resident bird(the end result of this project is to restore the site to open space, preservation of contiguous habitat is presumed). • When destruction of occupied burrows is unavoidable, existing unsuitable burrows should be enhanced(enlarged and cleared of debris)or new burrows created(by installing artificial burrows) at a ratio of 2:1 on the protected lands site. • If owls must be moved away from the disturbance area, passive relocation techniques should be used rather than trapping. Passive relocation is defined as encouraging owls to move from occupied burrows to alternate natural or artificial burrows that are beyond 50 meters from the impact zone and that are within or contiguous to a minimum of 6.5 acres of foraging habitat(California Burrowing Owl Consortium 1993). These techniques may be found in the CDFG's Staff Report on Burrowing Owl Mitigation(1995)and in the Burrowing Owl Survey Protocol and Mitigation Guidelines (California Burrowing Owl Consortium 1993). At least one or two weeks must be given to accomplish this and allow the owls to acclimate to alternate burrows. Project activities are expected to result in increased habitat value and long-term beneficial impacts for the burrowing owl population. If the above avoidance measures are followed, project activities are expected to have a less than significant impact on burrowing owls. Other special status species. Although federal and state protection measures and protocol level surveys focus on San Joaquin kit fox and western burrowing owl, LFR biologists will note the presence of other species of concern that do not have regulatory protection. Protection measures are incorporated into the project to avoid and minimize potential impacts the project may have on any special status animal species. The following five species are considered federal or state special status species and have a moderate to high potential to occur in the project site: The following six species are considered federal or state special status species and have a moderate to high potential to occur in the project site: Page 28 Final_RAP_Tracy_9.18.03(final).doc