C O N S E R V A T I O N P L A N CAMP PICO BLANCO SCOUT RESERVATION Peek at the unspoiled beauty. Have a peak experience in our program. Pique your love of the outdoors. C O N S E R V A T I O N P L A N CAMP PICO BLANCO SCOUT RESERVATION PREPARED FOR Boy Scouts of America Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council Ron Schoenmehl, Director of Support Services 970 W Julian Street San Jose, CA 95126 Tel 408.638.8325 PREPARED BY EMC Planning Group Inc. Andrea Edwards, Associate Biologist 301 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite C Monterey, CA 93940 Tel 831.649.1799 [email protected] www.emcplanning.com Drafted August 19, 2013. Revised September 18, 2013. This document was produced on recycled paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Vision Statement and Land Ethic ....................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Location and Setting............................................................................................. 1-3 1.3 Camp History........................................................................................................ 1-7 CHAPTER 2 CONSERVATION PLANNING STRATEGY ................................................ 2-1 2.1 Plan Purpose and Objectives............................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Conservation Committee Formation ................................................................. 2-4 2.3 Plan Organization................................................................................................. 2-5 CHAPTER 3 RESOURCE INVENTORY ....................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Plant Communities............................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Wildlife Habitats................................................................................................... 3-2 3.3 Little Sur River ...................................................................................................... 3-6 3.4 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................. 3-7 3.5 Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas ......................................................... 3-7 CHAPTER 4 FOREST MANAGEMENT....................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Protected Trees...................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Sudden Oak Death................................................................................................4-4 4.3 Hazardous Trees................................................................................................... 4-7 4.4 Fire Clearance and Fuel Modification.............................................................. 4-11 CHAPTER 5 STEELHEAD WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ............................................ 5-1 5.1 Little Sur River Riparian Habitat........................................................................ 5-1 5.2 Steelhead Protection............................................................................................. 5-3 CHAPTER 6 DUDLEY’S LOUSEWORT ...................................................................... 6-1 6.1 Species Information.............................................................................................. 6-1 6.2 Species Protection at Camp ................................................................................. 6-1 CHAPTER 7 NATURE EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH................................ 7-1 7.1 Nature Education.................................................................................................. 7-1 7.2 Scientific Research ................................................................................................ 7-2 EMC PLANNING GROUP INC. CHAPTER 8 RECREATIONAL USE............................................................................ 8-1 8.1 Camping Program Operation ............................................................................. 8-1 8.2 Trail/Road Maintenance and Erosion Control................................................. 8-3 CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY OF ACTION ITEMS ............................................................... 9-1 9.1 Forest Management .............................................................................................. 9-1 9.2 Steelhead Watershed Management.................................................................... 9-6 9.3 Dudley’s Lousewort ............................................................................................. 9-8 9.4 Nature Education and Scientific Research ...................................................... 9-11 9.5 Recreational Use.................................................................................................. 9-14 CHAPTER 10 REFERENCES..................................................................................... 10-1 Appendices Appendix A Men in the Making: Pico Blanco Scout Reservation Appendix B Monterey County Arborist and Forester Report Submittal Requirements Appendix C Monterey County Basic Defensible Space & Vegetation Management Guidelines For Property Owners Appendix D Opening the World through Nature Journaling (Second Edition) Appendix E CNPS Vascular Plants: Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp Appendix F Teaching Leave No Trace Appendix G Wilderness Use Policy of the Boy Scouts of America Figures Figure 1 Location Map....................................................................................................................... 1-5 Figure 2 Camp Facility Map.............................................................................................................. 1-9 Figure 3 Biological Resources Map .................................................................................................. 3-3 EMC PLANNING GROUP INC. Chapter 1 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn To provide comprehensive and holistic natural resource management and foster responsible environmental stewardship at Camp Pico Blanco Scout Reservation, this Conservation Plan has been developed in association with the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of Boy Scouts of America. The recommended policies and action items contained herein are intended to guide long-term camp management and operations. 1.1 VISION STATEMENT AND LAND ETHIC The following vision statement has been developed for Camp Pico Blanco (Boy Scouts of America [BSA], Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council 2013): The nearly 800 acres of Camp Pico Blanco along the Little Sur River, surrounded by the Ventana Wilderness and Los Padres National Forest, are the crowning jewel of Scouting properties. Scouts, Scouting leaders, and other campers learn to focus, create, and preserve. Focus: As you enter Palo Colorado Road, the adventure begins as you turn back the clock to simpler times. You are "off the grid" now. Focus on your senses and listen for the river, smell the flowers, feel the breeze and cool water... Focus. Pico EMC PLANNING GROUP INC. 1-1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Blanco is not as much a place to "get away" as it is to "get in touch." Distractions are blocked and clarity is found. Create: Creating memories for the youth who enjoy Pico Blanco is a second focal point. While we remember the past, we are forwardly focused to help our campers create new memories and capture those through various artistic means. Preserve: Appreciate, learn, and practice how we coexist with the beauty of nature around us. During the summer at our organized camps, this is one of the focal points of our curriculum. Campers continue this exploration with hikes and overnight programs. Today Pico Blanco Scout Reservation stands on this land, set aside to the sole end that it be preserved as a primitive area where American youth can have the inestimable experience of untouched wilderness and unspoiled natural beauty. It is a reservation for youth, away from civilization, intended to offset the softening influence of our modern social life, and to help in the development of America’s future men and women to be self-reliant, of strong character, and physically fit. Scout camping activities are based on the BSA Outdoor Code: As an American, I will do my best to - Be clean in my outdoor manners. Be careful with fire. Be considerate in the outdoors. Be conservation minded. The need for the BSA to practice responsible environmental stewardship on their properties is further inspired by various ethical foundations, such as the teachings of Aldo Leopold: 1-2 EMC PLANNING GROUP INC. CAMP PICO BLANCO SCOUT RESERVATION CONSERVATION PLAN A land ethic, then, reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land. Health is the capacity of the land for self- renewal. Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity. Finally, inspiration to create this Conservation Plan is also found in a quotation from Lord Baden Powell, the founder of Scouting, encouraging all Scouts toward resource protection: As a Scout, you are the guardian of the woods. A Scout never damages a tree by hacking it with his knife or axe. It does not take long to fell a tree, but it takes many years to grow one, so a Scout cuts down a tree for a good reason only – not just for the sake of using his axe. For every tree felled, two should be planted. This is the basic motivation guiding the specific conservation