Fairy Shrimp Surveys at the Gilbert Property
The 140-acre Gilbert site is located in Oakley in northeast Contra Costa County. The site was predominantly the level plain of a formerly irrigated pasture with a vegetated sand hill that rose in the center of the site, a remnant of the sand dunes that once occupied this region. The primary purpose of these surveys was to determine if special status invertebrate species that inhabit temporary pools were present on the site. Pools with adequate habitat were sampled at two-week intervals until they had dried following USFWS protocols. No special status vernal pool Branchiopods or other invertebrates were found on the site, leading to much more manageable and inexpensive permitting conditions.