Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy

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Land Management Plan Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy September 2005 Highway 33 Corridor Theme: This scenic, cross-forest byway corridor provides the primary recreation access through the main body of the national forest and provides recreation opportunities in the Place. It is one of the 'Key Places' representing the most picturesque national forest locations, containing its own landscape character. The travel corridor features numerous panoramic vistas, notable rock formations, the scenic Matilija and Sespe Creek Watersheds, the Cuyama River Valley, and diverse vegetation that provides relatively undisturbed habitats for several southern California native species. This Place includes a historic, late 19th century travel route that has become important for auto-touring, numerous recreation activities and a base for environmental education and interpretation. Setting: Highway 33 Corridor Place crosses the Transverse Ranges and connects coastal cities like Ventura and Ojai to the inland Cuyama Valley. Designated as a Forest Service Scenic Byway, and also known as the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, the route was pioneered by the Reyes family to access their ranch on the Cuyama side of the mountains. Entry points along the corridor from California State Highway 33 serve as portals to four different areas of wilderness that border the corridor: the Matilija, Sespe, Dick Smith, and the Chumash Wildernesses. The scenic byway is heavily traveled and is well known for its many recreation opportunities, its cultural history, and superb scenery where the upper reaches of Sespe Creek and the Sespe Gorge offer views of dramatic geologic formations. From Ojai, the highway parallels the Ventura River and climbs up through the Matilija Creek Watershed, which flows to the south, crosses into the Sespe Watershed that flows to the east, and eventually drops into the Cuyama Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway Watershed, which flows to the west. The route passes through steep, often unstable, mountainous terrain. Falling rocks and roadside erosion are common and disposal of slide material (to keep the highway open) is a constant challenge. An array of plant communities greets the traveler. On the coastal side, hardwoods line riparian areas along Matilija Creek at the lower elevations. At higher elevations, there are scattered populations of bigcone Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) and canyon live oak forests. At the highest elevations of Page 58
September 2005 Land Management Plan Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy Pine Mountain, undisturbed mixed conifer forests cover upper north slopes. In the eastern rain shadow where the highway descends into the Cuyama Valley, the vegetation changes to desert scrub and singleleaf pinyon forests and woodlands. The Cuyama Valley (lying in the rain shadow of the Coast Range) has a climate which is much drier, and woodlands and grasslands are the dominant vegetation. Large parcels of private land are interspersed with the public land. Farming, grazing, and oil exploration exists on both private and public land. The Sespe Creek Watershed is large and wild and supports a high degree of biodiversity. The arroyo toad, California condor, desert bighorn sheep, and southern steelhead trout are some of California's endangered wildlife which inhabit this remote watershed. The Dry Lakes Ridge Botanical Area preserves remnant stands of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and several relict plant species. Invasive, noxious weeds, notably tamarisk, Spanish broom (Spartium junceum), and yellow star-thistle (Centaurea solstiitalis) occupy the area with continuing emphasis on control or limiting further spread. The vegetation of the corridor and surrounding areas periodically experience numerous large, landscape-changing wildland fires that sometimes exceed 100,000 acres. Community protection from wildland fire is important to the area around Ojai and the many small blocks of private land that make up approximately 10 percent of the land base within the corridor. Community defense zones are yet to be fully established. The scenic highway and national forest roads provide good access to some areas. In contrast, access to other areas is restricted by private land, insufficient easements, and long travel times on steep, winding roads; these factors contribute to poor coverage for fire suppression and emergency medical services. Seasonal road closures and access by permit reduce damage to national forest resources. The growth of communities in southern California emphasizes the need to provide access for a variety of recreation and special-use activities. The Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center on Scenic Highway 33 provides a regional base for providing visitor information and education on national forest recreation and environmental issues. Recreation opportunities within the Highway 33 Corridor Place range from scenic touring by automobile to hang-glider soaring. Photography, snowplay, camping, hiking, swimming, bicycling, OHV us e, and recreational target shooting are also some of the many common uses. Sixty-eight miles of maintained OHV routes in the Ballinger Canyon area in the Cuyama Valley provide high quality off-road opportunities. Management challenges for this Place include increasing demand for sensitive resources, quality of recreation experience, deferred maintenance of recreation facilities, maintenance of water quality and wildlife habitat, disposal of landslide and slough material on California State Highway 33 and law enforcement to deal with vandalism, graffiti, and marijuana cultivation. A variety of special-uses occur in the Highway 33 Corridor Place. Water extractions, and grazing are examples. A gas pipeline crosses the mountains from Maricopa to Ventura. Portions of grazing allotments cover the northern half of this Place. California State Highway 33 is also a heavily used thoroughfare for transport of commerce. Designated Wild and Scenic Rivers: • Sespe Creek 4.7 miles Page 59
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LM 1 - Landscape Aesthetics........
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Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy

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