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III. Environmental Setting, Impacts, and Mitigations F. Vegetation and Wildlife within the general vicinity of the site: Swainson's hawk and burrowing owl. Key information for all eighteen special status animal species,including current status,habitat requirements,known distribution,proximate sightings, and potential for occurrence within the study area given extant habitats and the results of field surveys,is provided in Table III.F.3. Of these eighteen species,suitable habitat was not located on the project site for eleven species, the Pacific western big-eared bat,riparian brush rabbit,tricolored blackbird,California tiger salamander, northwestern pond turtle,western spadefoot toad,giant garter snake,vernal pool fairy shrimp,valley elderberry longhorn beetle,vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and California hnderiella. Additionally,surveys performed on the site to determine the presence or absence of the molestan blister beetle and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle failed to locate these species or their critical habitat on the site(see Appendix E). Species having moderate to high potential of occurring on the site are discussed in greater detail below. Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)is a year-long resident of the Central Valley that prefers open annual or perennial grasslands and disturbed sites with existing burrows,elevated perches, large areas of bare ground or low vegetation,and few visual obstructions (Zeiner, 1990). Burrows are typically located near water where large numbers of prey species,primarily insects, are found. Breeding takes place between March through August,with peak in April and May. The CNDDB reports one occurrence of this species from the vicinity of the study area: four owls were observed along the drainage ditch north of the northern California Youth Center,just south of Arch Road(approximately 0.5 mile north of the CYA property)in 1987. Potential habitat for the burrowing owl also exists on the project area(CYA property). In order to determine the presence or absence of the burrowing owl on the CYA property,this area was surveyed on April 4, 1991,July 2, 1992, and March 19, 1993. During ESA's field investigations,each burrow encountered was examined for direct and indirect evidence of the burrowing owl(e.g.,whitewash,feathers,grass lining,or regurgitated food pellets at the mouths of appropriately-sized [four to eight inch in diameter]burrows). One pair of burrowing owls was identified nesting in a burrow adjacent to an abandoned roadway to the northeast of the CYA property during the April 1991 survey(see Figure III.F.1). Re-examination of this area during subsequent surveys,however,revealed that this burrow has since been abandoned. No other observations of burrowing owls or their sign were made during the surveys. Consequently,this species is presumed absent from the project area. III.F.12