FULLERTON : Bird Habitat Cleared for Development

A developer that was given government approval will begin clearing 30 acres of gnatcatcher habitat Wednesday as part of a project for a golf course and 883 homes in north Fullerton.

The Unocal Land & Development Co., which on Monday announced the plan to clear the land, will build the homes, an 18-hole golf course and a wilderness park on 391 acres in the East Coyote Hills. About 20 gnatcatchers, a threatened bird species, live on the site.

A federally approved plan will have the developers plant 60 acres with costal sage scrub in exchange for 45 acres of the birds’ habitat that will be disturbed by the project.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the developer a special permit in October.

David Levine, project biologist, said the company has already prepared 10 acres for the birds. He said the land was mulched and seeded with coastal sage scrub and other native plants. He said irrigation also was installed.

Over the next eight months, the developer will prepare about 25 acres for the birds.

Levine said he will monitor the clearing of the 30 acres “to make absolutely sure that no birds are killed by the bulldozers.” The clearing will take about two weeks. The cactus wren, another rare bird, also will be protected during the development.

Levine said the company is clearing land now to avoid grading during the gnatcatchers’ nesting period during the spring and summer. The birds nest from mid-March to mid-June, he said.

During the nesting season, Levine will mark gnatcatcher nests, and bulldozers will be kept at least 500 feet away. Flags will mark the nests, Levine said, and their locations will be mapped.

The developer has said the conservation project will cost about $1.5 million. The net result will be an addition of 15 acres of coastal sage scrub to the 110 acres that the gnatcatchers now inhabit in the area.