New Life for Miniature Wetland Wonders
The Chaparral Lands Conservancy proposes a project to restore and enhance imperiled vernal pools and species in Proctor Valley inside a regional habitat preserve on City of San Diego Public Utilities Department watershed and other conserved lands.

Toothed calico flower is a rare plant known in Proctor Valley from a single vernal pool. The Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project would expand populations of this plant into other restored vernal pools. (Photo by City of San Diego)

Introduction

Original natural vernal pool in Proctor Valley on property owned by California Department of Fish and Game.

Manicured subdivisions in eastern Chula Vista hide a natural secret – In fact many little wetland secrets. Just a little further east from where Proctor Valley Road narrows from 4 lanes to a dirt road there is a sweeping natural landscape evocative of Old California. Undeveloped Proctor Valley is bordered by scenic San Miguel Mountain and the Jamul Mountains, and the valley forms a natural separation between City of Chula Vista subdivisions and the rural San Diego County unincorporated community of Jamul.

Extensive property owned by several agencies forms a crucial conservation core area under the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Plan (MSCP) and is a critical element of natural infrastructure in the communities of eastern Chula Vista and Jamul. The City of San Diego Utilities Department owns and protects watershed lands for the Upper Otay Reservoir. Other large properties are a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, the California Department of Fish and Game’s Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, and the planned Otay Ranch Preserve.

Restoration Vicinity Map

The majority of vegetation found in the valley is unique and imperiled – Coastal sage scrub, vernal pools, native grasslands, and chaparral. These unique habitats in turn support numerous rare species, several of which like the California gnatcatcher, Quino checkerspot butterfly, San Diego fairy shrimp, and San Diego coyote thistle are federally listed endangered species.

Rare coastal sage scrub vegetation around vernal pools would be restored as part of the Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project.

Original natural vernal pool
in Proctor Valley.

Over the last several years dedicated agency employees and volunteers have worked diligently to improve resource conditions in Proctor Valley by patrolling the area, installing fencing, cleaning up trash, and installing signs. The City and other agencies have been particularly successful in reducing major past illegal off-road vehicle activity and have recently installed effective vehicle barriers along much of the length of Proctor Valley Road.

NEW Many Proctor Valley vernal pools targeted for restoration are located on property owned by the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department and managed for the mutually beneficial goals of protect watershed above the Upper Otay Reservoir and for conservation under the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Plan.

NEW New vehicle barriers (shown here under construction) have been installed by the City of San Diego along Proctor Valley Road and will reduce past major off-road vehicle impacts to rare habitats and wildlife. The project would take the next step of restoring impacted vernal pools and nearby upland habitats.

Yet there is still an outstanding unfulfilled need in Proctor Valley to improve the condition of several imperiled species and habitats that were impacted by activities that occurred prior to establishment of preserve areas and to fulfill the goals of the MSCP for covered species. In cooperation with the City of San Diego and other agency preserve managers, The Chaparral Lands Conservancy proposes to address this need with a project to restore and enhance vernal pools and dependent species and watersheds including nearby degraded coastal sage scrub.

The Proposed Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project

The proposed Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project would address two important opportunities to improve the status of imperiled habitats and species in Proctor Valley.

First, vernal pools in Proctor Valley are located in flat areas very close to Proctor Valley Road  and, as a result have been degraded by vehicle activity for years. One important vernal pool area has been nearly denuded following use as an ORV staging area. Weeds have colonized degraded areas formerly covered with coastal sage scrub, native grasslands, and remarkable living soil crusts. Under the restoration project, degraded vernal pools would be expanded, recontoured, or otherwise enhanced, new basins would be created, and surrounding watersheds and vegetation restored, all to improve habitat conditions and enhance populations of at least seven imperiled vernal pool species, the San Diego fairy shrimp, Western spadefoot toad, little mousetail, San Diego coyote thistle, spreading navarretia, and toothed calicoflower.

This vernal pool on property owned by the California Department of Fish and Game has been severely impacted by off-road vehicles and would be restored under the project.

More vernal pools on property owned by the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department have been severely impacted by off-road vehicles and would be restored under the project.

This site on City of San Diego property was used for years as an off-road vehicle staging area and needs extensive vernal pool
restoration work.

This and other vernal pools on City of San Diego property were part of a past City restoration project to remove weeds and now support a higher density of native vernal pool plant species.

Original natural vernal pool
in Proctor Valley.

Coastal sage scrub is another imperiled habitat in Proctor Valley that has been harmed by past vehicle activity, grazing, and unnaturally frequent wildfire. The Vernal Poolrestoration project would enhance degraded coastal sage scrub in vernal pool watersheds through weeding and plantings for the benefit of endangered and MSCP covered species like the Burrowing owl, California gnatcatcher, Orange-throated whiptail lizard, San Diego cactus wren, San Diego horned lizard, Orcutt’s brodiaea, Otay tarplant, and others as well as to minimize erosion into vernal pools and the Upper Otay Reservoir.

Request for Endorsement & Support

The Chaparral Lands Conservancy respectfully requests endorsement and support for the Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project by conservation groups, community groups, planning groups, homeowner’s associations, elected officials, community leaders, and others. The Conservancy has retained expert ecologists to prepare a detailed plan for the restoration project. The plan is the first step in an overall strategy to seek and secure funding and to carry out the actual restoration activities in 2011 – 2013.

Preparation of the detailed plan for the Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project has been made possible by the San Diego Foundation’s Environmental Endowment Fund and the Land & Watershed Conservation Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity.

For more information on the Proctor Valley Vernal Pool Restoration Project or The Chaparral Lands Conservancy, please contact David Hogan, director.