Carrizo Plain

Coordinates: 35°11′29″N 119°47′34″W / 35.1913582°N 119.7929080°W / 35.1913582; -119.7929080[2]
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Carrizo Plain National Monument
Aerial view of the Carrizo Plain.
The San Andreas Fault is on the right.
Map showing the location of Carrizo Plain National Monument
Map showing the location of Carrizo Plain National Monument
LocationSan Luis Obispo & Kern counties, California
Nearest cityCalifornia Valley, California
Coordinates35°11′29″N 119°47′34″W / 35.1913582°N 119.7929080°W / 35.1913582; -119.7929080[2]
Area246,812 acres (998.81 km2)[3]
EstablishedJanuary 17, 2001 (2001-01-17)
Governing bodyBureau of Land Management
WebsiteCarrizo Plain National Monument
Carrizo Plain Rock Art Discontiguous District
Area1215
NRHP reference No.01000509[4]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 23, 2001
Designated NHLDMarch 2, 2012
Superbloom in the Temblor Range, April 2017

The Carrizo Plain (Obispeño: tšɨłkukunɨtš, "Place of the rabbits")[5] is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately 50 miles (80 km) long and up to 15 miles (24 km) across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles.[6] The southern portion of the Carrizo Plain is within the 246,812-acre (99,881 ha)[3] Carrizo Plain National Monument, which also includes most of the Caliente Range. The Carrizo Plain is the largest single native grassland remaining in California. It includes Painted Rock in the Carrizo Plain Rock Art Discontiguous District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2012 it was further designated a National Historic Landmark due to its archeological value. The San Andreas Fault occurs along the eastern edge of the Carrizo Plain at the western base of the Temblor Range.

Geography and geology

The Carrizo Plain extends northwest from the town of

San Luis Obispo County. The climate type of the Carrizo Plain is semi-arid grassland. No trees grow there and the annual rainfall is around 9 inches (230 mm) per year.[citation needed
]

The Carrizo Plain is an easily accessible place to see surface fractures of the

Chumash
people around 2000 BC.

Wallace Creek

Wallace Creek offset by the San Andreas Fault, by about 430 feet (131 meters) in the last 3,700 years.

Wallace Creek is a small stream, draining into Soda Lake, that remains dry most of the year. It drains perpendicular to the San Andreas Fault, and the creek bed is currently offset by 425 ft (130 m) due to the movement of the fault. About 23 ft (7 m) of the displacement was created during the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake. The current segment began forming 3,700 years ago. Sometime between 1540 and 1630 A.D., the creek was offset by about 40.6 feet (12.4 m) feet in an even larger earthquake.

Two other older creek beds lie 1,560 and 1,310 ft (475 and 399 m) northwest along the San Andreas Fault. The first creek bed was created around 13,000 years ago when climate change formed the creek on a large active alluvial fan. The second bed was created about 11,000 years ago.

The creek has been carefully studied by geologists to find a correlation between the offset and historical events, such as earthquakes, that have occurred along the San Andreas Fault. Although Wallace Creek is not the only creek that has been offset by the San Andreas Fault, it is the most spectacular.[8][9]

Access

Entrance to National Monument

State Route 58
crosses through the northern portion. Connecting them is the narrow Soda Lake Road, the only dependably passable road through the plain—but even this may become impassable during or soon after a rain since the middle portion of it is gravel.

Geology

San Andreas Fault

The most prominent geologic feature of the Carrizo Plain is the San Andreas Fault, which runs along the northeast side of the plain, at the base of the Elkhorn Scarp. The section of the fault in the Carrizo Plain is the oldest section along the entire fault zone.[10] Displacement on the San Andreas is responsible for the development of distinctive features, including shutter ridges, diverted or decapitated stream channels, and sag ponds.[11] One feature relating to the San Andreas Fault and aligned to it in the Carrizo Plain is the Dragon's Back pressure ridge.[12]

Other faults

The Big Spring Fault, the San Juan Fault, the Morales Fault, and the White Rock Fault are small faults that run parallel to the San Andreas Fault along the Caliente Range on the western boundary of the Carrizo Plain.

