Submitted to Submitted by Marin County Open Space District AECOM 3501 Civic Center Drive Oakland, California San Rafael, CA 94903 Peter R. Baye, Ph.D. Annapolis, California Carmen Ecological Consulting, Mill Valley, California December 2015 Bolinas Lagoon North End Project Technical Memorandum for Biological and Cultural Resources AECOM Bolinas Lagoon North End Project Table of Contents 1-1 Technical Memorandum for Biological and Cultural Resources Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1-1 2 Methods ............................................................................................................................................................................... 2-1 .................................................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Definitions .............................................................................. 2-2 2.2 Background Review of Documents, Data, Imagery, Records, Etc. .............................................................................................................................................. 2-3 2.2.1 Wetlands and Waters .............................................................................................................................................................. 2-3 2.2.2 Vegetation ............................................................................................................... 2-3 2.2.3 Special-Status Plant and Animal Species ................................................................................................................. 2-3 2.2.4 Cultural and Archaeological Resources ............................................................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.3 Field Surveys .............................................................................................. 2-4 2.3.1 Initial Site Walk and Planning Coordination Meeting ...................................................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.3.2 Water Sampling .............................................................................................................................................................. 2-5 2.3.3 Vegetation .................................................................................... 2-5 2.3.4 Wetlands, Other Waters of the U.S., and Riparian Surveys ..................................................................................................................... 2-6 2.3.5 General Wildlife Habitat Assessment ......................................................................................................... 2-6 2.3.6 Cultural & Archaeological Resource Surveys .................................................................................................................... 2-6 2.4 Post-Field Data Processing and Analysis 3 Environmental Setting ........................................................................................................................................................ 3-1 ................................................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Climate and Hydrology ........................................................................................................................................................ 3-2 3.2 Geology and Soils ..................................................................................................................................... 3-3 3.3 Cultural and Historical Setting 4 Survey Results .................................................................................................................................................................... 4-1 ...................................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Surface Water Salinity Levels ................................................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Biological Conditions ........................................................................................................................................ 4-2 4.2.1 Vegetation Communities ................................................................................................................ 4-23 4.2.2 Rare Plants and Invasive Plant Species ............................................................................................................................................ 4-29 4.2.3 Wetlands and Waters ...................................................................................................................................................... 4-31 4.2.4 Wildlife Habitat .......................................................................................................................................... 4-32 4.2.5 Special-Status Wildlife .................................................................................................................... 4-39 4.3 Cultural and Archaeological Resources ............................................................................................................................. 4-39 4.3.1 Background Research Results ............................................................................................................................................. 4-39 4.3.2 Field Survey Results 5 Limitations That May Influence Results ............................................................................................................................ 5-1 6 References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6-1 7 Report Preparers and Field Survey Crews ....................................................................................................................... 7-1 AECOM Bolinas Lagoon North End Project Table of Contents 1-2 Technical Memorandum for Biological and Cultural Resources List of Appendices Appendix A. Vegetation Species Composition Results Appendix B. Plant Species Observed Appendix C. CNDDB Occurrences of Federally and State-Listed Species within a 5-mile Radius of the Study Area Appendix D. Wildlife Species Observed in the Study Area List of Tables Table 1. Field Survey Dates, Type, and Staff......................................................................................................................................................... 2-4 Table 2. Soil Maps Units within the Study Area .................................................................................................................................................... 3-3 1 Table 3. Water Sample Salinities from Representative Locations in the Study Area ........................................................................... 4-1 Table 4. Natural Plant Communities within the Study Area.............................................................................................................................. 4-2 Table 5. Rare Plants with Potential to Occur in the Study Area ................................................................................................................... 4-23 Table 6. Wetland Types and Acreages in the Study Area ............................................................................................................................. 4-29 Table 7. Key Waterways in the Study Area ......................................................................................................................................................... 4-30 Table 8. Common Wildlife Habitats within the Study Area ............................................................................................................................ 4-31 Table 9. CNDDB Occurrences of Listed Species and Critical Habitat in and around the Study Area ........................................... 4-33 Table 10. Summary of Suitable CRLF Habitat in the Study Area ................................................................................................................ 4-37 Table 11. Field Survey Crews and Report Preparers ......................................................................................................................................... 7-1 List of Figures Figure 1. Site Location .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1-3 Figure 2. Surface Water Salinity Levels .................................................................................................................................................................. 2-7 Figure 3. NRCS Soil Map Units ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3-5 Figure 4.1. Wetlands and Waters .............................................................................................................................................................................