City of San Diego Vernal Pool Inventory 2002-2003

Type: report

Article abstract: In 2002, the City of San Diego (City) received funding through a U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Section 6 Planning Grant to complete an inventory and management plan of vernal pools within the City's jurisdiction. This inventory builds on several previous studies and surveys, which were used to determine the general locations of individual vernal pools and complexes. Beauchamp (1979) and Bauder (1986) covered the greater portion of San Diego County, and represent complexes as polygons. Villasenor and Riggan (1979) and Zedler and Ebert (1979) mapped the boundaries of individual vernal pool basins within Kearny Mesa and Del Mar Mesa, respectively. Much of the area currently owned by the City and other jurisdictions has never been surveyed for specific vernal pools and, in many cases, historical maps do not accurately represent the existing basins. This inventory does not, however, include vernal pools known to occur on military lands (i.e., MCAS Miramar, Navy Chollas Heights) within the City but not under City jurisdiction.

Number of pages: 226

Year: 2003

Purpose: This project utilized advanced geospatial technology to update information on the location of individual vernal pools and complexes, including documentation of changes in vernal pool distribution due to development and restoration efforts subsequent to Bauder’s report (1986). Specialized software combined with a sub-meter global positioning system (GPS) were used to precisely record each basin. This inventory expands and updates existing information, and provides the basis for a gap analysis of vernal pool conservation efforts within the City of San Diego.

Prepared by: City of San Diego, Planning Department;

Keywords: vernal pool species; vernal pools;