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===Burrowing owl protection=== [[File:Burrowing Owl in Antioch 2009.jpg|thumb|left|Threatened burrowing owl in Antioch]] In late 2008, [[Burrowing owl|western burrowing owl]]s (''Athene cunicularia'') moved into a {{convert|25|acre|ha|adj=on}} housing development slated for construction.<ref>{{cite news | title=Kiper Homes announces {{sic|i|t's|nolink=y}} model grand opening at Blue Ridge in Antioch this weekend|newspaper=Mercury News|date=May 4, 2012|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-131220/ci_20551913/kiper-homes-announces-its-model-grand-opening-at}}</ref> In November 2009 the [[California Department of Fish & Game]] gave the developer permission to evict the owls before nesting season begins in February 2010. The birds regularly reuse burrows for years, and there is no requirement that suitable new habitat be found for the owls. Despite being listed as a [[California species of special concern|Species of Special Concern]] (a pre-listing category under the [[Endangered Species Act]]) by the [[California Department of Fish and Game]] in 1979, California's population declined 60 percent from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and continues to decline at roughly 8 percent per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Owl Be Damned:Developers plow into the homes of the burrowing owl |author=Rendon, Jim |newspaper=Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper |date=NovβDec 1999 |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.24.99/cover/species5-9947.html }}</ref> In 1994, the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] nominated the western burrowing owl as a federal Category 2 candidate for listing as endangered or threatened, but loss of habitat continues due to development of the flat, grassy lands used by the owl. According to [[The Institute for Bird Populations]], there has been a 50 percent decline in burrowing owl populations in the Bay Area in the last 10 to 15 years. Their status protects them from disturbance during nesting season or killing at any time, but does not guarantee them a permanent home, as outside of breeding season, owls can be removed.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Antioch Developer Evicts Burrowing Owls |author=Donna Whitmarsh |journal=Bay Nature |url=http://baynature.org/articles/web-only-articles/burrowing-owls-antioch/?searchterm=burrowing%20owl |access-date=January 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004163015/http://baynature.org/articles/web-only-articles/burrowing-owls-antioch/?searchterm=burrowing%20owl |archive-date=October 4, 2011 }}</ref> In November 2009, a local resident tallied 11 owls in the area, including four pairs. Antioch is the first East Bay city to designate habitat [[Covenant (law)|protected by deed]] for burrowing owls, since residents pushed for protections for those displaced by the community center at Prewett Park.<ref>{{cite news |author=Costa |first=Hilary |date=November 8, 2009 |title=Wildlife returns to abandoned Contra Costa County subdivisions |newspaper=Contra Costa Times |url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_13725999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204034900/http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_13725999 |archive-date=December 4, 2009}}</ref> Despite organized protests at Kiper Homes' Blue Ridge property by [[Burrowing Owl Conservation Network|''Friends of East Bay Owls'']], one-way doors were installed in the birds' burrows so that the owl families could not return to their nests.<ref>{{cite news |title= Owl advocates protest birds relocation |author= Katherine Tam |date= January 3, 2010 |url= http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14115773?nclick_check=1 |newspaper= Contra Costa Times |access-date= January 3, 2010 }}</ref> A 1992β1993 survey reported no breeding burrowing owls in [[Napa County, California|Napa]], [[Marin County, California|Marin]], and [[San Francisco County|San Francisco]] counties, and only a few in [[San Mateo County|San Mateo]] and [[Sonoma County|Sonoma]]. The [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] population is declining and restricted to a few breeding locations, leaving only [[Alameda County, California|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County|Contra Costa]], and [[Solano County|Solano]] counties as the remnant breeding range.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wild Neighbors: Antioch Owls Face Eviction |author=Joe Eaton |newspaper=Berkeley Daily Planet |date=January 14, 2010 |url=http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2010-01-14/article/34485?headline=Wild-Neighbors-Antioch-Owls-Face-Evicition |access-date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref> To assist the displaced Antioch owls in finding new homes a group of local residents and the environmental group Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed constructed six artificial burrows at a designated burrowing owl habitat preserve in the hills north of Prewett Water Park.<ref>{{cite news |title=Owls at Antioch subdivision may have new home |author=Paul Burgarino |newspaper=Contra Costa Times |date=March 19, 2010 |url=http://friendsofeastbayowls.org/News/CCTIMES-AntiochOwls032010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516063220/http://friendsofeastbayowls.org/News/CCTIMES-AntiochOwls032010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |access-date=June 27, 2010 }}</ref>
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