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SAN LEANDRO SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT DRAFT EIR CITY OF SAN LEANDRO BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES California Endangered Species Act The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) establishes State policy to conserve, protect, restore, and enhance threatened or endangered species and their habitats. The CESA mandates that State agencies should not approve projects that jeopardize the continued existence of threatened or endangered species if reasonable and prudent alternatives are available that would avoid jeopardy. For projects that would affect species that are on the federal and State lists, compliance with the federal ESA satisfies the CESA if the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) determines that the federal incidental take authorization is consistent with CESA under California Fish and Game Code Section 2080.1. For projects that would result in take of species that are only State -listed, the Project proponent must apply for a take permit under Section 2081(b) of the California Fish and Game Code. A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) must also accompany an application for an incidental take permit. The purpose of the HCP is to ensure that the effects of the permitted action or listed species are adequately minimized and mitigated. California Fish and Game Code Under the California Fish and Game Code, the CDFW provides protection from "take" for a variety of species, including Fully Protected species. "Fully Protected" is a legal protective designation administered by the CDFW, intended to conserve wildlife species that are at risk of extinction, within California. Lists have been created for birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. The California Fish and Game Code sections dealing with Fully Protected species state that these animals "...may not be taken or possessed at any time and no provision of this code or any other law shall be construed to authorize the issuance of permits or licenses to take any fully protected" species. However, taking may be authorized for necessary scientific research. In 2003, the code sections dealing with fully protected species were amended to allow CDFW to authorize take resulting from recovery activities for state -listed species. The CDFW also protects streams, water bodies, and riparian corridors through the streambed alteration agreement process under Section 1601 to 1606 of the California Fish and Game Code. The Fish and Game Code stipulates that it is "unlawful to substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow or substantially change the bed, channel or bank of any river, stream or lake" without notifying CDFW, incorporating necessary mitigation, and obtaining a streambed alteration agreement. Through policy, CDFW asserts jurisdiction to the top of the banks of all streams, including intermittent and ephemeral streams, extending laterally to the upland edge of adjacent riparian vegetation. The CDFW uses the Cowardin system for wetland identification and classification, which typically results in a larger jurisdictional area than federal jurisdiction under the CWA. Under this system, wetlands must have one or more of the following three attributes: (1) at least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes; (2) the substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil; and (3) the substrate is non -soil and is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season of each year. California Native Plant Protection Act The California Native Plant Protection Act of 1977 (CNPPA) prohibits importation of rare and endangered plants into California, "take" of rare and endangered plants, and sale of rare and endangered plants. CESA defers to the CNPPA, which ensures that State -listed plant species are protected when State agencies are involved in projects subject to CEQA. In this case, plants listed as rare under the CNPPA are not protected under CESA; however, impacts to endangered, rare, or threatened species, including plants, are evaluated under CEQA. PLACEWORKS 4.3-3