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Part III, Ch 7-13, Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements

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Part III, Ch 7-13, Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements 7.0 Biological Resources – Wildlife This chapter describes the environmental and regulatory setting for wildlife resources, as well as the environmental consequences associated with construction and operation of Project alternatives, including impacts and mitigation measures. 7.1 Environmental Setting This section describes the wildlife resources evaluated in this Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIS/R), including wildlife habitat types and special-status wildlife species. Fish species are discussed separately in Chapter 5.0, “Biological Resources – Fisheries.” 7.1.1 Regional Setting The Project area lies within the San Joaquin Valley, which comprises the southern portion of California’s Central Valley. The San Joaquin Valley is bounded by the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the east, the Tehachapi Mountains to south, and the Coast Range to the west. With the exception of the Tulare Lake basin, the watersheds of the San Joaquin Valley drain into the San Joaquin River, which leads to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and ultimately into the San Francisco Bay. The San Joaquin River originates high in the Sierra Nevada. It rapidly descends and exits mountainous terrain in the area now occupied by Friant Dam. The river discharges to the valley floor near Gravelly Ford. Prior to agricultural development, the San Joaquin River and its main tributaries meandered across alluvial fans along the main axis of the San Joaquin Valley floor. The river distributed higher flows into a complex network of sloughs that branched off both sides of the river. It flowed through a flat, homogeneous topography and supported a limited riparian forest. The flat valley floor surrounding the riparian forest often took the form of extensive wetlands, dominated by tule marsh. Riparian forest zones were present along the margins of the primary river channel and were not very extensive (The Bay Institute 1998). Near Mendota, the San Joaquin River merged with Fresno Slough, a wider and deeper waterway than the San Joaquin River. Fresno Slough was part of an intricate slough system that exchanged water between the Tulare Lake Basin and the San Joaquin River. Downstream from Mendota, the San Joaquin River flowed through a network of large slough channels traversing extensive riparian woodland, tule marshes, and backwater ponds until it joined with the Merced River. Downstream from this point, the floodplain was more confined and the river exhibited a highly sinuous pattern of rapid channel meander, which created a rich complex of oxbow lakes, backwater sloughs, ponds, and sand bars. In its lower sections just upstream from the Delta, the river formed low natural levees approximately 6 feet high (The Bay Institute 1998). Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements Project Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report 7-1 – July 2016 San Joaquin River Restoration Program The San Joaquin River has changed dramatically since the early part of the 20th century. The river is now largely confined within constructed levees and bounded by agricultural and urban development, flows are regulated through dams and water diversions, and floodplain habitats have been fragmented and reduced in size and diversity (McBain and Trush 2002). As a result, wildlife habitat has substantially changed from historic conditions. The presence of Friant Dam reduces the frequency of scouring flows; consequently, the vegetation succession of riparian scrub to forest is no longer balanced by periodic loss of forest to the river because of erosion and appearance of new riparian scrub on sand and gravel bars. In addition, operation of Friant Dam has caused gradually declining flows in spring, which are periodically necessary to disperse seed of willows and cottonwoods, and establish seedlings of these riparian tree and shrub species. Drought conditions caused by diversions have also caused a loss of riparian vegetation in several reaches of the river, and urban and agricultural development has caused a gradual loss in the area available for riparian habitat (Bureau of Reclamation 1998). Federal and State wildlife preserves have been established to conserve, protect, and enhance migratory waterfowl habitat and native ecological communities of the San Joaquin Valley. The Mendota Wildlife Area and the Alkali Sink Ecological Reserve are located approximately 4 miles to the south of the San Joaquin River at River Mile 210. The Alkali Sink Ecological Reserve is home to many sensitive species, including blunt- nosed leopard lizard, palmate-bracted bird's beak, and Hoover’s woolly star. The Mendota Wildlife Area, which is hydraulically connected to Fresno Slough, is home to numerous waterfowl and wading birds. 