4.10 Biological Resources
4.10 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES This biological resources section summarizes the natural resources present within the City of Elk Grove Planning Area (Planning Area), and includes a discussion of the special-status species potentially occurring and sensitive habitats present in the area. This section also identifies impacts associated with the adoption of the proposed General Plan. Cumulative impact analysis is also provided in this section. The biological resources setting and impact analysis discussion was prepared by Foothill Associates. 4.10.1 SETTING REGIONAL SETTING Sacramento County lies in the middle of the Central Valley bordered by Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties on the south, Amador and El Dorado counties on the east, Placer and Sutter counties on the north, and Yolo and Solano counties on the west. The County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers north to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Plant communities predominant in this region include agricultural croplands, annual grassland, deltaic marsh (freshwater, brackish, and salt), horticultural/landscaped, fallow agricultural lands, oak woodland, open water (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.), riparian, and seasonal wetland. LOCAL SETTING The Planning Area, which encompasses approximately 93,560 acres including the City of Elk Grove, is located within the USGS 7.5 minute Bruceville, Buffalo Creek, Carmichael, Clarksburg, Courtland, Elk Grove, Florin, Galt, and Sloughhouse quadrangles. Elevations within the Planning Area range from sea level to approximately 150 feet above mean sea level (MSL). Plant communities within the Planning Area include agricultural cropland, annual grassland, fallow agricultural land, horticultural/landscape, irrigation ditches, irrigated pastures, open waters, perennial and seasonal marshes, riparian woodlands, seasonal wetlands, and vernal pools.
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