Overall Rating	Reporter
Overall Score
Liaison	Michelle Rodriguez
Submission Date	Jan. 25, 2023

STARS v2.2

San Diego Mesa College
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	Reporter	Michelle Rodriguez Professor Political Science

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:

Yes

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:

Mesa College is adjacent to a Multi-Habitat Planning Area, which the City has identified as a priority area for conservation and preservation.
https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/programs/mscp/summary
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/pds/mscp/docs/SCMSCP/FinalMSCPProgramPlan.pdf

Mesa College is located within the California Floristic Province biodiversity habitat because of its high number of endemic plant species and extensive habitat loss.
https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/hotspots-defined
https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/california-floristic-province
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Endangered and vulnerable species

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

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Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

This link contains a map with details of the areas of biodiversity importance on San Diego Mesa College campus.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ndrUPvQ1Qoc5cErRtRhQVo3IldRJF6VnQJNMjV2kArA/edit?usp=sharing

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

An assessment of areas of biodiversity importance was completed in 2021 by Busby Biological Services. It included the following scope of work:
"BBS will review available plans/documents, conduct a brief aerial analysis of the project vicinity, and conduct a database search (e.g., California Natural Diversity Database, SanGIS) to identify sensitive species or other sensitive resources that are known to
occur or have the potential to occur within the vicinity of the project.

BBS will conduct a site reconnaissance survey that focuses on mapping the vegetation communities and generally assessing the potential for sensitive biological resources (e.g., sensitive vegetation, sensitive species, wetlands) within and immediately adjacent to the project. During this survey, BBS will also take photographs to include with the biological letter report.

BBS will prepare a biological letter report in accordance with the City of San Diego requirements. This letter report will briefly describe the project and project location; explain the methods used for the background research and reconnaissance survey;
present the results of the background research and reconnaissance survey, including a general site description, site setting (surrounding land uses), soils, topography, vegetation communities and plant/wildlife species detected onsite; discuss the potential for sensitive biological resources within and adjacent to the proposed project; analyze impacts associated with the proposed project; and discuss potential mitigation that may be required."

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

The assessment completed by Busby Biological Services included the undeveloped land on the south and southwest of campus. It excluded the developed parts of the campus.

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

The SDCCD Administrative Procedure on Sustainability calls for the mentions: “development of a wildlife and native plant management strategy that supports habitat conservation, management and biodiversity within our campuses and their surrounding areas.”

https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sdccd/Board.nsf/files/C9GQSH65C8F3/$file/Approval%20of%20Sustainability%20Administrative%20Procedures%20.pdf

Mesa College is exploring the installation of a trail through these areas that will contribute to the campus appreciation and preservation of these habitats.

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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