SR 06:208 - Laserfiche WebLink

occurs along ridl'es to the west and in the Southeast Hills. The eastern slopes of the Pleasanton and Main Ridges contain the greatest concentration of native plant life in the Planning Area. Grassland. Grasslands arc the dominant vegetative communi~ found in hilly areas. Due to livestock grazing. non-native annual species - barnyard grass. bromes. roar grass. nit grass. Italian t:)'e. wild t:)'e. wild oats ripgut grass. barley. soft chess fescue oatgrass and Kentucky bluegrass - have mostly replaced native grasses. Native grasses still growing in the Planning Area arc perennial native bunchgrasses including purple needlegrass and nodding needlegrass. Common non-native herbaceous plants in grassland habitats include bur clover. fennel filaree a variety of thistles. prickly lettuce mustards. and white clover. After winter rains. the blossoms of indigenous plants - the California buttercup California poppy. lupine common chickweed. miner's lettuce clovers wild violet. and fuchsia - dot the grasslands. Cattle graze on many grasslands in the Planning Area. Open hillsides and levcl areas provide habitat' for the Alameda whipsnake (striped racer) a State and federal-listed threatened species. "I1,e US Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed an area west of Foothill Road as "critical habitat." for the Alameda whipsnake. For proposed critical habitat see Figure VII-I.) If this land were ultimately desi~'11ated as critical habitat it would limit development that might hann the snake's habitat. Department of Fish and Game Species of Special Concern and federal-listed animal species that live in the Planning Area include the California Tiger Salamander. red-legged frog. foothill yellow-lerxed frog and western pond turtle. The Califomia tiger salamander is a winter breeder migrating to the breeding site after rains. The salamanders utilize temporary ponds or fish-free permanent ponds. '!1,e red- legged frog lives in arroyos and creeks in the PlanninR Area and attains lengths in excess of 5 inches. Other amphibians in the Planning Area include California slender salamanders. arboreal salamanders California newts bullfrogs. western toads Pacific chorus frob>,;. and Pacific trecfrogs. 'lbe CaIlippe silvers pot butterfly has a wingspan of approximately 4.5 centimeters and is mainly oranl'e. tan. and brown. Historically this butterfly inhabited grasslands ranging over much of the northern San Francisco Bay region. The Callippe Preserve Open Space includes a 30-acre habitat for this endangered butterfly. Plant Life Vegetation serves a nUlnbcr of important functions in the environment, including food for human and other anitnal life, erosion and clinlatc control, surface water runoff reduction. soil cnrichnlcnt air quality improvement wildlife shelter and aesthetics. Figure VIt-l shows generalized land covers and Table VII-2 indicates the potential rare. threatened or endangered plants found in the Planninl' Area. Due to human activities and domesticated animals. little native vegetation remains within urbanized portions of the Planning Area. However. a mixture of native trees. shrubs. and herbaceous species 3 f labitat provides the natural environment and conditions where a pbnt or animal normally lives. Con os 1.]t..TIlt->flI. CC t~2,)06. ~...ninc VIt-4