Locally Significant Vascular Plants in the Presidio of San Francisco

Stevenson, Brett; Frey, Mark

Located at the northwest tip of San Francisco, the Presidio is a 1,491-acre national park site and is part of the 75,500-acre Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Believed to be originally occupied by the Muwekma tribe of the Ohlone, the Presidio was in continuous use as a military post from 1776, spanning the Spanish, Mexican, and United States periods until it was transferred to the National Park Service in 1994. In 1996 the Presidio began to be managed jointly by the National Park Services and the Presidio Trust. In the dense, urban landscape of San Francisco the Presidio provides 343 acres of important habitat for around 330 native plants species, including 19 that are considered Special Status (taxa that are listed as rare, threatened or endangered by the California Native Plant Society, the state of California, or the Federal government). Since becoming a national park site there has been a great focus to restore and manage the Presidio’s diverse native plant habitats. The Presidio Trust Management Plan (PTMP) primary objectives with regard to Native Plant Communities include: • Continuing the Presidio-wide inventory and monitoring program for rare and endangered plant species • Developing management objectives that stipulate actions and techniques for protection, enhancement and restoration of each species • Protecting the remaining native plant communities in the Presidio • Restoring and increasing the area of native plant communities in the Presidio. To better meet these objectives there have been efforts to establish a list of locally significant plants which do not have Special Status but are considered locally rare or threatened within the park and the surrounding areas. In 2003 Marie Fontaine, Michael Chasse, and Emily Magnaghi with input from the Plant Conservation Committee created the first version of the Presidio’s locally significant plant list. This report intends to update those efforts and provide a list of taxa that may require specific management strategies to avoid extirpation. In addition, this report will include general management recommendations, suggestions concerning data collection/management and ideas regarding how to keep the locally significant list up to date and accurate.