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Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report Gill Medical Center Project Fish The Study Area is comprised primarily of agricultural or disturbed habitats and includes the south half of the agricultural ditch running along the northern site boundary.There is no suitable habitat for special- status fish. Amphibians The Study Area is comprised entirely of agricultural or disturbed habitats. There is no suitable habitat for special-status amphibians. Reptiles The Study Area supports marginally suitable habitat for two special-status reptiles: giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas) and northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata).The following is a brief discussion of special-status reptiles with the potential to occur within the Study Area. Giant Garter Snake The giant garter snake is listed as a threatened species pursuant to both the California and federal ESAs and is a San Joaquin County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation and Open Space Plan (SJMSCP) covered species (the SJMSCP is discussed further in Section 4.6.2.2 below). Giant garter snakes typically inhabit perennial ponds, marshes, slow-moving streams, and agricultural ditches containing adequate water during the spring and summer months. Giant garter snakes are most active from early spring through mid-fall (USFWS 1999). The giant garter snake is endemic to the floors of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys of California and probably occurred historically from Butte County south to Buena Vista Lake in Kern County (USFWS 1999). The irrigation ditch and adjacent uplands located along the northern border represents marginally suitable habitat for giant garter snake.The intermittent nature of the irrigation ditch, absence of dense emergent vegetation cover in the channel, and farmed adjacent uplands reduces, but does not eliminate, the likelihood for giant garter snake presence in the Study Area. Northwestern Pond Turtle The northwestern pond turtle is not listed and protected under either the federal or California ESAs but is considered a California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Species of Special Concern (SSC) and a SJMSCP covered species.They can occur in a variety of waters including ponds, lakes, streams, reservoirs, settling ponds of wastewater treatment plants, and other permanent and ephemeral wetlands (Bury et al. 2012). In streams and other lotic features, they generally require slack or slow water microhabitats and basking areas such as logs, rocks, banks, and brush piles for thermoregulation (Bury et al. 2012). The intermittent nature and shallow depths of the irrigation ditch reduces, but does not eliminate, the likelihood for northwestern pond turtle presence in the Study Area. Birds The Study Area supports potentially suitable nesting and foraging habitat for several special-status birds, including white-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus), Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), and yellow-billed Biological Resources 4.6-21 October 2021