CENTENNIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
WESTERN EDGE OF THE MOHAVE DESERT

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA

Client: Tejon Ranch/Impact Sciences, Inc.
Contact: Keith Babcock, ISI Project Manager: 916/653-6300

The 11,000-acre proposed Centennial Development Project incorporates a mix of grasslands, oak woodlands, chaparral, and desert scrub. Vollmar Consulting conducted intensive botanical studies on the site in 2003 and 2004. We developed a GIS database incorporating aerial photography, geology, soils, and topography and used this database to assess the site for sensitive biological resources and to develop a survey approach.

During field surveys, we identified and mapped dozens of special-status plant occurrences and correlated their distribution with site geologic and geomorphic features. We also discovered one of the largest intact stands of native perennial bunchgrasses known in the state. We established 300 sampling plots to characterize this community in relation to site geomorphic features. Our data are being used by the project proponent and the L.A. County Significant Ecological Area Technical Advisory Committee (SEATAC) to develop an appropriate conservation plan for this community.