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From the Alameda Creek Alliance

Alameda Watershed Habitat Conservation Plan Meeting January 13

December 29, 2008 -- The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is preparing an Environmental Impact Report for their proposed Alameda Watershed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).

The SFPUC will hold a public scoping meeting for the HCP on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, at the Dublin Civic Center, Regional Meeting Room, 100 Civic Plaza, in Dublin.

The HCP will provide conservation measures and legal coverage for the SFPUC under the Endangered Species Act for lawful “take” of 12 special-status wildlife species and 5 plant species:

Covered Wildlife Species

1. Callippe Silverspot Butterfly

2. California Tiger Salamander

3. California Red-legged Frog

4. Foothill Yellow-legged Frog

5. Alameda Whipsnake

6. Western Pond Turtle

7. Tricolored Blackbird

8. Western Burrowing Owl

9. Townsend’s Western Big-eared Bat

10. Central California Coast Steelhead Trout (and rainbow trout)

11. Pacific lamprey

12. Central valley fall-run Chinook salmon

Covered Plant Species

1. Round-Leaved Filaree

2. Fragrant Fritillary

3. Diablo Helianthella

4. Robust Monardella

5. Most Beautiful Jewel-flower

Representatives of the San Francisco Planning Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service will be at the hearing to discuss the environmental review process and receive comments to assist in determining the scope and focus of the joint Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). SFPUC staff will provide an overview of the plan and recent updates, including the revised list of covered activities, the revised list of covered species, and preliminary modeling for the covered fish species.

Written comments on the HCP will be accepted on or before January 21, 2009.

See the SFPUC’s web page and the ACA web page for more information on the HCP.