Biological Technical Report Lopez Canyon Equestrian Trails and Trailhead Project Los Angeles County, CA August 2016 Prepared for: City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation Wastewater Engineering Services Division 2714 Media Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90065 Biological Technical Report Lopez Canyon Equestrian Trails and Trailhead Project Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... ES-1 1 Project Location and Description .......................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Project Location ............................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Project Description ........................................................................................................... 1-1 2 Survey Methods and Limitations ........................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 General Biological Survey Methods ................................................................................. 2-1 2.1.1 Wildlife ................................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1.2 Rare Plant Survey Protocol ................................................................................. 2-1 2.1.3 Jurisdictional Delineation ..................................................................................... 2-2 2.2 Literature Search .............................................................................................................. 2-3 2.3 Regulatory Framework ..................................................................................................... 2-3 2.3.1 Federal ................................................................................................................. 2-3 2.3.2 State..................................................................................................................... 2-7 2.3.3 Local .................................................................................................................... 2-9 3 Results of the General Biological Survey ............................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Project Soils ..................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Topography ...................................................................................................................... 3-3 3.3 Hydrology ......................................................................................................................... 3-3 3.4 Vegetation Communities .................................................................................................. 3-6 3.4.2 Botanical Resources .......................................................................................... 3-19 3.5 Zoological Resources .................................................................................................... 3-20 3.5.1 Birds ................................................................................................................... 3-20 3.5.2 Mammals ........................................................................................................... 3-20 3.5.3 Reptiles and Amphibians ................................................................................... 3-20 3.6 Federal and State Listed Species .................................................................................. 3-20 3.6.1 Federal and State Listed Plant Species ............................................................ 3-20 3.6.2 Other Special Status Plant Species .................................................................. 3-21 3.7 Federal and State Listed Zoological Species ................................................................ 3-22 3.7.1 Other Special Status Zoological Species .......................................................... 3-22 3.8 Jurisdictional Delineation ............................................................................................... 3-22 3.9 Migratory Birds ............................................................................................................... 3-26 3.10 Wildlife Dispersal Corridors or Linkages ........................................................................ 3-26 4 Direct and Indirect Impacts .................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Direct Impacts to Biological Resources ........................................................................... 4-1 4.1.1 Vegetation Communities ..................................................................................... 4-1 4.1.2 Sensitive Vegetation Communities ..................................................................... 4-6 4.1.3 Sensitive Plant Species ....................................................................................... 4-9 4.1.4 Sensitive Wildlife Species ................................................................................. 4-10 4.1.5 Jurisdictional Resources.................................................................................... 4-13 4.1.6 Migratory Birds and Raptors .............................................................................. 4-15 4.1.7 Wildlife Dispersal Corridors or Linkages ........................................................... 4-15 LA Bureau of Sanitation August 2016 | i Biological Technical Report Lopez Canyon Equestrian Trails and Trailhead Project 4.2 Indirect Impacts to Biological Resources ....................................................................... 4-15 4.2.1 Sensitive Vegetation Communities ................................................................... 4-15 4.2.2 Sensitive Plant Species ..................................................................................... 4-16 4.2.3 Sensitive Wildlife Species ................................................................................. 4-16 4.2.4 Jurisdictional Delineation ................................................................................... 4-16 5 References ............................................................................................................................... 5-1 Appendices Appendix A Site Photographs Appendix B Floral Compendium Appendix C Faunal Compendium Appendix D Sensitive Plant Species with Potential to Occur in the Project Study Area Appendix E CNDDB, iPaC, and CNPS Records Searches Appendix F Sensitive Plant Faunal Species with Potential to Occur in the Project Study Area Appendix G Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination Form Figures Figure 1. Regional Location ...................................................................................................... 1-2 Figure 2. Project Phases ........................................................................................................... 1-3 Figure 3. Staging Area .............................................................................................................. 1-5 Figure 4. Future Connection 1 .................................................................................................. 1-7 Figure 5. Future Connection 2 (Options A, B, and C) ............................................................... 1-8 Figure 6. Soils ............................................................................................................................ 3-2 Figure 7. USGS Topo with CNDDB Overlay ............................................................................. 3-4 Figure 8. National Wetlands Inventory ...................................................................................... 3-5 Figure 9a. Vegetation Communities/Biological Resources ......................................................... 3-8 Figure 9b. Vegetation Communities/Biological Resources ......................................................... 3-9 Figure 9c. Vegetation Communities/Biological Resources ....................................................... 3-10 Figure 9d. Vegetation Communities/Biological Resources ....................................................... 3-11 Figure 9e. Vegetation Communities/Biological Resources ....................................................... 3-12 Figure 10a. Jurisdictional Areas .................................................................................................. 3-24 Figure 10b. Jurisdictional Areas .................................................................................................. 3-25 LA Bureau of Sanitation August 2016 | ii Biological Technical Report Lopez Canyon Equestrian Trails and Trailhead Project Tables Table 1: Project Trail Specifications ......................................................................................... 1-1 Table 2. Summary of Survey Dates and Weather Conditions ................................................. 2-2 Table 3. Existing Vegetation Communities and Cover Types within the Study Area .............. 3-6 Table 4. USACE/RWQCB and CDFW Jurisdictional Areas Located within the Study Area .......................................................................................................................... 3-23 Table 5. Potential USACE and CDFW Jurisdictional Areas by Vegetation Community ....... 3-26 Table 6. Phase 1 - Impacts to Vegetation Communities ......................................................... 4-1 Table