Resource Management Plan for Santa Margarita Preserve San Diego County June 2012 Santa Margarita Preserve RMP June 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS .............................................................................................. iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose of Resource Management Plan ................................................ 1 1.1.1 Draft North County Plan ............................................................... 2 1.1.2 Draft North County MSCP Framework RMP and ASMDs ............ 2 1.2 Implementation ........................................................................................ 3 1.2.1 Management Approach ................................................................ 3 1.2.2 Responsible Parties/Designation of Land Manager ...................... 3 1.2.3 Regulatory Context ....................................................................... 4 1.2.4 Funding Mechanism ..................................................................... 4 2.0 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ........................................................................... 5 2.1 Property Location .................................................................................... 5 2.2 Geographical Setting ............................................................................... 5 2.2.1 Site Access ................................................................................... 5 2.2.2 Draft North County Plan Context .................................................. 8 2.2.3 County of San Diego General Plan Context ................................. 8 2.3 Physical and Climatic Conditions ............................................................ 8 2.3.1 Geology and Soils ........................................................................ 8 2.3.2 Climate ....................................................................................... 11 2.3.3 Hydrology ................................................................................... 11 2.3.4 Fire History ................................................................................. 13 2.4 Land Use ............................................................................................... 13 2.4.1 On-Site Land Use ....................................................................... 13 2.4.2 Adjacent Properties .................................................................... 13 2.4.3 Easements, Rights or Restrictive Covenants ............................. 13 2.5 Trails ..................................................................................................... 15 3.0 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ........................................................................ 17 3.1 Vegetation Communities/Habitat ........................................................... 17 3.2 Plant Species ........................................................................................ 24 3.2.1 Plant Species Present ................................................................ 24 3.2.2 Rare, Threatened or Endangered Plants Present ...................... 24 3.2.3 Rare, Threatened or Endangered Plants with High Potential to Occur .......................................................................................... 26 3.2.4 Non-Native and/or Invasive Plant Species ................................. 26 3.3 Wildlife Species ..................................................................................... 32 3.3.1 Wildlife Species Present ............................................................. 32 3.3.2 Rare, Threatened or Endangered Wildlife Present ..................... 32 3.3.3 Rare, Threatened or Endangered Wildlife with High Potential to Occur .......................................................................................... 41 3.3.4 Non-native and/or Invasive Wildlife Species ............................... 48 3.4 Overall Biological and Conservation Value ........................................... 48 i Santa Margarita Preserve RMP June 2012 3.4.1 Wildlife Linkages and Corridors .................................................. 49 4.0 CULTURAL RESOURCES ........................................................................... 51 4.1 Site History ............................................................................................ 51 4.1.1 Pre-Contact ................................................................................ 51 4.1.2 Post-Contact ............................................................................... 52 4.1.3 Historic Overview of the Santa Margarita Preserve .................... 58 4.2 Native American Consultation ............................................................... 61 4.3 Cultural Resource Descriptions ............................................................. 61 4.3.1 Prehistoric Resources ................................................................ 62 4.3.2 Historic Resources ..................................................................... 62 4.4 Resource Significance .......................................................................... 63 5.0 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 65 5.1 Management Goals and Objectives ...................................................... 65 5.1.1 Draft North County Plan Goals ................................................... 65 5.1.2 Management Directives and Implementation Measures ............. 65 5.2 Biological Resources Element (A) ......................................................... 66 5.2.1 Biological Monitoring .................................................................. 66 5.2.2 Draft North County Plan Covered Species-Specific Monitoring and Management .............................................................................. 68 5.2.3 Non-Native and/or Invasive Wildlife Species Control ................. 72 5.2.4 Future Research ......................................................................... 73 5.3 Vegetation Management Element (B) ................................................... 74 5.3.1 Habitat Restoration ..................................................................... 74 5.3.2 Invasive, Non-Native Plant Species Removal and Control ......... 74 5.3.3 Fire Prevention, Control, and Management ................................ 75 5.4 Public Use, Trails, and Recreation Element (C) .................................... 76 5.4.1 Public Access ............................................................................. 76 5.4.2 Fencing and Gates ..................................................................... 77 5.4.3 Trail and Access Road Maintenance .......................................... 77 5.4.4 Signage ...................................................................................... 78 5.5 Operations and Facility Maintenance Element (D) ................................ 79 5.5.1 Litter/Trash and Materials Storage ............................................. 79 5.5.2 Hydrological Management .......................................................... 79 5.5.3 Emergency, Safety and Police Services ..................................... 80 5.5.4 Adjacency Management Issues .................................................. 80 5.6 Cultural Resources Element (E) ............................................................ 82 6.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 86 ii Santa Margarita Preserve RMP June 2012 TABLES Table 1. Vegetation Communities/Land Cover Types within the Preserve ............. 18 Table 2. Non-native Invasive Plants within the Preserve ........................................ 27 Table 3. Potential Significance of Cultural Resource within the Preserve ................ 64 FIGURES Figure 1. Regional Location ...................................................................................... 6 Figure 2. Preserve Vicinity Map ................................................................................ 7 Figure 3. Proposed North County Plan Designations ................................................ 9 Figure 4. Soils Map ................................................................................................. 10 Figure 5. Hydrology Map ......................................................................................... 12 Figure 6. Fire History .............................................................................................. 14 Figure 7. Trails ........................................................................................................ 16 Figure 8. Vegetation Communities – Vegetation Classification Manual .................. 21 Figure 9. Special Status Plant Species ................................................................... 25 Figure 10. Invasive Plant Locations ........................................................................ 29 Figure 11. Special Status Wildlife Species .............................................................. 33 Figure 12. Wildlife Corridor Movement Area ........................................................... 50 APPENDICES Appendix A Management Directive and Implementation Measure Summary Table Appendix B Baseline Biodiversity Report Santa Margarita Preserve Appendix C Cultural Resources Survey and Inventory for the Santa Margarita Preserve, San Diego County, California (Confidential) Appendix D Santa Margarita Preserve Vegetation Management