Comments on Newhall Ranch Mission Village Development DEIR (State Clearing House No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
David Magney Environmental Consulting P.O. Box 1346, Ojai, California 93024-1346 * E-mail: [email protected] 805/646-6045 Voice * 805/646-6975 FAX www.magney.org 3 January 2011 Ms. Carolina Blengini Department of Regional Planning County of Los Angeles Hall of Records 320 West Temple Street, Room 1362 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Subject: Comments on Newhall Ranch Mission Village Development DEIR (State Clearing House No. 2005051143) Dear Ms. Blengini: David Magney Environmental Consulting (DMEC) is providing these comments on behalf of the Friends of the Santa Clara River, a California nonprofit corporation, and the California Native Plant Society, which is a member organization of the Friends. DMEC herein provides comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Newhall Land and Farming Company’s Mission Village Development. DMEC is focusing its review on the biological and wetland resources of the project site and how the proposed project will impact those resources. Issues raised in this letter are listed in the Table of Contents: Table of Contents Biological Resources..................................................................................................................................................... 3 Wildlife Guilds as Assessment Method ..................................................................................................................... 3 Special-status Species................................................................................................................................................ 8 Special-status Plants in the DEIR........................................................................................................................ 11 Slender Mariposa Lily ..................................................................................................................................... 12 San Fernando Valley Spineflower.................................................................................................................... 15 Newhall Ranch Spineflower Conservation Plan........................................................................................... 19 Climate Data Required to Understand Plant Ecology............................................................................... 23 SCP Goals and Objectives........................................................................................................................ 24 SFVS Knowledge Lacking....................................................................................................................... 25 Population Dynamics........................................................................................................................ 26 Seedbanks and Genetics.................................................................................................................... 26 Preserve Design, Management Activities, and Monitoring Activities............................................... 27 Preserve Design ............................................................................................................................ 27 Buffer Areas ................................................................................................................................. 28 Insufficient Buffer to Exclude Argentine Ant................................................................................ 29 Connectivity Between Preserves ....................................................................................................... 30 Management and Monitoring Activities................................................................................................ 32 Preserve Manager............................................................................................................................. 32 Landscaping Adjacent to Preserves................................................................................................... 32 Access .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Management for Argentine Ant ............................................................................................................ 33 D:\DMEC\Jobs\Friends_SantaClaraRiver\Newhall-MissionVillage\DMEC_comments_on_Newhall_MissionVillage_DEIR-20110103.doc Comments on Draft EIR for Newhall Ranch Mission Village Development DMEC Project No. 10-0181 1/3/2011 DMEC Page 2 Restoration Activities within Preserve Areas .................................................................................... 34 Monitoring Activities............................................................................................................................ 35 The Spineflower Monitoring Program.............................................................................................. 35 Qualitative Monitoring Activities within Preserve Areas .................................................................. 35 Spineflower Introduction Program........................................................................................................ 36 Seed Collection................................................................................................................................. 36 Conservation of the Seed Bank......................................................................................................... 37 Spineflower Information Center........................................................................................................ 37 Funding ................................................................................................................................................ 37 SCP is Inadequate to Mitigation Impacts to SFVS................................................................................... 38 Lack of Adequate Data......................................................................................................................... 39 1. Failure of Reintroduction as a Viable Spineflower Mitigation Strategy ........................................ 40 2. Lack of Knowledge About Genetics ............................................................................................ 40 3. Pollination Not Fully Understood and Existing Data Not Used..................................................... 41 4. Seed Dispersal............................................................................................................................. 42 5. Soils............................................................................................................................................. 42 6. Elevation, Slope, and Aspect ....................................................................................................... 43 7. Competition................................................................................................................................. 43 8. Predators...................................................................................................................................... 43 9. Climate........................................................................................................................................ 44 Locally Rare Plants Not Adequately Assessed............................................................................................. 46 Special-status Wildlife in the DEIR......................................................................................................................... 51 Special-status Mollusks in the DEIR ................................................................................................................... 51 Loss of Local Biodiversity Not Assessed................................................................................................................. 56 Vegetation Classification......................................................................................................................................... 57 Grasslands........................................................................................................................................................... 57 Impacts to “Common” Plant Communities.......................................................................................................... 58 Inadequacy of Mitigation Measures......................................................................................................................... 59 Inadequacy of the RMDP/SCP & EIS/EIR.............................................................................................................. 59 Exotic Wildlife Species Control Plan....................................................................................................................... 60 Wetlands ..................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Appropriate Taxa for Mitigation Plant Palettes....................................................................................................... 61 Definition of “Self-sustaining” for Monitoring Success Needed .............................................................................. 62 Eliminate Loophole for Modifying Mitigation Success Criteria............................................................................... 62 Inappropriate Use of Invasive Exotic Species as Habitat Creation Mitigation........................................................