Developer Plans to Build Habitat for Gnatcatcher : Wildlife: Unocal Land & Development will revegetate 60 acres with coastal sage scrub in exchange for construction on hilltop Fullerton property.

In exchange for developing hilltop property that provides nesting grounds for the California gnatcatcher, Unocal Land & Development Co. is mounting a unique experiment to restore adjacent land for the bird.

The revegetation project, which began Tuesday and should take almost two years, is one of the first major efforts by a private landowner to create gnatcatcher habitat.

To compensate for building a golf course and 883-unit housing development in the East Coyote Hills area of Fullerton, Unocal has agreed to revegetate and manage 60 acres of coastal sage scrub. The vanishing blend of Southern California shrubs is inhabited by the gnatcatcher as well as three dozen other rare animals under consideration for endangered-species protection.

Revegetation is an uncertain science, especially with coastal sage scrub. The few efforts to create the ecosystem have been undertaken only recently and the results are not in. Consequently, it is considered a gamble to give up 45 acres of existing habitat, which is inhabited by 10 pairs of gnatcatchers, for the newly seeded 60 acres.

But the pilot project, which will cost Unocal about $1.5 million, is being welcomed by city officials and environmental groups because it will be done under the watchful eye of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Unocal decided to become the first developer to voluntarily seek U.S. approval for its gnatcatcher plan because it anticipates the bird may be added to the endangered species list later this year. The city of Fullerton followed suit by making federal permission a condition of its consent.

Environmentalists said they are pleased that the company and city are working with the federal wildlife agency.

“If they are doing that, then they are doing the right thing. Not only do we commend Unocal, but we commend the city of Fullerton,” said Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitats League, a coalition of 30 environmental groups involved in gnatcatcher protection.

“This is what we are asking people to do. We’re not asking for a halt to development, we just want them to consult with wildlife agencies and follow their advice.”

Wildlife experts believe restoration of coastal sage scrub can succeed, and they hope to learn from the experiment.

“This isn’t the Michelangelo of habitat types,” said Jeffrey Opdycke, field manager at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional office in Carlsbad. “It’s not like an ancient forest that takes hundreds of years to grow. And I think it is less problematic than wetlands.”

The federal agency’s biologists, however, are withholding approval until Unocal commits to long-term maintenance of the newly planted land. Some other restoration projects, especially wetlands, have failed due to poor management.

Unocal officials say they have verbally agreed, and expect federal approval to be granted within six months. Grading for the development, which has been planned for 11 years, will occur gradually over a period of 20 months after the company obtains the permission.

On Tuesday, crews began clearing thick grasses in the first area to be restored, a 10-acre patch next to Ladera Vista Drive. Within a few weeks, seeds will be sprayed over a seven-acre area and another three acres will be covered with mulch from coastal sage scrub that will be scraped off nearby land.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on this. . . . It’s a very expensive way to landscape, so we don’t want this to just look like coastal sage scrub. We want it to be actually occupied by gnatcatchers,” said Dennis Chapman, vice president of Unocal Land and Development Co., based in Brea.

David Levine, a biologist with Michael Brandman & Associates, an Irvine environmental consulting firm hired by Unocal, said he hopes gnatcatchers will nest at the new site two to four years after the seeding.

A biologist will monitor it first on a weekly basis, then monthly, and Unocal has agreed to reseed if a certain percentage doesn’t regenerate every year over the next five years. After that, the land will probably be turned over to an environmental group or conservancy, Chapman said.

“Nobody else has done a revegetation project, followed it for five to 10 years and then monitored it for gnatcatcher use,” Levine said. “Based on Unocal’s commitment to make this work, this revegetation program has a better chance than any of working.”

MORE ON GNATCATCHER: State official seeks San Diego builders’ help in protecting bird’s habitat. B5

Unocal’s East Coyote Hills Project

Unocal Land and Development Co. plans to build an 883-unit housing development and golf course that will eliminate 45 acres of coastal sage scrub used as nesting grounds by the California gnatcatcher. In return, it plans to revegetate 60 nearby acres and leave another 65 existing acres of coastal sage scrub as open space. Creating New Nesting Grounds

These are the steps Unocal will take in the first phase of an experiment in creating gnatcatcher habitat. 1. Workers clear thick grasses from area to be revegetated.

2. Herbicide is sprayed in area.

3. Irrigation system is installed.

4. Coastal sage scrub seeds will be sprayed from hoses onto seven acres of land.

5. Some nearby acres of coastal sage scrub will be scraped, and then the plant material will be used as a four-inch layer of mulch to cover three acres. The seeds from that mulch are supposed to revegetate that area.

6. A biologist will monitor the project, at first on a weekly basis, then monthly.

Source: Unocal Land and Development Co.