Annual Report 2005 (62.7MB) - Western Riverside County Regional ...

2.0 HABITAT GAINS AND LOSSESWithin Rough Step 4, acquisitionsthrough 2005 equated to 3,237 acres,which were obtained through purchaseand donation. The Goodheart Property(909 acres) was acquired in 2005 in thisrough step unit.Rough Step 4 SnapshotAcres in Rough Step: 336Acres out of Rough Step: 498Of total acres conserved in 2005:• Acres acquired: 909• Acres set aside through planning process: 0• Acres donated: 0Development within Rough Step 4 hasoccurred exclusively within the • Acres acquired through easement: 0unincorporated area of RiversideCounty. There have not been any large development projects within Rough Step 4 since planinception due to the rural nature of this portion of the Plan Area. The majority of land withinRough Step 4 consists of 5-, 10-, and 20-acre parcels. Roughly half of the total development(800 acres) consists of single-family home construction on existing legal parcels. This type ofdevelopment (which doesn’t require subdivision of land) is eligible for the MSHCP ERP (SeeSection 3.2 for a Plan Area-wide discussion of ERPs).As a result of this rough step analysis, the RCA and Permittees are refocusing acquisition effortsto coastal sage scrub, desert scrubs, and grassland vegetation communities. In early 2006, theRCA acquired over 2,700 acres within this rough step unit. This early 2006 acquisition activityhas brought in 773 acres of coastal sage scrub, 525 acres of desert scrub, 87 acres of grasslands,15 acres of riparian scrub, woodland, and forest, 21 acres of Riversidean alluvial fan sage scrub,and 17 acres of woodlands and forests. The RCA is also actively working on acquiring over6,000 additional acres within Rough Step 4, which would include an agglomeration of thesehabitat types (this acreage would be reported in future annual reports).2.1.5 Rough Step 5Rough Step 5 encompasses 91,700 acres within the southwestern corner of western RiversideCounty and includes the Santa Rosa Plateau, the Tenaja Corridor, and Murrieta Creek (seeFigure 7, Rough Step Unit #5). It is bounded by Interstate 15 to the northeast, San Diego Countyto the south, and the Santa Ana Mountains in the Cleveland National Forest to the west. WithinRough Step 5, there are approximately 24,000 acres within the Criteria Area. Key vegetationcommunities within Rough Step 5 include coastal sage scrub; grasslands; riparian scrub,woodland, forest; Riversidean alluvial fan sage scrub; and woodlands and forests. Rough stepacreage goals are therefore provided for each of these habitat types. Table 6, Rough Step 5Acreage Totals, also includes acres conserved for habitats for which rough step acreage goals donot exist.Western Riverside County MSHCP October 2006Annual Report (January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005) 2-15