Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy

Land Management Plan Part 2
Los Padres National Forest Strategy
September 2005
nor thwest ¼ mile of Township 5 N., Range 22 W., Section 5 has been found suitable for
designation as either a recreation
or scenic river. A 31.5-mile segment of Sespe Creek, from its
confluence with Rock Creek and Howard Creek downstream to where it leaves section 26, T5N,
R20W, received designation as a Wild/Scenic River in 1992. Sespe Creek has exemplary visual
features, including contrasts created by large rock outcroppings and
seasonal colors, and water
that attracts regional and national attention. Below Chorro Grande
Canyon, Sespe
Creek offers
excellent dispersed recreation opportunities, such as swimming and wading, picnicking,
backpacking, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, rock climbing, hunting, fishing, photography,
driving for pleasure and viewing scenery on the adjacent scenic byway. Also, the resident
population of arroyo toads in upper Sespe Creek is one of the largest within one hundred miles.
Intact habitat for southern steelhead trout and southwestern willow flycatcher habitat is also
outstandingly remarkable, because samples of this intact habitat are very rare on the Los Padres
National Forest and in the national forests of southern California.
Arroyo Seco River Places: Ventana, 2.9 miles; and Arroyo Seco, 15.1 miles
Steep canyon walls, gorges, rock outcrops, and jumbles of boulders that create pools and
dramatic sounds characterize the dynamic setting of the Arroyo Seco River corridor, which has
been found suitable for designation as a Wild and Scenic River. Many
sections of the river
(especially in the gorge and the m any deep pools upstream) offer opportunities for
solitude and
challenge. These unique recreation opportunit ies are considered outstandingly remarkable.
Geologically, the river also possesses significant and remarkable features, as it exposes the
relationship of rocks and geologic structural features in the Salinian Block that are important as
research areas to aid in understanding important tectonic and seismic processes along the
California continental
margin. Finally, the Arroyo Seco is the middle link of an anadromous
fishery and provides habitat for the federally threatened steelhead fish.
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