Soil taxonomy

Soda Lake, view to southeast

The parent materials for

fertility because of their high alkalinity content and low rainfall due to the semi-arid climate.[13]

Fauna

Pronghorn
Giant kangaroo rat
California ebony tarantula (Aphonopelma eutylenum) near Soda Lake

The Carrizo Plain is home to 13 species listed as endangered either by the state or federal government, the largest concentration of endangered species in California.

Le Conte's thrasher all also make their homes in the Carrizo Plain. The hotter climate and ecology of Carrizo Plain allows the Le Conte's thrasher of the Southwestern United States
to have a small disjunct range farther north than normal.

  • San Joaquin kit fox – a small nocturnal subspecies of the kit fox that was formerly common throughout the San Joaquin Valley but has recently become endangered.
  • Blunt-nosed leopard lizard – a small, 3–5 inch gray to brown lizard with large dark spots and cream-colored cross bands. It has a broad, triangular shaped head and is endemic to California. It inhabits the grasslands and alkali flats of the San Joaquin Valley and the surrounding foothills and valleys.[15]
  • Giant kangaroo rat – the largest of all kangaroo rats. The giant kangaroo rat is also endemic to California and now only occupies about 2% of its original range, making it critically endangered.
  • San Joaquin antelope squirrel – a light tan squirrel with a white belly and a white stripe down its back and sides. Most of its habitat is used for agriculture, making the Carrizo Plain the habitat for most of the remaining population.

Carrizo Plain National Monument

Management—historical overview

Map

In 1988,

Nature Conservancy
(TNC) partnered together to purchase an 82,000-acre (332 km2) parcel of Carrizo Plain land. This joint effort ensured the protection of the plain. Then in 1996, the Carrizo Plain Management Partners again created a joint initiative called the Carrizo Plain Natural Area (CPNA) Plan. The goal of this plan was to:

  1. Establish long-term mission and vision statements that reflect the long-term objectives of the CPNA,
  2. Outline objectives and goals for the life of this plan that will help to achieve the mission,
  3. Consolidate a descriptive inventory of area resources and outline appropriate public uses of those resources,
  4. Provide an overview of operations, maintenance and personnel needs to assist in developing annual work plans and budgeting for implementation of plan goals.[16]

On January 12, 2001, President Bill Clinton signed a presidential proclamation establishing the Carrizo Plain as a national monument. The first manager of the new Carrizo Plain National Monument was Marlene Braun (1958–2005); she was succeeded by Johna Hurl. The managerial partners of the CPNA took the responsibility of maintaining this new national monument. Since then, the area of protected land has increased to 250,000 acres (1,012 km2).[17]

Carrizo Plain Natural Area Plan

Mission statement

"Manage the Carrizo Plain Natural Area (CPNA) so that indigenous species interact within a dynamic and fully functioning system in perpetuity while conserving unique natural and cultural resources and maintaining opportunities for compatible scientific research, cultural, social and recreational activities."[18]

Administration

Routine monthly meetings and coordinated planning are essential parts in the management of the CPNA. The administration partners of the CPNA work together to make decisions about the area and what needs to be taken care of in order to maintain the natural environment of the plain. Although each partner has its own headquarters and administrative personnel, the Education Center Coordinator is one position that is funded by all of the CPNA partners. At BLM the staff consists of a project manager, a biological technician, a heavy equipment operator, a computer specialist, and a law enforcement ranger. All TNC personnel are located at their office in San Francisco. DFG at the moment has only one wildlife biologist at CPNA along with a wildlife assistant II and a scientific aide. Outside specialists also volunteer their time to study the area, from plant ecologists to species specialists. The fire suppression administration is the responsibility of BLM, which has formal agreements with Kern, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties to help share in the support and funding of its fire suppression program. Funding for other programs within Carrizo Plain National Monument come from its management partners.[19]

Research

lupine, and monolopia
.

When the CPNA Plan was implemented in the late 1990s, one of its first assignments was to gather information on the area's biological, cultural, recreational, and physical resources. The information obtained by the management partners has helped to ensure that each decision made on behalf of the Carrizo Plain National Monument will benefit all of its resources. This research has also helped to manage different activities and events within the plain. For example,

plant community restoration seems to be one tool that could benefit the entire region by promoting native species diversity, re-establishing natural biological processes, and protecting endangered species
habitats.

