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Shawn Smallwood, PhD
3108 Finch Street
Davis, CA 95616

Attn: Jodie Sackett
County of Los Angeles
Department of Regional Planning
320 West Temple Street, Room 1362
Los Angeles, CA 90012 13 June 2017

RE: Northlake Specific Plan SEIR

Dear Mr. Sackett,

I write to comment on the Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) prepared
for the Northlake Specific Plan (County of Los Angeles 2017), which I understand is to
be up to 3,150 dwelling units and additional commercial development covering 705-4
acres of a 1,330-acre project area in northern Los Angeles County. I also reviewed the
biological technical reports in support of the SEIR (BonTerra Psomas 2015).

My qualifications for preparing expert comments are the following. I earned a Ph.D.
degree in Ecology from the University of California at Davis in 1990, where I
subsequently worked for four years as a post-graduate researcher in the Department of
Agronomy and Range Sciences. My research has been on animal density and
distribution, habitat selection, habitat restoration, interactions between wildlife and
human infrastructure and activities, conservation of rare and endangered species, and
on the ecology of invading species. I have authored numerous papers on special-status
species issues, including "Using the best scientific data for endangered species
conservation," published in Environmental Management (Smallwood et al. 1999), and
"Suggested standards for science applied to conservation issues" published in the
Transactions of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society (Smallwood et al. 2001). I
served as Chair of the Conservation Affairs Committee for The Wildlife Society -
Western Section. I am a member of The Wildlife Society and the Raptor Research
Foundation, and I've been a part-time lecturer at California State University,
Sacramento. I was also Associate Editor of wildlife biology's premier scientific journal,
The Journal of Wildlife Management, as well as of Biological Conservation, and I was on
the Editorial Board of Environmental Management.

I have performed wildlife surveys in California for thirty-three years. Over these years, I
studied the impacts of human activities and human infrastructure on wildlife, including
on golden eagle, Swainson's hawk, burrowing owl, mountain lion, San Joaquin kangaroo
rat, and other species. I have also performed wildlife surveys at many proposed project
sites. I performed mountain lion track surveys throughout California since 1985,
including near the project site. I also collaborate with colleagues worldwide on the
underlying science and policy issues related to anthropogenic impacts on wildlife.

My CV is attached.

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