2.
Response
to
Comments
2.9
Individual
Responses
to
Comments
from
Organizations
status
species
and
wetlands,
including
tidally
influenced
habitats.
The
designs
and
plans
for
habitat
enhancement
will
be
subject
to
review
and
approval
by
the
City
and
shall
be
a
precursor
for
any
development
at
the
site.
The
Draft
EIR
recognizes
that
wetlands,
no
matter
the
characterization,
are
valuable
and
dynamic
ecological
resources.
The
Draft
EIR
discusses
emergent
freshwater
wetlands
and
open
water
wetlands
at
the
site,
both
of
which
are
also
presented
in
Figure
4.C-1.
See
9
for
discussion
regarding
identification
of
wetlands
within
the
Project
site.
The
endangered
unarmored
three-
spine
stickleback
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
williamsoni
),
a
subspecies
of
three-
spine
stickleback
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
),
is
restricted
to
three
areas
in
Southern
California.
Two
other
species
of
three-spine
stickleback
occur
exclusively
in
Southern
California:
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
microcephalus
)
nd
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
santaannae
)
is
endemic
only
to
Shay
Creek
in
Southern
California
as
well.
Neither
the
stickleback
ssp.
microcephalus
or
ssp.
santannae
are
State
or
federally
listed.
Based
on
the
historical
record
for
the
agency-listed
subspecies
of
unarmored
three-spine
stickleback
(ssp.
williamsoni
),
it
is
unlikely
that
this
species
has
ever
occurred
within
the
San
Francisco
bay
region.
The
references
among
Draft
EIR
comments
regarding
observation
of
“unarmored
three-spine
stickleback”
within
the
Baylands
Project
area
presume
the
presence
of
a
subspecies
only
known
from
southern
California.
The
stickleback
fish
that
may
occur
in
the
San
Francisco
Bay
area
would
be
classified
under
the
more
common
three-spine
stickleback
with
nomenclature
of
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
),
with
no
subspecies
.
Regardless,
the
need
for
evaluation
of
“stickleback”
is
unwarranted
due
to
the
more
common
nature
of
the
three-spine
stickleback
(
Gasterosteus
aculeatus
),
which
is
the
only
subspecies
that
might
be
found
in
the
San
Francisco
Bay.
Based
on
evaluation
of
habitat
present
on
the
site
and
the
results
from
the
CNDDB
searches,
it
was
determined
that
San
Francisco
garter
snake
and
California
red-legged
frog
would
not
likely
be
present
as
shown
in
Table
4.C-1.
The
overall
assessment
of
habitat
suitability
for
San
Francisco
garter
snake
was
done
using
appropriate
analysis
parameters
and
the
discussion
on
pages
4.C-19
and
4.C-20
accurately
and
adequately
describes
existing
conditions
related
to
this
species.
The
Baylands
Project
site
was
not
found
to
support
suitable
habitat
for
the
San
Francisco
garter
snake
based
on
those
parameters
as
described
in
the
second
paragraph
of
page
4.C-20,
which
provides
more
detail
in
addition
to
the
lack
of
sufficient
permanent
water.
Additionally,
as
stated
by
the
San
Bruno
Mountain
Habitat
Conservation
Plan,
Year
2013
Activities
Report
for
Covered
Brisbane
Baylands
Final
EIR
2.9.8-6
May
2015