Conservation Corner Fall 2020

Shani Kleinhaus
Environmental Advocate

Advocacy During the Pandemic

San Jose at Night, Keith Wandry

Fall is a busy time for our Environmental Advocacy program, especially during election years. This year, the Environmental Action Committee is reviewing and evaluating several local ballot measures and state propositions, considering whether SCVAS should endorse, oppose, or remain neutral.

SCVAS has already endorsed one ballot measure for the November 2020 elections: The Open Space Authority extension of a $24/year parcel tax in perpetuity. The Open Space Authority has excelled in its protection of public lands, especially in Coyote Valley. We hope that their work on restoring wetlands and habitat in the valley can continue, uninterrupted, for the near and the long-term future. The funds will allow the Authority continue its work to:

• Preserve our region’s natural heritage by protecting scenic hillsides, open spaces, wildlife, redwood forests, and farmland

• Increase public access to open space and help maintain Authority preserves and trails and expand trail connections among local and regional parks

• Protect our water supplies and reduce pollution and toxins by preserving land around creeks, rivers, and streams

• Provide easy access to open space through urban open spaces and environmental education programs

Please stay tuned and check our October Avocet Online Newsletter for additional Ballot Measure endorsements and recommendations.

As we continue to advocate on projects and planning
efforts throughout our county, we often question whether
the pandemic has changed anything at all in the way our political system and government agencies plan for the future. Thus far, planning efforts have not slowed down, and even accelerated. Here are some of the ongoing projects we continue to work on, and some new ones:

Light Pollution and Our Birds

Light pollution has a strong impact on biological function. In birds, it interferes with innate behaviors such as breeding, migration and song. We continue to advocate for reducing light pollution as part of our work in Cupertino and in San Jose. In Cupertino we are following the progress of the Bird- Safe & Dark Sky ordinances. The City Council is expected to discuss the proposed ordinances on September 15 and we hope you can zoom in and encourage Cupertino to adopt strong ordinances to protect birds, habitat, and human health.

In San Jose, we provided input for better City-wide Design Guidelines. We are also advocating against an amendment to the Sign Ordinance. This proposed amendment will promote the proliferation of electronic billboards along freeways, and allow other types of programmable electronic signs in the city. The new signs will provide no economic benefits to the City of San Jose or local businesses, and only benefit the advertising industry and a few property owners along the freeways.

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 advocate@scvas.org for additional information or directions.

No Slowdown in Planned Projects

The City of Sunnyvale is currently in the process of updating the Moffett Park Specific Plan. The plan area of Moffett Park covers 1,156 acres of industrial land and borders a sensitive wetland habitat along the San Francisco Bay. The intent of the plan is to greatly increase density and create a 24-hour mixed use district with office and housing and amenities for residents. Impacts on our Bay ecosystems and the birds that depend on them could potentially be substantial. If you are

a Sunnyvale resident, please tell your City Council (as well as candidates for office) that the Specific Plan must protect and expand wetlands and bird habitats along waterways and the Bay. For more information, see

Lockheed Ponds in Sunnyvale, Shani Kleinhaus

https://www.moffettparksp.com

In Morgan Hill, we commented on a Draft Environmental Impact report for an industrial development that offered inadequate mitigation for impacts to nesting birds, and
would risk polluting the local aquifer on Coyote Valley and/
or the Llagas aquifer. We also submitted a comment letter
on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the High Speed Rail segment between San Jose and Merced. The report dismisses what we consider unsurpassable and permanent harm to a wide range of animal and bird species including critically endangered species. If built as proposed and with no additional mitigations to the ones currently proposed, High Speed Rail could devastate our regional fauna.

“We continue to advocate with
the San Jose General Plan Update task force to change the designations of all public land in Coyote Valley from Industrial to Habitat
and Open space.”

With a large constellation of tribal and environmental groups, we continue to advocate with the San Jose General Plan Update task force to change the designations of all public land in Coyote Valley from Industrial to Habitat and Open space. For the privately owned lands in the valley, we seek Agriculture designation that should help avert development into the future. We sent a letter of support for State law (Senate Bill 940) that would clarify conflicts and facilitate protection of Coyote Valley from future housing development and sprawl.

Update on Our Newts

We have not given up on the Newts of Alma Bridge Road. Over 11,000 Pacific newts have been killed on Alma Bridge Roadin just over 2 years. The newts have a lifespan of 14 years, and we believe that this extremely high mortality rate over time will affect our local population negatively. In Southern California, the California Newt has been listed as a species of special concern where similar conversion of land to human uses has resulted in habitat degradation and massive roadkill. We believe the same may be happening here. But even if the impacts to the population were found to be less than terminal to the local population, we should be doing all we can to reduce this carnage.

To try and advance solutions, we have been working with several local agencies to support a UC Davis grant application to the California Wildlife Conservation Board for Prop 68 funding. The funds would be used for the planning and design of raised roadway in two “hot spot” locations of Alma Bridge Road to provide safe undercrossing for Newt migration to and from Lexington Reservoir.

And One More Thing...

In July, we joined Audubon California and more than 100 environmental groups throughout the state in opposition to Assembly Bill 3279. This bill would have significantly undermined environmental, environmental justice, and other public interest petitioners’ access to the courts and therefore access to justice. We are pleased that our joint efforts were successful, and the Bill was amended. 

Say’s Phoebe, Bill Walker

Our local birds need your help...

