Type: report

Article abstract: The County of San Diego's Tijuana River Valley Regional Park (TRVRP) is part of the South County Multiple Species Conservation program (MSCP) and managed by the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) pursuant to management and monitoring guidelines identified in the MSCP and in the TRVRP Area Specific Management Directives (ASMDs). A baseline survey conducted in 2005 collected biological data in the Park. This report details results of the monitoring surveys conducted in 2009, and provides analysis and conclusions relative to habitat conditions and species-specific management recommendations. MSCP monitoring guidelines are currently being updated, revised and developed. Regional monitoring approaches and specific habitat monitoring protocols are being studied by researchers of San Diego State University (SDSU); animal monitoring protocols are being drafted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the latter of which is also researching specific monitoring protocols for sensitive plants. In lieu of the availability of preserve-specific monitoring protocols, monitoring methods for the 2009 surveys either used established protocols or draft regional MSCP monitoring protocols adapted for preserve-level monitoring. The following monitoring surveys were performed in 2009: vegetation communities mapping, general wildlife, habitat monitoring, herpetological pitfall array, and wildlife corridor/movement surveys. TRVRP consists of a mosaic of native and non-native habitats and agricultural as well as recreational land uses. The international border fence, a triple fence that was being constructed at the time of the 2009 monitoring surveys, and associated Boarder Patrol access roads extend along the top of the southern mesas. The 150 to 300-foot wide federal easement on the U.S. side along the International Border is excluded from the County's management mandate. The San Diego County Water Authority is planning the development of a 60-acre riparian/wetlands mitigation bank in the west-central portion of TRVRP, immediately south of the Tijuana River floodplain, which the County will continue to own and manage. TRVRP is home to a number of sensitive species covered by the City of San Diego's MSCP and the bird species diversity is high. The slopes along the southern mesas contain sensitive maritime succulent scrub and southern maritime chaparral occupied by wart-stemmed ce