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Step 1 – Characterization

VENTANA/SILVER PEAK Wlderness Fire PlanOCTOBER 2001Step 1 - Characterization

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This analysis addresses fire management for the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas. Total combined acreage for this analysis covers about 216,680 acres of the Southern California province. The Ventana is 202,180 acres and Silver Peak is 14,500 acres. Both of these wilderness areas are primarily public lands administered by the Monterey District of the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF). The Ventana has a few small private inholdings (see Figure 0-1 Ventana and Silver Peak Vicinity Map on Page 0-2 of the Introduction, and Figure 1-1 Base Map, contained in the Map Packet located at the end of this document). These wilderness areas are bordered by Forest Service, Private, Fort Hunter Liggett Military, California State lands, and other ownership.

The Ventana straddles the Santa Lucia Mountains south of the Monterey Peninsula and includes both fog influenced coastal conditions with greater moisture, and hot, dry inland conditions on the east side. The Ventana includes major portions of the Arroyo Seco, Carmel, and Big Sur Rivers with many other smaller drainages. Elevations range from nearly sea level to 5,860 feet (1,786 meters) at Junipero Serra Peak.

The Silver Peak portion is primarily on the west side of the Santa Lucia Mountains, encompassing drainages of Willow Creek and Salmon Creek. This wilderness area rises sharply from Highway 1 along the Pacific coast to 3,590 feet (1,094 meters) at Silver Peak.

The climate is one of a temperate, Mediterranean type; typified by warm, dry summers, and cool, moist winters. Precipitation ranges from an annual rainfall of 16 to 75 inches (40 to 190 centimeters) with approximately 95% falling between November and April.

The Arroyo Seco River provides groundwater and surface water recharge for the Salinas Valley as well as water for domestic and agricultural use. The Carmel River provides groundwater and surface water recharge for the Carmel Valley as well as water for domestic and agricultural use. The Big Sur River is designated wild and scenic and provides wilderness settings for campers and hikers.

The Los Padres National Forest is considered an "urban forest" because of its close proximity to the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles metropolitan area. Recreational use within the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas is moderate to high. Although many recreational activities within the analysis area are seasonal in nature, with spring, summer, and fall being the primary seasons supporting recreational use, the analysis area supports year-round recreational activities.

The analysis area provides a variety of recreational opportunities such as hiking, biking, horseback riding, swimming, camping, fishing, hunting, and viewing scenic corridors. Hiking on existing trail systems and wilderness experiences dominate public use.

The analysis area contains approximately > miles of trail for foot and equestrian use. Refer to Appendix B for a listing of trails and their status, and see Figure 1-1.

California State Highway 1 provides primary vehicle access to the west side of the analysis area. Arroyo Seco Road, off Interstate Highway 101, provides primary vehicle access into the east side of the analysis area. Vehicle access is also available from Carmel Valley Road that connects to the Tassajara Road and the Piney Creek area.

Limited archaeological records and ethnographic information suggests the Esselen and Salinan communities occupied the analysis area during late Prehistoric times. Subsistence was based on gathering and hunting.

Ranching, cattle grazing, and farming with irrigation were introduced during the Spanish and Mexican era of 1769 through 1846. Much of the analysis area was available to homesteaders from the 1880s to early 1920s. Grazing activities were abundant where forage was available on moderate slopes.

The Monterey Forest Reserve was established in 1906. The primary purpose of its establishment was fire prevention and to provide watershed protection. The Forest Reserve system represents early establishment of the National Forest system.

These wilderness areas lie within the tectonically active and rapidly eroding central Coast Ranges geologic province. They are located predominantly within the Central California Coast Section, North Coastal Santa Lucia Range Sub-section of the Ecological Units of California. The easternmost part of the Ventana Wilderness lies within the Interior Santa Lucia Range Sub-section.

The geology is dominated by northwest to southeast trending faults and an association of basement rocks known as the Salinian block. Faults and folds within the bedrock strongly control drainages. Salinian rocks consist primarily of gneiss, schist, quartzite, and marble.

Mass wasting (geomorphic) processes dominate much of the landscape. Recent landslides modify older slide-prone topography, especially in the steep, rugged, deep stream canyons. Very little mining activity has occurred within the wilderness areas.

The Arroyo Seco River supports the only remaining remnant of historic Salinas River steelhead, Federally listed as threatened. The Arroyo Seco includes 13 miles of steelhead habitat and the Carmel River includes 12 miles of steelhead habitat. Steelhead habitat in these streams is mostly located downstream of the analysis area. The Big Sur River supports one of the larger steelhead runs of the south central California coastline. With headwaters of these streams in the Ventana Wilderness, watershed conditions within the wilderness are important to maintain downstream habitats and stream flows. Many of the coastal drainages support small runs of steelhead. Tassajara Creek is also known to have historically supported steelhead populations. The rivers and larger tributaries have populations of resident trout.

Wildlife habitats are determined by the distribution and structure of vegetation communities, landscape features such as soil and rock types, and climate. The analysis area supports a variety of wildlife species representative of animals found throughout central California. The mix of species is diverse because of the range of habitats found within these wilderness areas, from small intermittent streams to high mountain meadows.

The California red-legged frog, Federally listed as threatened, occurs in the analysis area. A release site for the endangered California Condor is also located in the analysis area. The western pond turtle and two-striped garter snake listed as sensitive by the Regional Forester, are also present. More commonly known inhabitants of the chaparral include California quail, bobcat, blacktailed deer, brown bear, and mountain lion.

Vegetation within the analysis area is quite varied with large and small patches of scrub, woodland, and forest plant communities forming a mosaic across the landscape. Many plant communities have been described in the area including annual grassland, Northern mixed chaparral, chamise chaparral, California sagebrush series, black oak woodland, blue oak woodland, canyon live oak woodland, coast live oak woodland, live oak-madrone woodland, Coulter pine series, and riparian woodland with sycamore and willow. Seeps, springs, rock outcrops, talus, and other edaphic features provide habitat for herbaceous plant communities that are not well described in the botanical literature. Habitat exists for five plant species listed as sensitive by the Regional Forester: Eriogonumbutterworthianum, (Butterworth’s buckwheat), Fritillaria falcata (Talus fritillary), Galium californicum ssp. luciense (Cone Peak bedstraw), Malacothamnus palmeri var. lucianus (Arroyo Seco bush mallow), and Sidalcea hickmanii ssp. hickmanii (Hickman’s checkerbloom). Non-native plants including at least one noxious weed (yellow star-thistle) are encroaching from road sides.

Besides climate, and mass wasting, wildfire is the primary natural disturbance process in the landscape. Before European settlement, lightning and American Indian ignited fires were primary factors shaping the vegetation patterns. Fire suppression became effective in the 1930s, due to improved technology and air support. Currently, 90% of fires are human caused. Lightning-caused fires are uncommon and tend to occur about every ten years. The last large wildfire that occurred in September 1999 (Kirk Complex) was lightning caused and burned >% (> acres) of the analysis area. A large portion of the analysis area burned during the Marble Cone Fire of 1977 (177,886 acres), also caused by lightning.

VENTANA/SILVER PEAK Wlderness Fire PlanOCTOBER 2001Step 1 - Characterization

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THOMPSON / SEIAD / GRIDER Ecosystem AnalysisOCTOBER 1999Step 1 - Characterization

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