Type: report

Article abstract: INTRODUCTION The Escondido Creek Preserve (Preserve) is an approximately 347-acre open space preserve located southwest of Harmony Grove, west of the City of Escondido, south of the City of San Marcos, and east of the City of Encinitas, within the Elfin Forest community of unincorporated San Diego County, California. The Preserve is owned by the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and is included in the proposed North County Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) preserve system. The DPR proposes to manage the Preserve in accordance with a Resource Management Plan (RMP), including Area-Specific Management Directives (ASMDs), currently being developed for the Preserve pursuant to the requirements of the MSCP. The majority of the Preserve supports high quality native vegetation communities; however, invasive non-native plants are present in portions of the Preserve and are outcompeting native species and reducing the biological functions and values of these communities. In discrete locations, human disturbance has resulted in unvegetated areas, which are subject to erosion. Over half of the Preserve was most recently burned during the 1996 Harmony Fire, while the vast majority of the remaining portions of the Preserve burned most recently in 1943 (FRAP 2011). Much of the vegetation on site has recovered during the 15 year fire-free period; although in some areas, effects of the fire remain more visible than others.