West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

freshwater or alkali wetlands, or occur along the south and west edges of the planning area, inthe desert-mountain transition. Table 3-9 lists the natural communities and the acreage of each.Map 3-23, found on the attached CD-ROM, illustrates the location of the natural communities.Localized areas having special biological importance are described below.Alkali wetland sites: CDFG and USFWS botanists, the California Native Plant Societyand noted conservation biologist Reed Noss reviewed and discussed conservation plant speciesin the West Mojave during the planning process. Protection of alkali wetland communities,including seeps, springs, meadows and playas was identified as a top priority. These sites arevery likely to result in new discoveries of disjunct and endemic species of rare plants. Inaddition, the unique conditions that support these communities, including faultline alterations tothe water table, hot springs, and local enclosed basins require consideration of protection ofecosystem processes.Two specific locations, Rabbit Springs and Paradise Springs, are relatively undisturbedalkali seeps known to support many rare species and represent botanical hotspots. Harper DryLake is a unique alkali marsh, a community found at few other sites in the Mojave Desert, mostnotably in Death Valley. Other sites along the Helendale Fault, San Andreas Fault and borderingmajor desert playas have high potential for discovery of unique elements of the desert flora.Landforms and Soils: Some distinctive landforms and soil types found within the WestMojave that provide habitat for unique or listed species include:• Sand dunes at Saddleback Butte, Dale Lake, Mojave River, Mojave Valley, TwentyninePalms, El Mirage, Alvord Mountain, and Pisgah Crater form habitat for Mojave fringetoedlizard (Dean, 1978).• Sand sheets at the east edges of playas constitutes habitat for desert cymopterus east ofCuddeback, Rogers, and Harper dry lakes.• The remnant Pleistocene glacial surfaces at Middle Knob, termed “pebble plains” providehabitat for the extremely rare Kern buckwheat.• Carbonate rock and soil on the north face of the San Bernardino Mountains provideshabitat for several endemic plants, including four listed species.Chapter 3 3-67