Draft natural resource management plan: environmental assessment – Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area – California

Rose, Paul; Ochsner, David; Klubnikin, Kheryn; Plantrich, Robert; Thomas, Timothy

The Draft Natural Resource Management Plan (DNRMP) describes the resources of the Santa Monica Mountains, threats to these resources, and resource management actions required to comply with PL 95-625 and applicable resource and environmental laws, regulations and Executive Orders. The Santa Monica Mountains and adjacent seashore exhibit a characteristic Mediterranean-type ecosystem. The climate, physiography, soils, vegetation and wildlife combine to form a unique unit of the National Park System. The relatively unimpacted natural environment, coupled with its close proximity to the Los Angeles Metropolitan complex, increases the significance of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The DNRMP presents a five-year resource management program which emphasizes the acquisition and computer storage of basic resource data which are largely scattered or non-existent at this time. The need for comprehensive resource data is acute because no agency or organization has produced overall natural resource and land use information for the Santa Monica Mountains. These data are required for effective resource management decisions and actions by all agencies and individuals within the recreation area. The five-year program also emphasizes cooperative resource management. A predicted 32% of the land within the recreation area will remain in private ownership along with approximately 28% managed by state and local public agencies after the National Park Service acquires fee and easement interest on the remaining 40% of land inside the boundary. The National Park Service is the only agency with a mandate for resource stewardship within the entire recreation area; state and local agencies are limited to their jurisdictional boundaries within the area. Because natural resource dynamics occur irrespective of ownership boundaries, a cooperative resource management outreach program is proposed. To initiate the natural resource management program, fourteen specific high priority projects are presented. The project statements address resource problems, alternative actions and their impacts, recommended courses of action, personnel requirements and funding. The projects include: Natural Resource Information System, Water Resource Examinations, Water Quality Monitoring, Re-establishment of the Valley Oak Savannah Complex, Air Quality Monitoring, Monitoring Fuel characteristics of Vegetation, cliff nesting raptor Survey, Acid Deposition, Predator studies, Coastal Resource Examinations, Bird Population Dynamics and Habitat Utilization, Anadromous Fisheries, Cooperative Resource Management Program and Endangered Plant Survey. Operating budget estimates are $513,100 for FY-1 and $2,629,100 for a five-year program. Personnel requirements are approximately 22 work years of which four work years presently exist. An environmental impact assessment is included in the DNRMP which presents impacts and mitigations, consultation and coordination, and impact categories associated with adopting the natural resource management plan. Finally the DNRMP contains a selected bibliography relevant to the natural resources of the Santa Monica Mountains. Appendices to the plan present provisional lists of rare and endangered fauna, Federally and state listed endangered flora, locally uncommon flora, wildlife, and native and non-native flora; a copy of Public Law 95-625 is included,