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LFR Levine-Fricke CHL. The following measures to avoid impact to CHL will be incorporated into the project because there is a moderate to high potential for CHL to occur in the project site vicinity: ■ Vehicles moving around the project site, including trucks and excavators, will remain to the fullest extent possible on existing access roads. ■ In the event that a vehicle must travel off road to excavate existing burn areas, a qualified biologist will examine off road areas to ascertain the best route to burn areas. Once a route is determined, vehicles will remain on route and/or within excavated areas. ■ Areas of special concern will be demarcated by a qualified biologist and avoided. ■ If a CHL, or other animal species, is seen by equipment operators to be basking or traveling across roadways, it will be avoided to the extent possible and passively encouraged to move in a safe direction out of the way of vehicular traffic. • California Horned Lark. The California horned lark(Eremophila aplestris actia; horned lark) is a California Species of Concern, and also protected under the MBTA. Horned lark prefer open habitat without tress or large shrubs and low, sparse vegetation. Horned lark occur in grasslands, shortgrass prairie, bald hills, mountain meadows, open coastal plains, and fallow grain fields. Horned lark walk along the ground searching for food; their diet consists primarily of insects, snails, and spiders during the breeding season and they add grass and forb seeds to their diet at other seasons (CDFG 2003). Horned lark are year-round residents of California. Horned lark breed from March through July with peak activity in May; they build grass-lined nests in cup-shaped depressions on the open ground. Horned lark are active during the day. Protection Measures Document review indicates that the project site is within range of the horned lark. The CNDDB reported several occurrences in 1993 of the horned lark nesting in non-native/ruderal grassland in the project vicinity. Based on observations, it appears that the site could provide suitable nesting habitat for the horned lark. The following measures to avoid impact to horned lark will be incorporated into the project because there is a moderate to high potential for horned lark to occur in the project site vicinity: ■ Vehicles moving around the project site, including trucks and excavators, will remain to the fullest extent possible on existing access roads. Several roads exist at the site which area already compacted and do not contain vegetation that would potentially attract ground nesting birds. Final_RAP_Tracy_9.18.03(final).doc Page 31