ARCHIVED REPORTS_DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT

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Table 4.5-2 Special-Status Wildlife Species Known or with Potential to Occur in the Proposed Project Area Species USFWS DFG CNPS Habitat Potential for Occurrence Federal Listing Categories(U.S. Fish and Wildlife State Listing Categories(Department of Fish and Game) Service) E Endangered E Endangered T Threatened T Threatened CSC California Species of Concern FP Fully Protected Sources:CNDDB 2006, USFWS 2006 Based on the reconnaissance field surveys and assessment of database records, 16 of the species listed in Table 4.5-2 are not expected to occur in the project area. These species are not discussed further in this section. Species that were determined to have potential to occur in the project area are discussed further below. Vernal Pool Invertebrates A variety of wildlife species are specially adapted to life in vernal pools and other seasonal wetland habitats for at least part of their life cycle. Conservancy fairy shrimp,vernal pool fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, and vernal pool tadpole shrimp, are small crustaceans (one-half to 2 inches long)that are restricted to vernal pools, swales, and other seasonal pools. Eggs of these species lie dormant during most of the year in the form of cysts, which are capable of withstanding extreme environmental conditions, such as heat, cold, and prolonged periods of dryness. The cysts hatch when the pools fill with rainwater, and the young rapidly develop into sexually mature adults.Not all of the cysts hatch with the first rainfall; some remain dormant to hatch during subsequent events or in later years. Vernal pool crustaceans occupy a variety of seasonal aquatic habitats, from small, clear, sandstone-rock pools to large,turbid, alkaline, grassland valley-floor pools. They can exist in wetlands ranging in size from small pools of several square feet to large vernal lakes of more than 50 acres(USFWS 2005). Habitat for vernal pool crustaceans has become highly fragmented and continues to be threatened by conversion to urban and agricultural uses. Almost three-quarters of vernal pool habitat in the Central Valley was estimated to have been lost by 1997 (USFWS 2005). Potential habitat for vernal pool crustaceans within the project area is likely to be limited to annual grassland habitat that was not accessible during the reconnaissance survey, including a ponded area observed in annual grassland adjacent to the proposed wastewater collection system approximately 900 feet north of Yosemite Avenue and the effluent outfall pipeline alignment. Reptiles and Amphibians California tiger salamander is known to live in the Central Valley from Colusa County to Kern County. California tiger salamanders use vernal pools and other seasonal ponds for reproduction. The proposed wastewater collection system alignment approximately 900 feet north of Yosemite Avenue is situated near ponded water and agricultural land that could provide suitable habitat for tiger salamander.A 1996 CNDDB sighting was documented southwest of the intersection of SR 120 and McKinley Avenue, approximately 2,000 feet south of the French Camp Outfall Canal(CNDDB 2006). This documented sighting is also close to the annual grassland habitat that was not accessible during the reconnaissance survey,including a ponded area observed in annual grassland adjacent to the proposed wastewater collection system approximately 900 feet north of Yosemite Avenue and the effluent outfall pipeline alignment. Western spadefoot toad breeds in suitable aquatic habitats (e.g.,vernal pools)during wet winter conditions, and aestivate in adjacent grassland habitat after the pools have dried. Although vernal pools are the preferred habitat for these species, other aquatic habitats may be used,provided that they are free of predatory fish and hold water long enough to sustain reproduction. Western spadefoot larvae can complete development in as little as 3 weeks, Manteca WQCF and Collection System Master Plans EIR EDAW City of Manteca 4.5-21 Terrestrial Biological Resources