Chapter 3 - Natural Resources - Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan [March 2012 - Update]
of seral stages within a particular vegetation community that promotes habitat diversity.
However, the fire frequency at some locations on Camp Pendleton is higher than other
areas in southern California (MCBCP 1998). A high fire frequency can permanently
change the vegetation type (type conversion) of a given site by suppressing it to an earlier
seral stage. The use of pyrotechnics and live-fire ammunition during training creates an
additional risk of increased fire occurrence relative to other areas of southern California.
Zedler, et al. (1997), states that anthropogenic causes of fire in southern California are not a
recent phenomenon. In fact, it appears that prehistoric humans played an active and
significant role in elevating fire frequency (Zedler et al. 1997). Early Native Americans, as
well as the Spanish and Mexican settlers of the region, regularly used fire as a tool to clear
brush to facilitate hunting and to promote grazing (Rasmussen & Woodman 1997).
While fire ignitions and burn frequency at Camp Pendleton are much higher today than at
the time the military acquired the property, burn patterns may reflect prehistoric ones more
closely than those resulting from fire suppression policies in southern California (Minnich,
R. A. 1983). Vegetative, topographic, and climatic factors in the region have also favored
fire since the emergence of the Mediterranean climate hundreds of thousands of years ago.
“Fire weather” occurs from May through November, with extreme fire conditions
occurring when very dry, warm Santa Ana winds blow over dry vegetation. The Base’s
topography exacerbates the problem, because the northeast-southwest trending canyons can
pull marine air inland each day as land surfaces warm, creating up-canyon winds. At night,
when temperatures cool, the breezes are pulled back down-canyon and seaward. Compared
to inland portions of California, the fire hazard is generally lower in the summer on Base
because winds typically originate from the ocean, and are moisture laden (Steinitz 1996).
The Base has an active fire management plan, and its scheduled burning, when coordinated
with training activities, assures the maintenance of fire-dependent habitat while
simultaneously protecting property. However, fire does not recognize property boundaries.
Increased risk caused by development near the Base will require the communities and
public land agencies surrounding Camp Pendleton to coordinate fire management planning
(Steinitz 1996).
3.2. BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
Southern California is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the continental U.S. It
supports a variety of habitat types and contains the greatest number of plant and wildlife
species in the nation identified by the federal government as threatened or endangered
(Dobson et al. 1997). Natural resources on Camp Pendleton reflect the rich diversity of
species and habitat types formerly present within the region. The great diversity and
abundance of plant and wildlife resources on Camp Pendleton provide many ecological,
aesthetic, recreational, and military values to the Base, its residents, and the general public.
This section provides an introduction to the diversity of plant and wildlife species
(including descriptions of federally listed threatened and endangered species) found on
Camp Pendleton. Plant communities are also introduced in this section; however, greater
description of these is provided in Appendix I. Included in this section is a discussion of
the importance, and present situation, of landscape linkages and corridors.
Chapter 3 – Natural Resources 3-11