COMMISSION

Harrison Hill Rehabilitation
Carnegie SVRA rehabilitates Resource Management Areas (RMAs) (as described in Report
Requirement 2). Sustainable trail systems are developed as part of the RMA rehabilitation
process. The last completed RMA, Harrison Hill, was a great success. The project took
approximately seven months to complete, and has an increase in vegetation, more storm
water friendly trails, and a lower overall trail length (7,840 linear feet compared to the
previous 30,000 linear feet). The trail design was established using the Carnegie Advisory
Team, which is a group of local enthusiasts that are well versed in enhancing the user
experience.
Harrison Hil - before
Harrison Hill - after
Clay Pit SVRA
Avian Survey
The avian survey at Clay Pit SVRA consists of eight point count locations surveyed twice
each in the winter and spring. Four of the point count locations are located within OHV
recreation riding areas of the SVRA. The other four point counts are located off-property on
lands managed by CDFW and the CDWR. The four off-property sites have similar disturbed
grassland habitat in close proximity to Clay Pit SVRA, but have no OHV recreation usage.
Results from the 2015 survey show slightly higher species richness and diversity in the
Clay Pit SVRA riding areas compared to the off-property non-riding areas; however, the
difference is not significant using a two-sample t-test with 95 percent confidence. The
two-sample t-test is a statistical method used to determine if the numerical means of two
independent populations differ. The test consists of a mathematical calculation. In this case,
staff compared the bird population surveyed in the Clay Pit SVRA riding area with the bird
population surveyed in a non-riding area outside of the SVRA to see if there were statistical
differences in species richness and diversity.
2017 Program Report 139