The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is required by section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered
Species Act (Act) to conduct a review of each listed species at least once every five years. The
purpose of a 5-year review is to evaluate whether the species’ status has changed since it was
listed or since the most recent 5-year review was completed. Based on the 5-year review, we
recommend whether the species should be removed from the list of endangered and threatened
species, be changed in status from endangered to threatened, or be changed in status from
threatened to endangered. Our original listing of a species as endangered or threatened is based
on the existence of threats attributable to one or more of the five threat factors described in
section 4(a)(1) of the Act, and we must consider these same five factors in any subsequent
consideration of reclassification or delisting of a species. In the 5-year review, we consider the
best available scientific and commercial data on the species, and focus on new information
available since the species was listed or last reviewed. If we recommend a change in listing
status based on the results of the 5-year review, we must propose to do so through a separate
rule-making process defined in the Act that includes public review and comment.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Vernal pool habitat in southern California, and specifically southern San Diego County, has been
greatly diminished as a result of extensive development throughout the region. The value and
function of remaining vernal pool habitat continue to be degraded by development-related
disturbances such as trespassing, grazing, and invasion of nonnative species. As a result, the
sensitive species that are supported by vernal pool habitat are also at risk: San Diego fairy shrimp
(Branchinecta sandiegonensis), Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni), and Quino
checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino; Quino), which are all federally endangered
species, as well as the federally and state listed San Diego button-celery (Eryngium aristulatum
var. parishii) and the federally threatened spreading navarretia (Navarretia fossalis). To halt the
decline and stabilize the vernal pools in San Diego County, and restore habitat function and
sensitive species populations, restoration and management actions are necessary.
The City of San Diego (City), in cooperation with other coordinating agencies such as the
County of San Diego (County), San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), and
California Energy Commission (CEC), obtained grant funding1 to protect, restore, and manage
portions of the remaining vernal pool habitat in southern San Diego County. AECOM (formerly
EDAW, Inc.) was retained by the City to conduct a comprehensive assessment of existing vernal
pool sites within the jurisdiction of the City and County, develop and prioritize recommendations
for restoration and management of those sites, and implement restoration and management of the
sites.
This report summarizes the results of implementation of the restoration and management
recommendation actions at five key vernal pool sites in the County, as shown in Figure 1 (Nobel
Drive, Goat Mesa, Otay Lakes, Proctor Valley, and Marron Valley). More detailed maps of each
site are provided in Figures 2 through 6. Chapters 2.0 through 6.0 of the report correspond to a
specific site. Within each of these chapters, a description of the restoration and management
actions undertaken at the site are included (i.e., dethatching, weeding, reseeding, recontouring of vernal pools, installation of artificial burrowing owl burrows, and/or access control). A summary
of the site condition foll
Current SDecies Status: This plan addresses six vernal pool species that are
listed as endangered and one that is proposed for threatened status: Eryngium
aristulatum var. parishii (San Diego button-celery), Orcuttia calfornica
(California Orcutt grass), Pogogyne abramsii (San Diego mesa mint), Pogogyne
nudiuscula (Otay mesa mint), Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni),
San Diego fairy shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis), and Navarretiafossalis
(spreading navarretia).
Pogogyne abramsii was listed as endangered on September 28, 1978. Pogogyne
nudiuscula, Orcuttia ca1~fornica, Eryngium aristulatum var. parishii, and the
Riverside fairy shrimp were listed as endangered on August 3, 1993. The San
Diego fairy shrimp was listed as endangered on February 3, 1997. Navarretia
fossalis was proposed for listing as threatened on December 15, 1994.
Historically, San Diego, vernal pool habitat probably covered no more than 6
percent ofthe county, approximately 520 square kilometers (200 square miles).
Currently levels estimate a loss of vernal pool habitat in the San Diego County
around 95 to 97 percent because ofintensive cultivation and urbanization (Bauder
and McMillan 1998). Lack ofhistorical dataprecludes the same depth of analysis
for Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Orange County, or San Bernardino
Counties, but losses are considered nearly total (USFWS 1993). The current
distribution ofpools in northern Baja California, Mexico, probably comes much
closer to the historic condition (Bauder and McMillan 1998).
Habitat Requirements and Limiting Factors: Following winter rainstorms,
vernal pools form in depressions above an impervious soil layer or layers. Water
evaporates from these pools during the spring and early summer. Vegetation
communities associated with adjacent upland habitats that surround the vernal
pools in southern California are valley needlegrass grassland, annual grasslands,
coastal sage scrub, maritime succulent scrub, and chaparral.
iii
Prior to 1945, the primary threats to southern California vernal poois were
grazing. water impoundments, and conversion to agriculture. In recent years,
urbanization and construction of infrastructure have resulted in losses of habitat
estimated to be as high as 97 percent. Urbanization can directly impact pools
through elimination of the habitat by soil alteration, vegetation alteration,
alterations in hydrological regimes, and water quality. Where pools remain th
Vernal pool habitat in southern California, and specifically southern San Diego County, has been
greatly diminished as a result of extensive development throughout the region. The value and
function of remaining vernal pool habitat continue to be degraded by development-related
disturbances such as trespassing, grazing, and invasion of nonnative species. As a result, the
sensitive species that are supported by vernal pool habitat are also at risk. To halt the
decline and stabilize the vernal pools in San Diego County, and restore habitat function and
sensitive species populations, restoration and management actions are necessary.
The City of San Diego (City), in cooperation with other coordinating agencies such as the
County of San Diego (County), San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), and
California Energy Commission (CEC), obtained grant funding
to protect, restore, and manage
portions of the remaining vernal pool habitat in southern San Diego County. AECOM (formerly
EDAW, Inc.) was retained by the City to conduct a comprehensive assessment of existing vernal
pool sites within the jurisdiction of the City and County, develop and prioritize recommendations
for restoration and management of those sites, and implement restoration and management of the
sites.
This report summarizes the results of implementation of the restoration and management
recommendation actions at five key vernal pool sites in the County.
The City of San Diego (City) Vernal Pool Habitat Conservation Plan (VPHCP) is intended to
provide an effective framework to protect, enhance, and restore vernal pool resources in specific
areas of San Diego, while improving and streamlining the environmental permitting process for
impacts to threatened and endangered species associated with vernal pools. The City developed
this VPHCP to provide for the long-term conservation, management, and monitoring of these
species and avoid costly delays and uncertainty associated with a project-by-project approach
toward vernal pool conservation. Implementation of the VPHCP will preserve a network of vernal
pool habitat in a matrix of open space; protect the biodiversity of these unique wetlands; and define
a formal strategy for their long-term conservation, management, and monitoring.
The VPHCP is a conservation plan for vernal pools and seven threatened and endangered covered
species that do not have federal coverage under the City’s Multiple Species Conservation Program
(MSCP) Subarea Plan (SAP), including five plant and two crustacean species.