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Biological Resources, MONK&ASSOCIATES, <br /> Impacts and Mitigations <br /> Tracy Facility Expansion Site <br /> Federal act. Since FESA could be amended at any time, in which case AB21 would no longer be <br /> effective,we are recommending that project applicants who are applying for authorization for <br /> "incidental take" of a Federal and State listed species, enter into a Section 2081 agreement with <br /> CDFG in addition to the Federal permit so that the project is covered under both FESA and <br /> CESA in case AB21 is repealed during the life of the project. <br /> State and Federal incidental take pen-nits are discretionary and are typically only authorized if <br /> applicants are able to demonstrate that impacts to the listed species in question are unavoidable, <br /> and can be mitigated to an extent that the reviewing agency can conclude that the proposed <br /> impacts would not jeopardize the continued existence of the listed species under review. <br /> if there would be impacts to a listed species,mitigation that includes habitat <br /> Typically, p p g <br /> Yp Y� <br /> preservation, and creation of habitat is necessary to demonstrate that projects would <br /> avoidance,p n, az'Y <br /> e continued existence of a species. In addition,management endowment fees are <br /> not threaten the sp g <br /> usually collected as part of the agreement for the incidental take permit(s). The endowment is <br /> used to manage any lands set-aside to protect listed species, and for biological mitigation <br /> monitoring over(typically) a five-year period. <br /> 10.3 Migratory Bird Treaty Act <br /> The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 makes it unlawful to "take"(kill,harm, harass, shoot, <br /> etc.)any migratory bird listed in 50 CFR 10, including their nests, eggs, or young. Migratory <br /> birds include geese, ducks, shorebirds,raptors, songbirds,wading birds, seabirds, and passerine <br /> birds(such as warblers,thrashers; swallows, etc.) <br /> 10.4 California Fish and Game Code Sections 3503,3503.5,3800 <br /> These sections of the Fish and Game Code prohibit the"take,possession, or destruction of birds, <br /> their nests or eggs." Disturbance that causes nest abandonment and/or loss of reproductive effort <br /> (frilling or abandonment of eggs or young)is considered a"take." Such a take would also violate <br /> Federal law protecting migratory birds(Migratory Bird Treaty Act). <br /> 10.5 California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) -Treatment of Special-Status Plant <br /> and Animal Species <br /> Section 15380 of CEQA defines "endangered"species as those whose survival and reproduction <br /> in the wild are in immediate jeopardy and"rare" species as those who are in such low numbers <br /> that they could become endangered if their environment worsens. The CEQA Guidelines also <br /> state that a project will normally have a significant effect on the environment if it will <br /> "substantially affect a rare or endangered species of animal or plant or the habitat of the species." <br /> The significance of impacts to a species under CEQA, therefore,must be based on analyzing <br /> actual rarity and threat of extinction despite legal status or lack thereof. <br /> 13 <br />