Shani Kleinhaus
Environmental Advocate
Cupertino
Snowy Egrets, Shani Kleinhaus
COVID-19 brings uncertainty which we all experience, but one thing seems certain: planning for future projects never stops.
While our government agencies continue toplan and approve projects large and small, it is incumbent upon us to do what we can to protect birds and their habitat, and to keep them in sight of decision makers at this challenging time.
Here are some of the projects we have been working on:
Proliferation of Electronic Signs and Billboards Envisioned
In San Jose, SCVAS is concerned with an amendment to the Sign Ordinance of the San Jose Municipal Code. This proposed amendment will promote the proliferation of electronic billboards along freeways, and other types of programmable electronic signs in the city, all to display commercial advertisement. In a joint comment letter with the Sierra Club, SCVAS expressed apprehension regarding light pollution impacts of programmable electronic billboards and signs to biological resources, the night sky, the aesthetic character of our region, and the health, safety and quality of life in San Jose. Audaciously, the City proposed that since the electronic billboards are expected to replace standard billboards at a 1:4 ratio, this amendment will beautify the City.
The amendment process will continue this spring, and there will be opportunities to engage. But if you are a San Jose resident, please contact your Council member's office and ask your representative to put an end to this initiative. The more they hear from the voters in their districts, the better. Please contact shani@scvas.org for additional information.
Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, Shani Kleinhaus
Burrowing owls
With the stay-at-home directive in spring, volunteers were no longer able to help maintain habitat for the burrowing owls of Alviso. Our staff continued to survey the habitat at the Regional Wastewater Facility, and maintain the burrow areas free of tall grass.
Also in San Jose, City council approved a new Airport Master Plan to allow great expansion of the airport capacity to accommodate 22.5 million annual passengers by 2037,
and an annual compounded growth rate of 2.4% in cargo tonnage. This translates to a new concourse, larger terminals, additional gates, a hotel, new parking garages, and additional aviation and cargo support facilities. The Environmental Impact Report proposes to mitigate the loss of only 32.4 acres of nesting habitat by paying Habitat Conservation Fees.
Ongoing expansion of the airport over the past 10 years eliminated much of the available habitat already. Mitigation failed to save the owls or replace their habitat. Indeed, the airport recognizes that maintenance of mitigation areas "has not been adequate", and that they no longer expect a viable population to be sustained at the airport. The lack of adequate maintenance was, in our opinion, one of the drivers of the decline in burrowing owl population in our region, and we are devastated at the loss of habitat at the airport which 10 years ago sustained the largest population in the valley.
In our comments on the Environmental Impact Report and in front of Council, we asked for additional mitigation funding for the Habitat Agency. But the airport, and the City Council, did not allocate additional funds. We hope that the meager mitigation fees to the Habitat Agency will help the owl population stay with us a little longer.
Bikes on Narrow Nature Trails
Townsend’s Warbler, Keith Wandry
The California State Parks Department is evaluating a Change-In-Use (CIU) for the trails within Castle Rock State Park to allow expansion of mountain bike trails in the park. We are working with the local Native Plant Society and Sierra Club advocates opposing this expansion. We submitted a comment letter that referred to a 1979 Sempervirens Fund study that identified Primary Avian Migration Routes and Concentration Areas for migratory birds in the park and mapped vegetation type areas, including sensitive habitats that contain knobcone pines; black oak woodland; ancient redwood forest; riparian areas and maritime chaparral, highlights the geological fragility of the area, and includes maps of seismic hazard areas and vulnerability to landslides.
Nearby parks provide at least 175 miles of bike trails and it is our experience that naturalists and birders (many of whom are seniors), tend to be wary of using trails that allow bicycling due to the risk of collision and because plant and wildlife resources near bike trails are often degraded.
Our letter asked for a sincere effort to avoid:
Any additional encroachment and disturbance in Avian Migratory Concentration Areas
Any additional encroachment and disturbance in habitat areas that could support nesting habitat of Pileated Woodpecker and Marbled Murrelet
Damage to streams or fish habitat
Segmentation of amphibian habitat
(risk of running adults over during migration to and from breeding habitat)Encroachment and fragmentation of rare plant communities
Damage to rare natural features of interest for scientific study
Soil erosion, rutting, impairment of trail drainage, breakdown of trail shoulders, and other forms of trail damage
Danger to the safety of hikers, birders and naturalists due to bicycle activity, steep grades, steep terrain, sharp curves, slippery or unstable trail surfaces, or limited visibility
Displacement of hikers, birders and naturalists due to bikes on trails
The pressure on State Parks to open nature trails to bikes is substantial, and we hope this agency will not risk our natural habitats and trail users.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) has initiated a process leading to the adoption of a Proposed Wildland Fire Resiliency Program. The Program would be applied on all Midpeninsula open space preserves (OSP) and other areas under MROSD management in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The Program encompasses a Vegetation Management Plan, a Prescribed Fire Plan, Wildland Fire Pre-Plan/Resource Advisor Maps and a Monitoring Plan.
The impact to vegetation and habitat, especially alongroads, infrastructure and buildings, is likely to have significant impacts to habitat and species. SCVAS will continue to attend meetings and provide comments, hoping to help minimize the impacts.
Habitat for Birds with Native Plants
The nest boxes at the restored habitat site on the banks of Permanente Creek at Shoreline Park in Mountain View are being used again this year! During the 2019 bird-breeding season, nest boxes were used by 3 pairs of Western Bluebirds, 10 Tree Swallows and 1 Bewick’s Wren. So far this year, the monitoring effort observed 1 pair of Western Bluebirds and 8 pairs of Tree Swallows using the nest boxes.