Current management projects

One of the current range management projects involves removing non-native grasses by selective cattle grazing early in the season when non-native grasses emerge. Later in the season, the management team removes the cattle, giving native plants a competitive advantage versus the non-native vegetation. The use of grazing on the Carrizo Plain National Monument remains a controversial practice.

Future management projects

There are an abundant amount of minerals in the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

phosphates. All of these minerals are of low-grade quality, making them unprofitable to reclaim and manufacture.[20]

Camping

Campgrounds

Camping within Carrizo Plain National Monument is available at two primitive campgrounds – KCL Campground and Selby Campground. These two sites differ markedly.

KCL is located in the southern part of the monument, west and very close to Soda Lake Road. Access from the main road is easy, and the camping area is generally bounded by a wooden fence. The campground has eight picnic tables and firepits, and is frequently occupied by "day use" visitors, although overnight camping is also allowed. Trees about the campground provide shade – some of the only shade in the monument's valley. As this site was previously owned by the Kern County Land Company, there are several outbuildings in a non-maintained state. The corrals may be used by visitors to stable their horses.

Mano Seca Bench at Selby Campground

Selby is located more to the north and more distant from Soda Lake Road. A good gravel road leads to the campground from Soda Lake Road over a distance of five miles. The road is generally usable in all weather conditions, but does wind and have some moderate grades as it approaches the campground area. This site is much more rugged, located on a man-made cut into the natural terrain, bounded by hills and canyons. Camp tables are covered by shade structures, a permanent and toilet outhouse is available (no water), camping is allowed anywhere upon the large flat areas. Hiking up and into the adjoining Wilderness Study Area provides hearty exercise and impressive views. The nearby Selby Rocks formation offers a view of large granite boulders. (It is not advised to climb the rocks as the loose granite surface is fragile.) A recent addition is a water spigot that provides non-potable water to the campsites.

Primitive camping

Car camping is also an option within certain areas within the monument, primarily in the foothills. Camping is not allowed in the main valley floor. See the CPNM Visitor Resource Map.[21]

Conservation management issues

World Heritage Site

Wildflowers in the Carrizo, 2015
Painted Rock in Carrizo Plain
Pictographs at Painted Rock, CPNM

Chamber of Commerce, and the San Luis Obispo Chapter of the League of Women Voters
.

Advantages of World Heritage Site status for the Carrizo Plain might have included increased tourism for the plain and for surrounding areas, as well as increased ability to attract private and public funding for habitat conservation, sustainable tourism, and increased management support. However, opponents of the nomination were concerned that World Heritage Site status would create problems for oil production, grazing rights, off-road recreation, and private property rights. One point of controversy was a buffer zone around the monument; opponents expected this would adversely affect nearby oil drilling sites. Some local residents were also fearful of the international organizations that would monitor and report on the monument's adherence to World Heritage treaty obligations, because maintenance of World Heritage status would depend on compliance with the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, ratified by the United States. The idea was widespread that the United States would lose sovereignty over the area.[citation needed]

The Wilderness Society eventually decided not to nominate the Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage Site, as nominations are successful only if they have almost unanimous support.

Oil drilling

While the Carrizo Plain is dotted with dry holes drilled and abandoned by oil companies in decades past, no commercially viable quantities of petroleum have ever been found on the plain itself. Small quantities of drillable oil have been found south of the Caliente Range, near the

U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of its intentions to find out if oil is contained in the Carrizo Plain. The mineral rights owned by Vintage pre-exist the monument's creation by President Bill Clinton in 2001.[25] The BLM approved an oil well and pipeline project in the Russell Ranch Oil Field within the monument in 2018, but withdrew it after Los Padres ForestWatch and the Center for Biological Diversity filed objections citing the potential for oil spills, air pollution and harm to wildlife, among other environmental concerns. The BLM approved the project in 2020 after their analysis showed that the new well posed no undue health or safety concerns, had no significant impacts to the environment and was consistent with management directives for the monument.[26] An agreement was reached in 2022 over a lawsuit against the BLM filed by the conservation groups in 2020.[27] The BLM issued an order to E&B Natural Resources to permanently close and remove 11 long-dormant oil wells, return the oil pads and more than 3 miles (4.8 km) of access roads to natural conditions, as well as removing pipelines, powerlines and other infrastructure from within the monument.[28]

