Restoration of Desert Tortoise Habitat
Summary
SCH Number
2021090238
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
Restoration of Desert Tortoise Habitat
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/14/2021
Document Description
The project will identify five areas within the Chuckwalla Critical Habitat Unit of the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit and Desert Tortoise Recovery Focal Areas. Specifically, all within the Desert Tortoise Focus Area called Chuckwalla West. Survey plots to define vegetation communities, native annual richness and abundance, vegetation cover and native plants for seed collections. Collect, store, and propagate seeds for restoration. Remove all non-native plants from each plot and revegetate with propagated plants. Protect, water, and monitor propagated plants. Restore degraded desert tortoise habitat sites within the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit due to invasive plants that reduce available foraging sources to the tortoise. This would benefit desert tortoise, desert tortoise habitat, help to manage invasive plant species, increase native plant cover, thereby improving the overall habitat conditions for the species.
Contact Information
Name
Andrea Stroud
Agency Name
Energy Commission
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
See Figure 1
Counties
Imperial, Riverside
Regions
Southern California
Other Location Info
Chuckwalla West in the Colorado Desert Recovery Focal Area
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15307
Reasons for Exemption
Cal. Code of Regs., tit. 14, section 15307 provides that actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law to assure the maintenance, restoration or enhancement of a natural resource where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment are categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act. The mitigation project is part of the conditions of certification required by the Energy Commission for the approval of a license for the Rice Solar Energy Project, a 150 MW renewable energy facility in Riverside County. The Energy Commission is entering into this contract for the restoration work to satisfy the revegetation plan prepared for the conditions of certification of the license. This project is to restore desert tortoise habitat including surveying desert land, collecting native plant seeds, propagating and planting native plants and removing non-native plants by hand in the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit. For these reasons, this project is exempt under section 15307.
County Clerk
Sacramento
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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