Environmental Action Campaign

Despite the pandemic, city planning projects have not slowed. The full calendar of council meetings and environmental issues under debate have made our advocacy work even more urgent for birds and their habitats. With your help, SCVAS can remain deeply involved with the welfare of our wildlife and work with local city councils to make our voices heard. Here is a small sample of our recent work:

Bird-safe Design and Dark Sky

• We are leading advocacy for bird-safe design guidelines and standards for Santa Clara Valley cities. Substantial progress has been made in San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Campbell.

• We are promoting Dark Sky ordinances in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, and actively opposing the proliferation of electronic billboards in San Jose.

Creek Corridors

• We are working to protect and improve creek corridors—supporting projects that restore creek ecosystems along Permanente Creek and the Sunnyvale West Channel, and opposing projects that choke the creeks, particularly along the Guadalupe River.

Open Space

• Our current engagement with the Moffett Park Specific Plan in Sunnyvale is already bearing fruit as the Vision and Guiding Principles show ecologically focused urban design. We continue to advocate for the protection and expansion of protected open space and wetlands by the bay.

• Decades of advocacy culminated in the historic campaign to protect Coyote Valley, which resulted in the preservation of 937 acres of prime bird habitat and a key wildlife corridor in San Jose. We are excited about the preservation of freshwater wetlands and habitat for Burrowing Owls and Tricolored Blackbirds.

Animals

• In Mountain View, we motivated the city to remove the spiked barriers that prevent Swallows from nesting on structures at Shoreline. We are now advocating for an expanded buffer zone around the island of the Sailing Lake to protect Black Skimmer and Forster’s Tern nests.

• We are working to reduce roadkill and improve wildlife crossing for amphibians and other small animals to and from water features, including at Lexington Reservoir and Valley Water infrastructure.

The increasing threats

Relentless development pressure continues in Santa Clara County, affecting all our important bird habitats: hills and valleys, creeks and wetlands, and remaining open space along the bay. You can help stop the fragmentation of irreplaceable habitat and the proliferation of structures that are dangerous to birds.

An urgent need

What we need most are financial resources to effectively resist the onslaught of destructive development proposals. These activities take time and perseverance. We need increased financial resources to fund the crucial research and presentations to city councils and other governing bodies that are necessary to promote and protect our birds and environment.

Please consider giving to our Environmental Action campaign today. By contributing, you will be helping protect our birds. You can make Audubon's voice be heard.

Thank you for your continued support!

Burrowing Owl. Photo by Barry Langdon-Lassagne

Black Skimmer. Photo by Bill Walker

Laguna Seca OSP in North Coyote Valley. Photo by Matthew Dodder

Tricolored Blackbird. Photo by Tom Grey

Action Alert: San Jose Electronic Billboards

Dear San Jose Friends and Residents,

The City of San Jose proposes an amendment to the Sign Ordinance which will expand the locations available for electronic signs in the City (Phase II). The proposed change offers no economic benefits to the City of San Jose and comes at a great financial cost to the City. It will allow the proliferation of lighted digital advertisement in the City, with potentially dozens of freeway facing, free standing, energy wasting, driver distracting and hazardous to wildlife electronic billboards. It will also allow electronic signage on buildings and structures in some areas of Downtown San Jose.

And please call your city council member and express your opposition to electronic billboards. You can find their contact information HERE.

Here are some facts, questions and talking points:

• There is no economic benefit to the City. Why is this a priority at all?

• Science shows clear causation between electronic signs and distracted driving. - Why risk more accidents and put people's lives at risk with freeway facing Electronic Signs?

• Artificial light at night interferes with the internal clocks of all living things, disrupting hormones and physiological functions. It can increase health risks, including cancer (see link HERE) The City should not promote changes that increase the health risks of its citizens.

• The City is proposing the expansion of allowable signage lighting hours throughout the night. Most migratory birds fly long-distances at night, and alight to rest from their journeys during the hours just before dawn. The City should not interfere with the amazing phenomenon of bird migration.

• Highway 87 and I280 have been classified as “scenic highways” and are free of billboards at this time. Why abandon this policy?

• How will this impact the Lick Observatory? How will YOU be able to see Comet Neowise through the City Glow?

• City staff has said that electronic signs will replace regular billboards at a rate of 4:1 and that this would improve the aesthetics of San Jose. Do you agree that glaring lights at night improve the quality of life in San Jose? The City could find a better way to remove blight. What would this process set in motion? What will happen when these electronic signs become blight? Will they be replaced with even brighter signs?

• Proponents say that this change will create a legal path for this type of signage. They argue that these signs appear anyway, and Code Enforcement is weak. Does it make sense to legitimize hazards rather than strengthen code enforcement? Is permitting 90+ electronic signs the best solution? Will code enforcement be able to correct neighborhood complaints about the brightness of the lights?

• Proponents say they will study impacts to wildlife. There is already a large body of research detailing ways that light pollution harms birds, plants and animals. So many populations of flora and fauna are in decline. The City should not cause further unnecessary harm.

• Digital billboards are tracking you (see link HERE). The most intrusive aspect of the web is expanding into our daily lives, targeting us with political and commercial ads.

Please email or call your City council member and ask San Jose to stop this runaway process, and to focus on the critically important health, social and environmental issues that our society is struggling with. Please ask them to SHELVE THIS PROJECT.

Much appreciated,

Shani Kleinhaus
Environmental Advocate
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society

Conservation Corner Summer 2020

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.