7.1.2 Project Area The Project area contains 20 wildlife habitat types, including one tree-dominated, three shrub-dominated, five herbaceous-dominated, three aquatic, six developed, and two non- vegetated habitat types (Figure 7-1). The habitat types were classified by vegetative cover type, which is based on vegetation structure and plant species composition. For example, shrub-dominated communities were classified as scrub due to the structure of the vegetation and then further categorized as willow or riparian scrub depending on the dominant plant species present. Generally, the habitat types were defined following the California Wildlife-Habitat Relationships System (WHR) (WHR 2010). In some instances, habitats were defined following Holland (1986) or Moise and Hendrickson (2002), depending on what best represented the habitats within the Project area. Descriptions of each habitat type are provided below. Table 7-1 lists the habitat types and their acreage within the Project area. Approximately 90 percent of the habitat within the Project area was confirmed through on-site surveys in 2010 and 2011, when Interim Flows had begun to modify 2009 conditions; however, due to restricted access, the remaining area was assessed using aerial photograph interpretation. Additional details regarding wildlife habitats (including survey methods and additional habitat descriptions) are available in the Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements Project Technical Memorandum on Environmental Field Survey Results (San Joaquin River Restoration Program [SJRRP] 2011a). Final Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements Project 7-2 – July 2016 Environmental Impact Statement/Report 7.0 Biological Resources – Wildlife Figure 7-1. Wildlife Habitat Table 7-1. Wildlife Habitat Types Mapped in the Project Area Category Habitat Type Total Area (Acres) Tree Dominated Valley foothill riparian 157 Shrub Dominated Elderberry savannah 12 Riparian scrub 93 Willow scrub 122 Herbaceous Dominated Annual grassland 341 Fresh emergent wetland 65 Pasture 8 River wash 8 Wet herbaceous 71 Aquatic Lacustrine 249 Agricultural wetland 1 Riverine 97 Mendota Pool Bypass and Reach 2B Improvements Project Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report 7-3 – July 2016 San Joaquin River Restoration Program Table 7-1. Wildlife Habitat Types Mapped in the Project Area Category Habitat Type Total Area (Acres) Developed Cropland 712 Irrigated hayfield 102 Irrigated row and field crop 10 Deciduous orchard 2,769 Evergreen orchard 10 Vineyard 624 Non-vegetated Disturbed 472 Total 5,922 Note: The total acreage value is calculated independently of the specific habitat acreage values; therefore, due to rounding, the value differs slightly from the sum of the habitat acres reported, which is 5,798 acres. Tree-Dominated Habitats Valley Foothill Riparian. As described by WHR (2010), valley foothill riparian habitat is characterized by mature riparian forest of winter deciduous trees that is generally associated with areas of floodplains and low-velocity flows with gravely or rocky soils. The typical dominant canopy species in this habitat, within the Project area, is Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii). Typical dominant subcanopy tree species include Goodding’s black willow (Salix gooddingii), Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia), and blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). Typical understory shrub species include wild rose (Rosa californica), buttonbrush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), sandbar willow (Salix exigua), and, in some areas, California blackberry (Rubus ursinus). In the Project area, this habitat type primarily occurs in narrow bands between the river margins and croplands and therefore may be more similar to valley foothill riparian edge habitat (that is, habitat on the edge of a valley foothill riparian forest, as opposed to the interior). Accordingly, cover may be less dense than would be expected in the interior of a stand of valley foothill riparian forest, and the “forest” may appear less mature. Shrub-Dominated Habitats Elderberry Savannah. As described by Holland (1986), elderberry savannah habitat is characterized by a winter-deciduous shrub savannah dominated by blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) and an understory of nonnative grasses. The habitat is generally associated with alluvial soil and areas of floodplains. In natural stands this habitat typically succeeds into riparian vegetation. Typical understory species present in the Project area include tarweed (Hemizonia species), mustard (Brassica species), California wild rose (Rosa californica), and annual grasses. Riparian Scrub. As described in Moise and Hendrickson (2002), riparian scrub habitat is characterized by a mix of semishrubby perennials and woody vines. In the Project area, some areas also include a layer of shrub-like trees, including tobacco tree (Nicotiana glauca),
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