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Home My WebLink About12-12-2016 Item 1, Cooper (2)To: SLO Tree Committee  Re: New Business: Review 71 Palomar Drive Development Plan From: Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo  Date: December 12, 2016 Honorable Chair Ritter and Committee Members - I would like to address the superﬁciality of Rincon’s Peer Review of the Biological Resources Analysis of the IS-MND and IS- MND Addendum for the Proposed 71 Palomar Project in San Luis Obispo County, California Rincon’s peer review of biological resources is, at best, highly speculative because their biologist conducted only one site visit on the subject property on September 20, 2016. Rincon states that species listed as threatened, endangered, or rare are not known to be present at the site. However, there is a chance that because of the presence of the mature eucalyptus grove the Swainson’s hawk and the yellow warbler, both listed as a threatened species by the California Department of Fish and Game, may visit this site. Rincon mentions Cooper’s hawk because they feed on mourning dove, rock pigeon, American robin and sparrows - birds that presumably visit this site as well. Also, Cooper’s hawk typically nest in the foliage of eucalyptus trees. Nesting white tailed kite is mentioned because of close proximity to open grasslands. We are told there is potential roosting habitat for the pallid bat. Most of the focus in this report is on protecting the bat population and on the installation of bat boxes. Rincon gives no thought for how mature trees reduce pollution, sequester carbon, and provide habitat to not only birds but also to insects and small mammals and reptiles. Nor does Rincon recognize the fact that groves of trees only a few years old support fewer species than more established groves of trees. What Rincon doesn’t state is that large raptors require tall living trees. These predators need the height protection and ﬂat surfaces only tall trees can provide. The tallest trees on this site are indisputably the Eucalyptus trees and they provide a wealth of biodiversity which Rincon was not prepared to recognize. Although the eucalyptus trees have been topped, I dispute Rincon’s claim that these trees are “unsightly” and that their limbs would necessarily have a poor connection to their trunks. Without going into detail on the biome that could be sustained by all of the trees on this site and for the sake of brevity, I would like to simply focus on two tree species, the Eucalyptus and the olive trees. Eucalyptus Globulos ﬂowers are mainly pollinated by insects, but birds and small mammals may also act as pollinating agents. In fact, Eucalyptus is particularly valuable as bee pasture, because it blooms year-round. Migrating monarch butterﬂies depend on eucalyptus groves as a wintering spot. The hollows in older Eucalyptus trees also provide homes to animals and birds. Amphibians such as arboreal salamander, California slender salamander, Ensatina (Salamander), California newt, rough skinned newt, and Paciﬁc tree frog live primarily under fallen logs and duff. Amphibians feed on such invertebrates as millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs, Collenbola (Springtail), spiders and earthworms. Several snakes such as the ring-necked snake, rubber boa and sharp tailed snake have adapted to Eucalyptus groves. The ring-necked snake feeds on the California slender salamander, the rubber boa feeds on meadow mice, and the sharp tailed snake feeds strictly on slugs. Other common reptiles include the northern and southern alligator lizards, which live under fallen logs, and the western fence lizard and western skink, which live in the less densely forested groves. Several mammals have adapted to Eucalyptus. Deer ﬁnd concealment in dense groves where there are suckers, coyote brush, and poison oak; moles live in the surface layer of the soil, meadow mice, gophers, and fox squirrels are found in the eucalyp groves. Birders have identiﬁed over 45 species of birds in Sutro Forest. At Jepson Prairie Preserve, CA, Swainson’s hawk and yellow warblers, both of which are “Blue Listed” species of concern, nest in the trees. At Pescadero Creek County Park, south of San Francisco along the coast of California, great blue herons and egrets use the trees to build their rookeries. The heavy-use birds feed on Eucalyptus seeds by pecking the mature pods on trees or fallen pods; so they must wait for the pods to disintegrate or be crushed by cars. .Among the birds that feed on seeds in the trees are: the chestnut back chickadee and the Oregon junco. Examples of birds that feed on ground seeds are the song sparrow, the fox sparrow, the brown towhee, and the mourning dove. Birds that take advantage of the nectar from blossoms either by drinking the nectar or by feeding on the insects that are attracted to the nectar include Allen’s hummingbird, Bullock’s oriole, red winged blackbird, and black headed grosbeak. Birds that use the trees as nest sites include the brown creeper, which makes its nest under peeling shags of bark and feeds on trunk insects and spiders, the robin, the chickadee, the downy woodpecker, and the red shafted ﬂicker. The downy woodpecker and the red shafted ﬂicker peck into the trunk of dead or dying trees to form their nests. When these nests are abandoned, chickadees, Bewick wrens, house wrens and starlings move in. Downy woodpeckers use dead stubs to hammer out a rhythmic pattern to declare their territories. The red-tailed hawk prefers tall trees for a nesting site. It therefore favors eucalypts over trees such as oak or bay. Great horned owls use nests that have been abandoned by red-tail hawks or they nest on platforms formed between branches from fallen bark. The brown towhee and the golden crowned sparrow are birds that use piles of debris on the ground for shelter during rains. As for European Olive Trees, fruit and seed eating birds, including ﬁnches, will steal fruit from these trees and even olives that aren’t yet ripe. The acorns of the Coast Live Oak feed everything from squirrels and deer to wild turkeys and black bears. More than 500 types of butterﬂies and moths are attracted to this host plant. In conclusion, the focus of the Rincon Biological report was not on preserving this habitat but rather on creating buffers around nesting sites, particularly during the nesting season (between February 1 and September 15) while tree removal and construction takes place. For comparison purposes, I am including below a list of biological species mentioned by Rincon and a list mentioned in the following several articles (https://sutroforest.com/eucalyptus-myths/) which expand on the beneﬁts of preserving mature eucalyptus groves. Rincon The Nature Conservancy & Professor Dov F. Sax (Brown University) Birds: Birds: Cooper’s hawk Swainson’s hawk Mourning dove Yellow warblers Rock pigeon Great blue heron American robin Egret Sparrow Chestnut back chickadee White tailed kite Oregon junk Pallid bat Song sparrow Fox sparrow Brown towhee Mourning dove Allen’s hummingbird Bullock’s oriole Red winged blackbird Black headed grosbeak Brown creeper Robin Downy woodpecker Red shafted ﬂicker Bewick wrens House wrens Starlings Red tailed hawk Great horned owl Golden crowned sparrow Small Mammals: Deer Mole Fox squirrel Meadow mouse Gopher Reptiles: Arboreal salamander California slender salamander Ensatina California newt Rough skinned newt Paciﬁc tree frog Ring necked snake Rubber boa Sharped tailed snake Alligator lizard (northern and southern) Western fence lizard Western skink Insects: Monarch butterﬂy Honey bee Millipede Centipede Sow bug Collenbola Spider Earthworm Sources: Authors: Caitlin Bean, Mary J. Russo (revision), Global Invasive Species Team, The Nature Conservancy http://wiki.bugwood.org/Eucalyptus_globulus#POLLINATION http://wiki.bugwood.org/Eucalyptus_globulus#WILDLIFE Author: Gustavo Iglesias Trabado GIT Forestry Consulting http://git-forestry-blog.blogspot.com/2008/06/eucalyptus-poisoning-soil-i.html  Author: Dov. F. Sax Equal Diversity In Disparate Species Assemblages: A Comparison Of Native And Exotic Woodlands In California http://elkhornsloughctp.org/uploads/ﬁles/1109813068Sax2002.pdf