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Draft Mitigation Guidelines for Swainson's Hawks (Buteo swainsoni) in the Central Valley of California (Revised January 1, 1992) CURRENT AND RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT The Department of Fish and Game has established the mitigation goal of no net loss of Swainson's hawk breeding or foraging habitat value, and has developed the following strategies and mitigation criteria to reverse the dramatic population decline of this species in the Central Valley. These criteria provide guidelines for lead agencies and project sponsors to follow in developing adequate mitigation for the loss of Swainson's hawk habitat: Direction for management towards restoration of this species is also included within this document. These guidelines are to be considered interim and will remain in effect until a comprehensive Swainson's Hawk Recovery Plan is completed by the Department. Several Habitat Management Plans (HMP's) for Swainson's hawk within specific project areas are currently being proposed. These guidelines will be used in conjunction with a Swainson's Hawk Recovery Plan to establish criteria for species recovery through population expansion into former habitat, recruitment of young into the population, and other identified recovery goals. Currently, translocation of active nests will not be considered a viable option to enable development to proceed. Hacking (controlled release) of captive reared young has not been employed to enhance the population at this time. During project review, the Department will consider whether suitable foraging habitat occurs within a ten (10) mile radius of an active nest and contributes to maintaining that Swainson's hawk breeding territory. This ten-mile radius standard was developed through evaluation .of the results of Department funded telemetry studies. It is within the documented flight distance from active nest sites to suitable foraging habitats within the home range of a Swainson's hawk. Therefore, proposed development projects may be required to mitigate impacts at active nest sites and surrounding suitable feeding habitat areas; both of which are essential to the integrity of the breeding territory. In addition, since over- 95% of Swainson's hawk nests occur on private land, a program of incentives for the private landowner is needed to ensure that crops which are compatible to the foraging needs of Swainson's hawks are not replaced by incompatible agriculture practices, urbanization, or other land uses. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. David Zezulak, Environmental 'Specialist, Region 2, (916) 355-7030, or Mr. -Ron Schlorff, Nongame Section, Wildlife Management (916) 654-4262. 1