| TABLE OF CONTENTS BI’ Du Khaale Housing Project Biological Resources Technical Report Page Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Project Location ................................................................................................................... 3 Data Sources/Methodology ................................................................................................. 3 Environmental Setting ............................................................................................................. 4 Regional Setting .................................................................................................................. 4 Plant Communities and Wildlife Habitats ............................................................................ 4 Sensitive Natural Communities ........................................................................................... 8 Wildlife Movement Corridors ............................................................................................... 8 Special-Status Species........................................................................................................ 9 Critical Habitat ................................................................................................................... 16 Regulatory Framework .......................................................................................................... 16 Federal ............................................................................................................................... 16 State................................................................................................................................... 18 Local .................................................................................................................................. 20 Impacts and Recommended Mitigation ............................................................................... 24 Significance Criteria ........................................................................................................... 24 Impact Assessment Methodology ..................................................................................... 24 Impact Analysis ................................................................................................................. 24 Impact Discussion ............................................................................................................. 26 Mitigation Recommendations ............................................................................................ 30 References .............................................................................................................................. 33 Appendix A. Database Searches List of Figures Figure 1 Location of the Project Study Area ............................................................................ 2 Figure 2 Habitat within the Study Area ..................................................................................... 5 Figure 3 CNDDB Records within the 5 Miles of the Study Area ............................................ 15 Figure 4 Potential Impacts to Habitat ..................................................................................... 25 Bi’ Du Khaale Housing Project i ESA / 201800723 Biological Resources Technical Report February 2021 Table of Contents Page List of Tables Table 1 Vegetation Within the Study area .............................................................................. 6 Table 2 Potential for Special Status Plant and Wildlife Species to Occur in the Project Study Area ................................................................................................ 10 Table 3 Habitat Impacts ........................................................................................................ 26 Table 4 Rare Plant Survey Species ...................................................................................... 33 Bi’ Du Khaale Housing Project ii ESA / 201800723 Biological Resources Report February 2021 BI’ DU KHAALE HOUSING PROJECT Biological Resources Report Introduction This report analyzes biological resources and potential impacts associated with the Bi’Du Khaale Housing Project (project). The study area for this report comprises the parcels at 235 Kelly Road (Parcel A; Assessor’s Parcel Number [APN] 117-040-073), 28721 Dutcher Creek Road (Parcel B; APN 117-040-074), and a portion of Kelly Road (APN 117-040-070) as shown on Figure 1. The study area is located within the Urban Growth Boundary and Sphere of Influence of the City of Cloverdale. The project includes development of a 25-unit residential development, community center, private access roads, and associated utility infrastructure within the study area. Kelly Road improvements (roadway and utility) would also occur within the study area. Parcels adjacent to the study area are proposed for annexation; however, no development is proposed on the adjacent parcels at this time and thus they were excluded from the study area. The purpose of this report is to document existing biological resources in the study area as well as provide information on regulatory constraints and potential impacts associated with implementation of the proposed project. This report is intended to support the preparation of required California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental review documentation and other regulatory compliance efforts that may be needed to proceed with the proposed project. This report identifies the existing biological resources in the project area; identifies the federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to biological resources within the region; and describes potential project impacts on those biological resources as well as mitigation recommendations to reduce project-related impacts. The information and analysis presented in this report is focused on special-status species,1 wildlife habitats, vegetation communities, and potentially jurisdictional waters of the United States (U.S.) and of the State that occur or have the potential to occur in the study area. The results of the assessment presented in this report are based upon literature review and queries of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) list of federal endangered and threatened species, and the California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) Inventory of Rare and 1 Species that are protected pursuant to federal or state endangered species laws, or have been designated as Species of Special Concern by the CDFW, or species that are not included on any agency listing but meet the definition of rare, endangered or threatened species of the CEQA Guidelines section 15380(b), are collectively referred to as “special-status species”. Bi’ Du Khaale Housing Project 1 ESA / 201800723 Biological Resources Report February 2021 A s t i R o a d R u s s i S a o n u th R C i l v o e v e r r d a le B o u d l a e o v a R rd y ll e K Kelly Rd 117-040-070 D u tc h C r d e a e o k R R Parcel B o lly a e d K 117-040-074 Parcel A 117-040-073 1 2 0 2 / 2 2 / 1 n e l l a b , d x m . 2 d 2 a 1 o 0 R 1 t 2 t 0 ia 2 H a e r A y 101 d u t £¤ S _ 1 g i F \ e l a d r e v o l C _ y l l e K _ 5 3 2 _ 3 2 7 0 8 1 D \ x x x x 8 1 \ s t c e j o r P \ S I G \ S I Study Area G 0 1,000 \ : U : N h Parcel Boun dary t Feet a P SOU RCE: Maxar, 2019; ESA, 2020 Bi’ du Khaale Housin g Project Service Layer Credits: Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus Figure 1 DS, U SDA, U SGS, AeroGRID, IGN, an d the GIS U ser Com m un ity Study Area Introduction Endangered Plants, and surveys conducted for the study area. Biological resources within the project area were identified through review of available data sources and a field reconnaissance survey conducted in December 2020. Project Location The study area is located at the southern end of the City of Cloverdale and within its urban growth boundary. The site is bounded to the northwest by Kelly Road and a vacant lot; to the north by a vacant lot; to the northeast by Dutcher Creek Road and Highway 101; to the south and east by various properties that are primarily vacant; and to the southwest by vineyards. Data Sources/Methodology Biological resources within the study area were identified by ESA biologist Liza Ryan during a field reconnaissance survey conducted on December 22, 2020. Prior to the surveys, a review of pertinent literature and database queries was conducted for the project area. The primary sources of data referenced for this report include the following: • Cloverdale, California USGS 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle map; • Google Earth color aerial photography for vegetative, topographic, and hydrographic signatures (Google Earth, 2020); • USFWS list of federal endangered and threatened species that may occur in the proposed project location, and/or may be affected by the project (USFWS, 2020a) (see Appendix A); • CNDDB (v 5.4.14) list of special-status species occurrences within Cloverdale, California and eight surrounding USGS 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles (CDFW, 2020) (see Appendix A); • CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (v8-03 0.39) known to occur within the Cloverdale, California and eight surrounding USGS 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles (CNPS, 2020) (see Appendix A); • USFWS Critical Habitat for Threatened and Endangered Species