Solar power

Aerial view of Carrizo Plain solar farm 2017

The remote Carrizo Plain's status as one of the sunniest places in the state was exploited by the

1979 energy crisis ARCO became a solar energy pioneer, manufacturing the photovoltaic arrays themselves. ARCO first built a 1 megawatt pilot operation, the Lugo plant in Hesperia, California, which is also now closed. The Carrizo Solar Corporation, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, bought the two facilities from ARCO in 1990, but the price of oil never rose as was predicted, so the solar plant never became competitive with fossil fuel-based energy production. Carrizo Solar sold its electricity to the local utility for between three and four cents a kilowatt-hour, while a minimum price of eight to ten cents a kilowatt-hour would have been necessary in order for Carrizo to make a profit. Another photovoltaic facility was planned for the site by the Chatsworth Utility Power Group; with an output of 100 megawatts, it would have been many times larger than the existing facility, but the facility never got off the drawing board. The Carrizo Solar Company dismantled its 177-acre (0.7 km2) facility in the late 1990s, and the used solar panels
are still being resold throughout the world.

In October 2007, the

solar farm proposals centers on concerns about height above grade, noise and heat plume.[30]

The solar field would have operated daily from sunrise to sunset. Typical operating hours for the CESF would have been approximately 13 hours per day, or an average of 4,765 hours per year. In November 2009, the project was canceled.

On August 14, 2008,

High Plains Ranch, with a combined peak power of 800 MW. If built, these will be the largest photovoltaic plants in the world.[31]

As of November 2014 Topaz Solar Farm is operational, with peak power of 550 MW.[32]

California Valley Solar Ranch opened in 2013.

