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Coyote Valley Wildlife Corridor

by Team #5

island fox

Introduction

Coyote Valley Landscape & Wildlife Corridor

  • Coyote Valley is a large expanse of farmland, orchards and homes, approximately 7,200 acres (2,914 ha) in size, located in a narrowing of the Santa Clara Valley, in the southernmost part of San Jose, California.
  • The Coyote Valley is targeted for urban development and until March 2008 was undergoing the State of California Specific Plan process in which master planning of the area began. The process was intended to analyze the feasibility of bringing new development to the area, with the participation of planners, environmentalists, engineers, and the general public.

City of San Jose as "Urban Reserve"

In 2000 this vital environment was threatened again by cisco systems, san jose undertook a massive planning effort called “coyote valley specific plan”

In 1983 there was a proposed residential development which threatened 5,000 acres of land in the coyote valley

San jose city council did not permit residential development .

The plan was for coyote valley to be build into a mini-city, but alliances were build to fight this

Diablo Range

Abiotic Component

Location: It is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay area south to the Salinas Valley area of northern California

-It is bordered on the northeast by the San Joaquin River, on the southeast by the San Joaquin Valley, on the southwest by the Salinas River, and on the northwest by the Santa Clara Valley.

Topography:

  • Average Elevation: 3,000ft
  • Area covers 600 square miles (approx. 1,600km^2)
  • Highest peak: San Benito Mountains 5,241 ft
  • Range consist of rolling grasslands and plateaus
  • surrounded by hills and valleys
  • plateaus range from 2,000 - 3,000ft
  • consists of streams draining from eastern Slopes

Diablo Range Climate

Mediterranean Type

  • wet and cool winters
  • coastal ranges receives half the precipitation along the coastline
  • summer seasons tend to be very dry and hot
  • winter are mild with moderate rainfall
  • Precipitation Level: 376mm (near sea level)

Location: Downtown San Jose (lowest)

  • Precipitation Level: 600mm

Location: Mount Hamilton (highest)

  • Areas above 2,500 feet get light to moderate snow during winter

Biotic Components

Fauna: Flora:

  • Red Tail Hawk
  • Golden Eagle
  • Bay Checkerspot Butterfly (Endangered)
  • California Tiger Salamander
  • Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
  • Ground Squirrels
  • Tule Elk
  • Black-Tailed Deer
  • Grizzly Bear
  • Pronghorn
  • Wolf
  • Coyote
  • Mountain Lion
  • Gray Fox
  • California Golden Violet
  • Prairie Shooting Star
  • Fragrant Fritillary
  • Chaparral Currant
  • Bigleaf Maple
  • White Alder
  • California Bay Laurel
  • California Sycamore
  • Coast Live Oak
  • Gray Pine
  • Coulter Pine
  • Knobcone Pine
  • California Buckeye
  • Ponderosa Pine

Santa Cruz Mountains

Abiotic Components

LOCATION: Along the coast of Central California, from San Francisco Peninsula to Salinas Valley

  • passes through San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, with San Francisco at the northern end and the Pajaro River at the southern end.

TOPOGRAPHY:

  • Mostly temperate rainforest
  • The northernmost part: Montara Mountain
  • The middle portion: the Sierra Morena, which includes a summit called Sierra Morena
  • Extends south to a gap at Lexington Reservoir, south of the gap the mountain range is the Sierra Azul
  • San Andreas Fault run throughout the entire range
  • Highest point: Loma Prieta Peak (3,786 feet tall)

CLIMATE: Mediterranean type

  • majority of the annual precipitation falling between November and April (more than 50 inches a year!)
  • Due to a rain shadow effect, precipitation on the eastern side of the range is significantly less, about 25 inches a year
  • Snow falls mostly in the southern area of the range, for that is where the highest peaks are located
  • Winter temperatures vary from low 40’s to low 60’s
  • Summer temperatures vary from upper 40’s to high 80’s (depending on elevation)

Biotic Components

FAUNA:

  • Black tailed deers
  • Mule deers
  • Black bears
  • Mountain lions
  • Gray foxes
  • Red foxes
  • Brush rabbits
  • Desert woodrats
  • Virginia opossums
  • Rattlesnakes
  • Western gray squirrels
  • Rock dove
  • Band-tailed pigeon

FLORA:

  • Coast Redwoods
  • Coast Douglas Fir
  • Coast Live Oak
  • Pacific Madrone
  • Big Leaf Maple
  • California Bay Laurel
  • California Black Oak
  • Manzanita
  • California Scrub Oak
  • Santa Cruz Cypress
  • Santa Lucia Fir
  • Channel Island bush poppy
  • Yellow Mountain Dandelion

What is Safe Passage for Coyote Valley Publication about?

