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The Goals Project was a cooperative effort among nine state and federal agencies and nearly 100 Bay Area <br />scientists to identify the kinds, amounts, and distribution of habitats needed to sustain healthy populations of fish <br />and wildlife in and around San Francisco Bay, including waterfowl, shorebirds^ and other bayland birds. Their . <br />publication identified 32 bird species of importance, with common species often being representative, of a suite of <br />birds using similar habitats. Four threatened or endangered species were identified in San Francisco Bay: the <br />federally-threatened western snowy plover (Charadrins alexcmdrinus), the federally-endangered and state- <br />endangered California clapper rail, the state-threatened California black rail, and the federally-endangered and <br />state-endangered California least tern {Sterna antillarum browni). <br />Other tall structures in the immediate area include a string of large transmission towers estimated to be <br />approximately 120 feet tall traversing East Marsh and other properties, an adjacent substation with utility poles I <br />that are typically 60-70 feet tall, an 80-foot tall cellular antenna tower at the Oro Loma Sanitary District treatment . <br />plant, two-story residential houses that are approximately 28 feet tall at the roof peak, and commercial buildings p <br />that are approximately 27 feet tall at the perimeter parapet wall, as depicted in Figure 4, Surrounding Structural ? <br />Heights in the Project Area. At 100 feet maximum blade height, the proposed single turbine would be taller than <br />commercial buildings, residential houses and utility poles, butshorter and lessnunierOus than the transmission <br />towers. <br />Avian Overview of San Francisco Bay <br />The ability io fly allows avians to be widespread. Their mobility and tendency towards migration means that a ( <br />wind turbine in one. geographic location can affect avians across a much larger geographic swath. Biologists <br />evaluating the impacts of wind turbines must grapple with the problem of "how wide to cast their net" to <br />accurately capture the full suite of species that could be impacted, to then prioritize that list according to some <br />probability of impact. The proposed project is located within the San Francisco Bay shoreline at the marsli/urban <br />interface (see Figure 3). The San Francisco Bay Estuary is renown as a major North American refuge for many f <br />species of waterfowl and shorebifds during their migration and wintering (August through April) periods, and it \ <br />provides breeding habitat during the summer for a few species; the Estuary is recognized as a Western <br />Hemisphere Shotfebird Reserve Network site of international importance for more than a million shorebirds in <br />migration and as the winter home for more than fifty percent of diving ducks in the Pacific flysvay (Goals Project, <br />2000). The San Francisco Bay, its shoreline, and interior margins up to four miles inland, are also recognized <br />bythe Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy as a California Important Bird Area; The Important Bird <br />Areas Network is an international network that connects local sites to global conservation efforts. The San <br />Francisco Bay Area Wetlands Ecosystem Goals Project's (Goals Project) publication Bayland Ecosystem Species <br />and Community Profiles (Goals Project, 2000) was consulted to characterize the importance of San Francisco Bay £ <br />to avians ill general and to identify important resident and migratory species in the area. The California <br />Department of Fish and Game's California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) (CDFG, 2012) and the U,S . <br />Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, 2012) were consulted to identify threatened and endangered species and <br />California species of special concern. Table 2, Special-status Resident and Migratory Birds of the San <br />Francisco Bay Estuary prioritizes avian species of concern by their legal status: (a) listed as threatened or <br />endangered under federal or state endangered species acts; (b) identified by CDFG as a California Species of > <br />Special Concern; or (c) identified by the Goals Project as a key wildlife species;. <br />o 7