Carrizo Plain

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Carrizo Plain National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)

Location:	California, USA
Nearest city:	Maricopa
Coordinates:	35°13′0″N, 119°52′0″W
Area:	180,000 acres (728 km²)
Established:	January 2001
Governing body:	Bureau of Land Management

The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed plain, approximately 50 miles (80 km) long and up to 15 miles (24 km) across, in eastern San Luis Obispo County, California. It contains the 180,000 acre (728 km²) Carrizo Plain National Monument, and it is the largest single native grassland remaining in California.

The plain extends northwest from the town of Maricopa, following the San Andreas Fault. Bordering the plain to the northeast is the Temblor Range, on the other side of which is the California Central Valley. Bordering the plain to the southwest is the Caliente Range. The community of California Valley is on the northern part of the plain. The average elevation of the plain is about 2200 ft (700 m). Soda Lake, a 3000 acre (12 km²) alkaline lake, is in the center of the plain. It receives all of the runoff from both sides of the plain because it is an enclosed basin. At 5106 ft (1556 m), Caliente Mountain stands as the highest point in San Luis Obispo County.

The Carrizo Plain is one of the easiest places to see the San Andreas Fault; it is clearly visible along the eastern side of the plain, at the foot of the Temblor Range. It is best seen in early morning and evening light, when shadows make the topography visible. In addition to its spring wildflower displays, Carrizo Plain is famous for Painted Rock, a sandstone alcove adorned with pictographs created by the Chumash people around 2000 BC.

1 Management
2 Fauna
3 Access
4 National Landscape Conservation System
5 Manager suicide
6 External links

[edit] Management

Land management of the Carrizo Plain is a joint project between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Nature Conservancy, which owns much of the land. One of the current range management projects involves removing non-native grasses by selective cattle grazing early in the season (when non-native plants first emerge). Later in the season, the cattle are removed and native plants have a competitive advantage versus the non-native vegetation.

[edit] Fauna

Wildlife of the Carrizo includes the San Joaquin Kit Fox, the giant kangaroo rat, reintroduced Tule Elk, and Pronghorn. The Le Conte's Thrasher of the Southwestern U.S. has a disjunct north range in the Carrizo Plain because of its hotter climate and ecology.

[edit] Access

California Highway 166 passes the south entrance to the Carrizo Plain, and California Highway 58 crosses through the northern portion. Connecting them is narrow Soda Lake Road, the only dependably passable road through the plain. It is gravel for much of its extent.

[edit] National Landscape Conservation System

Carrizo Plain National Monument is a component of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.

[edit] Manager suicide

In 2005, the Department of the Interior, Office of the Inspector General conducted an investigation into the suicide of late monument manager, Marlene A. Braun. An August 8, 2005 letter from the Office of the Inspector General says there was a conflict between Braun and her supervisor which went back to 2004. She was allegedly suspended for five days in January 2005. According to the letter, the Bureau of Land Management Region office also conducted an investigation into the matter. Braun committed suicide in her Carrizo Plains home on May 2, 2005.