Grazing

Few issues regarding the CPNM have been as controversial as

Taylor Grazing Act allotments to expire and replaced them with free use permits. This action was opposed both by many ranchers and Braun's field office supervisor, Ron Huntsinger. Her practice, which would allow BLM to set stocking rates each season as opposed to guaranteeing stocking rates for ten-year periods, was contrary to the desires of the Department of the Interior under President George W. Bush. Bakersfield District Office Manager Ron Huntsinger was brought in to oversee a continuation of the Taylor Grazing Act permit system. Braun and Huntsinger clashed repeatedly and Braun faced the prospect of stiff penalties for insubordination at the time of her death. The LA Times, in a follow-up article by Julie Cart, said, "What began as a policy dispute – to graze or not to graze livestock on the fragile Carrizo grasslands – became a morass of environmental politics and office feuding that Braun was convinced threatened both her future and the landscape she loved." The monument manager's suicide brought "into stark focus the difficulty BLM managers had in trying to balance the demands of providing protection in accordance with the proclamations and balancing the multiple use mandate of FLPMA."[34][35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gudde, Erwin G (2010). California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 125.
  2. ^ "Carrizo Plain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "National Monument detail table as of April 2012" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  5. ^ "yakʔitʸutʸu resources - University Housing - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo". Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo University Housing. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  6. ^ "Carrizo Plain National Monument" Bureau of Land Management. 27 Feb. 2008. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008, web: "Carrizo" Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ What you need to know about the ‘super bloom’ at Carrizo Plain National Monument - LA Times April 7. 2017
  8. ^ Santa Maria, Jed. "Stop 21: Wallace Creek" 3 Mar. 2008. <"Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)>
  9. ^ Wallace Creek earthquake offsets Archived 2017-04-05 at the Wayback Machine by USGS
  10. ^ Matthews, V., 1973, The Pinnacles-Neenach correlation: a restriction for models of the origin of the Transverse Ranges and the big bend in the San Andreas Fault; Geological Society of America Bull., V. 84, p. 683-688
  11. ^ "The San Andreas Fault Zone in the Carrizo Plain, California: Review of Quaternary Geologic Investigations, Landforms, and Fault Activity" Arrowsmith, J R., 1995, Appendix C, Coupled tectonic deformation and geomorphic degradation along the San Andreas Fault System, PhD. Dissertation, Stanford University, pp. 312–346. 3 Mar. 2008. <"Quaternary Geologic Investigations, Carrizo Plain, CA". Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.>.
  12. ^ Arrowsmith, J. Ramón (September 2, 2013). "Exploring topographic response to interacting surface processes and rock uplift: the Dragon's Back Pressure Ridge along the San Andreas Fault, Carrizo Plain, CA". Active Tectonics Blog. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Oster, Ken. Vinson, Eric. "Soil Survey of San Luis Obispo County, California, Carrizo Plain Area" US Department of Agriculture. National Resource Conservation Services. 3 Mar. 2008 <http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/CA667/0/carrizo.pdf> Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ "Too Wild to Drill" The Wilderness Society. 3 Mar. 2008.<"Too Wild to Drill - Carrizo Plain National Monument". Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.>.
  15. ^ "Gambelia Sila – Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard" CaliforniaHerps.com. 3 Mar. 2008.<"Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard - Gambelia sila". Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.>.
  16. ^ "Carrizo Plain Natural Area Plan – Overview." Bureau of Land Management. 07 May 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008 <"Carrizo Plain National Monument Plan 1996". Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.>.
  17. ^ "Fact Sheet and Mission Statement." Bureau of Land Management. 27 Apr. 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008 <http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/carrizo/mission_statement.html> Archived March 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ "Carrizo Plain Natural Area Plan – Mission." Bureau of Land Management. 07 May 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008 <"Carrizo Plain National Monument Plan 1996". Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.>.
  19. ^ "Carrizo Plain Natural Area Plan – Infrastructure & Administration." Bureau of Land Management. 07 May 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008 <"Carrizo Plain National Monument Plan 1996". Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.>.
  20. ^ "Carrizo Plain Natural Area Plan – Reasonable Foreseeable Development Scenarios." Bureau of Land Management. 07 May 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior. 3 Mar. 2008 <"Carrizo Plain National Monument Plan 1996". Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.>.
  21. ^ Visitor Resource Map Archived April 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Carrizo Plain National Monument-World Heritage Nomination." The Wilderness Society. 3 Mar. 2008 <"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)>
  23. ^ "Extractable minerals on the Carrizo Plain: from BLM's 1996 Management Plan" (PDF). blm.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  24. ^ Willon, Phil (September 9, 2019). "California lawmakers challenge Trump's bid to expand oil drilling and fracking statewide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  25. ^ Whitney, David. "Oil Exploration May Shake Up Carrizo." SanLuisObispo.com. 3 Mar. 2008.<"San Luis Obispo County's website | 03/03/2008 | Oil exploration may shake up Carrizo". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.>
  26. ^ Smith, Hayley (June 18, 2020). "Federal approval of oil well at Carrizo Plain National Monument sparks outrage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  27. ^ Hlavinka, Elizabeth (August 4, 2023). "Bureau of Land Management orders removal of oil wells in California's Carrizo Plain". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  28. ^ Los Padres ForestWatch (August 4, 2023). "Oil Company Ordered to Permanently Close Oil Wells, Restore Habitat in California's Carrizo Plain National Monument". Edhat (Press release). Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  29. ^ "Carrizo Energy Solar Farm Power Plant Licensing Case". Archived from the original on August 4, 2008.
  30. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. Pacific Gas and Electric. August 14, 2008. Archived from the original
    on October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  32. ^ "The Largest Solar Plant In The World Is Now Operational". November 26, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  33. ^ See Rudnick v. McMillan, 25 Cal. App. 4th 1183, 31 Cal. Rptr. 193, 31 Cal. Rptr. 2d 193 (Ct. App. 1994) (overturning jury libel verdict for rancher against newspaper editorial).
  34. ^ Cart, Julie; La Ganga, Maria L. (August 20, 2005). "Suicide Casts a Shadow on Conservation Battle". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via LA Times.
  35. ^ Heath Nero, Univ. of Michigan thesis, Protected Landscapes and Multiple Use: BLM's National Monuments and Conservation System, 2009.<"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)>

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Carrizo Plain National Monument.
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