The Loma Prietan
December 2000/January 2001
Coyote Valley and Endangered Species
by Craig Breon
With issues of increased traffic congestion, worsening air quality, inadequate housing, and the potential to fuel growth in a vast region to the south, the Cisco Systems’ campus project in the Coyote Valley holds plenty for the people of our region to worry about. Nearly lost in the shuffle has been the fate of the Bay Checkerspot butterfly, a federally listed endangered species, and several rare plant species. Nonetheless, if Coyote Valley develops as currently proposed, these precarious species may decline further, heading towards extinction. Fortunately there’s still time to correct the problem. But San Jose and the entire South Bay region will have to first take the issue seriously.
Cisco is not proposing to develop directly on the habitat of these species. In fact, the Coyote Valley floor doesn’t even contain that particular habitat. Theoretically, San Jose could permit the 50,000 jobs and eventually 25,000 homes planned for Coyote without directly harming these species. So, then what’s the problem? Well, that takes a little scientific sleuthing as well as some common sense, both of which were in short supply when the San Jose City Council approved the Cisco project.
The Serpentine Story
The Bay Checkerspot butterfly, as well as plants including the Santa Clara Valley dudleya, Mount Hamilton thistle, Coyote ceanothus, Metcalf Canyon jewelflower, and Tiburon Indian paintbrush all live only on serpentine soils. Serpentine soils are rare and contain special chemical properties that have allowed them to resist the invasion of European grasses and other non-natives. Essentially, they are nutrient poor, to which native plants have adapted over ages. As a result, we have small islands of unique plant and animal communities in the Diablo Range, the Santa Teresa Ridge, and Tulare Hill, which collectively ring Coyote Valley. Additionally, these hillsides are awe-inspiring, especially when flowering in the spring, and represent some of the most accessible, local open spaces for future acquisition and protection in the Silicon Valley region.
Enter the Villain--Air Pollution
The rare plants and the butterfly are on the decline. In addition to habitat loss, one of the main reasons for this decline is air pollution. The process is as follows: Cars and other pollution sources emit nitrogen oxide (NOx). The NOx then floats over the serpentine areas and deposits nitrogen on the land. As any gardener knows, nitrogen is a fertilizer. As a result of this deposition, non-native, invasive grasses now have the nitrogen they need to grow in the serpentine soils. The invasives then out-compete or grow over the native plants, some of which are essential to the endangered Checkerspot butterfly’s survival. Hence, the species will inevitably decline.
Our regional air pollution problems have already caused serious problems for the serpentine-based species. However, pollution generated close to the serpentine
areas is even more harmful. The Cisco Systems campus in Coyote Valley is predicted to generate 232 tons of NOx per year as a result of automobile emissions. For comparison’s sake, that’s more NOx than will be produced by the Metcalf Energy Center power plant, which is proposed for the northern edge of Coyote Valley.
San Jose Responds
San Jose’s environmental documents for the Cisco project dismiss this whole issue by calling the species decline from nitrogen deposition "an interesting hypothesis." They maintain this denial in their opposition to the only published literature on the subject as well as documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that assert that the deposition process is real and does significant harm to the serpentine-dependent species.
Ironically, the Metcalf Energy Center, which Cisco ostensibly opposes, has agreed that their NOx will impact the serpentine species, and they have agreed to mitigate for that impact by preserving nearly 200 acres of serpentine lands and managing those lands for the rare species. Still, Cisco and San Jose stubbornly maintain their scientifically unsound stance.
Our Hero--The FWS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is charged with protecting endangered species. Our FWS branch in Sacramento takes their job seriously, and they’ve taken a proactive position to protect serpentine species. While they have little control over the Cisco project directly, they do have the ability to hold up some of the regional highway projects needed to facilitate development of Coyote Valley, including the Bailey Avenue freeway interchange and the widening of Highway 101. To date, the FWS has told the Army Corps of Engineers that they can not issue permits for these projects until impacts to serpentine species have been analyzed and mitigated, perhaps with a regional Habitat Conservation Plan.
The FWS may take considerable political heat for their position on protecting serpentine. Members of Sierra Club, Audubon, and other conservation organizations may be called on in the future to back the FWS efforts. Until then, we will track the Army Corps’ permitting process for the highway projects, and the issue of serpentine species impacts may be one of the grounds for the Sierra Club and Santa Clara Valley Audubon’s lawsuit over the Cisco project.
For the Bay Checkerspot butterfly and the rare serpentine plants, Coyote Valley development could spell doom or it could be the turning point towards preservation efforts.
For more info on serpentine species, see www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/coyote/index.htm.
The Sierra Club and Audubon Society have filed suit over the inadequacies of the Cisco/Coyote Valley Research Park Environmental Impact Report. To help defray legal expenses, please send a contribution to the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, 3921 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303.