‘The Coyote Valley Landscape is an integral component of the California Floristic Province. It has been determined to be a biodiversity hotspot with over 200 species of birds, including 21 species of raptors, and over 20 species of mammals.’

A User’s Guide to Developing Protective Highway Crossings for Wildlife While Connecting California’s Students with Science and Nature

WHY IS LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY THROUGH THE COYOTE VALLEY WILDLIFE CORRIDOR IMPORTANT FOR WILDLIFE?

If Coyote Valley is developed, the linkage will be lost and species in the Santa Cruz Mountains with large home ranges may become locally extinct due to genetic isolation.’

‘Coyote Valley is one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of undeveloped valley floor, providing vital landscape linkage between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range.

Why?

The importance of wildlife corridors or “connectivity” is based on sound science. Successful examples such as in Banff, Canada are already in existence.

The Bay Checkerspot Butterfly also requires as many habitat patches as possible to protect against annual differences in weather, which can cause entire populations to die out in the smaller patches. Tule Elk are found along the edges of Highway 101 and require habitat connectivity

Animals require connectivity between areas of suitable habitat to take advantage of seasonal changes in food and weather and to travel long distances to find mates. Without a sufficiently large gene pool, species will be vulnerable to inbreeding. Without a corridor to the Diablo Range, the population of mountain lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains will be isolated and could likely die out.

Last Chance Landscape-Coyote Valley

Scenic America declared Coyote Valley as a “Last Chance Landscape” 2001

  • It has local, regional, state,

and national significance as a critical connectivity link within the California Floristic Province.

  • It provides safe passage for

wildlife between the Mount Hamilton Region of the Diablo Range, Santa Teresa Hills, and the Sierra Azul region of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Why?

- Coyote Valley is approximately 7,000 acres (28 km and is one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of undeveloped valleyfloor in Santa Clara Valley, which connects the Santa Cruz Mountains with the Diablo Range

- Has been determined to be biodiversity hotspot with over 200 species of birds, including 21 species of raptors, and over 20 species of mammals (R.Phillips et al. 2008).

- The recommended minimum width of a viable corridor for multiple species is 2 km wide (Penrod et al. 2006). The current width of the Coyote Valley floor is 1.95 km

Ecosystem Management

An approach to maintaining or restoring the composition, structure, function, and delivery of services of natural and modified ecosystems for the goal of achieving sustainability

Landscape

Communities need to educate and train people pf the community to become more effective stewards of their environment.

California is the definition of biodiversity because it has the highest total number of species and the highest number of endemic species. The reason why California has the highest total number of species is California has great landscapes. To protect landscape means to protect species.

Success Triangle

Substance: technical and factual content of the situation (the scientist and technician, for whom data collection & analysis are fulfilling and compelling.

This concept is central to understanding how we make progress working with people. Successful collaboration shares three components: substance, process, and relationships.

Process: the explicit and formal steps used in making a management decision.

Relationships: the networks that develop among individuals with direct or indirect interest in or influence over a management decision.

Stakeholders

In general it is “Anyone who wants to be!”

It is everyone who is interest in the topic at hand and wishes to participate in decision making.

Five Categories of Stakeholders

- People who live, work, play or worship in or near an ecosystem

- People interested in the resource, its users, its use, or its non-use.

- People interested in the process used to make decisions

- People who pay the bills

- People who represent citizens or are legally responsible for public resources.

Example of Native Animals

Plants

Why We Care?

Coyote Valley is the largest undeveloped valley floor habitat and open space remaining in the Santa Clara County and includes sacred lands of the Amah Mutsun and Muwekma Ohlone peoples. The Coyote Valley Landscape is an integral component of the California Floristic Province. It has been determined to be a biodiversity hotspot with over 200 species of birds, including 21 species of raptors, and over 20 species of mammals. Coyote Valley has been designed as an “Urban Reserve”, land that the city reserves the right to develop, should future conditions require it – conditions that focus on short – term economic growth.

Why Coyote Valley is Important and Beneficial?

offers space for wildlife to be seen

strong opportunities for ecotourism

adds green space (visual attractiveness) to the city

provides places for relaxation and recreation

serves as public education “hotspot”

largest freshwater wetland in Santa Clara County

opportunities for stewardships

creates highly sought after residential quality

connects neighborhoods with nature

Stakeholders Analysis

Gathering these information:

- Primary information

- General Characteristics

- Interests

- Probable level of Involvement

- Stakeholder needs

WE PREFER THIS

RATHER THAN THIS

SAVE THE LAST BITS FOR OUR FUTURE

In 2010 environmental advocates successfully advocated for recognition of the ecological value of coyote valley as an urban reserved in the San Jose general plan.

Urban reserve until 2040

Urban reserve-lands outside of an urban growth boundary that will be provided for a future expansion over a long period of time

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