Clearing of Possible Gnatcatcher Habitat Angers Environmentalists : Wildlife: Dana Point official defends developer, saying action at 10-acre site that included coastal sage scrub was in keeping with preservation plan.

A developer angered local environmentalists Thursday by clearing 10 acres of land that included coastal sage scrub said to be the home of nesting gnatcatchers.

The property, on a hillside along Del Obispo Street overlooking Doheny State Beach, has been home to five of the rare songbirds, including at least two nesting pairs, said Fred Roberts, a botanist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I have been dealing with the city for two years on that site and have alerted them that there are gnatcatchers there,” said Roberts, who noticed the bulldozing Thursday and called city officials. “If they have disrupted a nest, which they undoubtedly have, the fledglings are probably dead.”

City officials defended the developer’s action, saying steps were taken to protect the gnatcatcher.

As a condition of the 1990 approval for a senior housing development on the property, Santa Monica-based O’Malley Partners and the city devised a plan for relocating endangered plants and wildlife, said Ed Knight, the city’s director of development. The plan included requiring a biologist to be on the site during clearing of sensitive habitat, Knight added.

“The biologist told us he was out here (Wednesday) and the grading was done in accordance with our program,” Knight said. “He said he did not observe any gnatcatchers on the property, and if there were any, he would have moved them off site.”

Knight said the city had a report of two gnatcatchers on the property a year ago. But “who knows if they are still here this year,” Knight said. “I think that would be the key issue.”

Melvin J. Carpenter, the grading superintendent at the site, confirmed that a biologist, Douglas R. Willich of Orange-based P & D Technologies, was at the site Wednesday.

“I talked with him for about 30 minutes, and he didn’t think there was any problem with what we were doing,” Carpenter said. He added that the clearing was started at the south end of the property and worked toward the north, as stated in the mitigation plan, “so the animals, critters and birds had a chance to get to adjacent property.”

Neither Willich nor Edward O’Malley of O’Malley Partners returned repeated phone calls on Thursday.

Beyond whether birds were dislocated, environmentalists also objected to the clearing of sensitive habitat while the debate over protecting the gnatcatcher continues. The federal government has recommended that the bird be added to the endangered species list, while the state is trying to persuade landowners to voluntarily set aside land that is home to the gnatcatcher.