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