Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy
Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy
Land Management Plan - Part 2 Los Padres National Forest Strategy
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<strong>Land</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>Part</strong> 2<br />
<strong>Los</strong> <strong>Padres</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> <strong>Strategy</strong><br />
September 2005<br />
Mt. Pinos<br />
Theme: A big tree (old growth), high country environment offering opportunities for year-round<br />
recreation. The Mt. Pinos Place is the center of the Chumash Indian Universe.<br />
Setting: The Mt. Pinos Place serves as the primary<br />
outdoor recreation gateway on the eastern side of the<br />
<strong>Los</strong> <strong>Padres</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> where the Tehachapi<br />
Mountains, Transverse Ranges and the San Joaquin<br />
Valley converge. Elevations range from 4,000 feet to<br />
8,831 feet at the peak of Mount Pinos (the national<br />
forest's highest point and center of the Chumash Indian<br />
Universe). The San Andreas Fault bisects the area in an<br />
east-west direction. Mt. Pinos Place is readily<br />
accessible from Interstate 5 and is within an hour's<br />
drive of downtown <strong>Los</strong> Angeles to the south or of<br />
Bakersfield to the north.<br />
Singleleaf pinyon-California juniper (Juniperus<br />
californica) woodlands and forests dominate low<br />
elevation landscapes. Montane conifer forests (composed almost entirely of Jeffrey pine) cover<br />
the higher elevations. Small patches of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and subalpine vegetation<br />
occupy the mountain summits. The area has the largest stand of unmanaged Jeffrey pine stands in<br />
southern California. Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica - an invasive plant) has taken hold in<br />
the Place north of Frazier Park. Also, there are infestations of spotted knapweed (Centaurea<br />
biebersteinii) and Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) on private land near national forest<br />
lands.<br />
The Place is a frequently occupied area within the California condor's distributional range. Mt.<br />
Pinos provides a critical wildlife linkage between the national forest and the adjacent Wind<br />
Wolves Preserve, the Bitter Creek Wildlife Refuge and Carrizo Plains Monument. Together these<br />
four areas comprise a large, interconnected block of wildland habitat for many species. The Place<br />
provides habitat for the California spotted owl and northern goshawk (Accipter gentilis).<br />
Page 64<br />
Mt. Pinos. Photo by Mike Foster