Murrieta 180 Acquisition - Santa Rosa Plateau
Location: Located on the Santa Rosa Plateau the parcel
is located south of Avocado Mesa Road and east of Via Volcano in the unincorporated area of
Riverside County.
RCA Area: Rancho California - Santa Rosa Plateau, Rough Step Unit 5
Size: 11.31 acres
Plant Communities:
Grassland, and Vernal Pools.
Species for Conservation:
Species for conservation in this area plan subunit include: Riverside fairy shrimp,
Santa Rosa Plateau fairy shrimp, vernal pool fairy shrimp, bobcat, mountain lion,
California red-legged frog, coast range newt, Bells sage sparrow, Coopers hawk,
grasshopper sparrow, loggerhead shrike, Southern California rufous-crowned
sparrow, white-tailed kite, turkey vulture and yellow warbler.
Importance:
The Murrieta 180 property consists of approximately 11.31 acres and was
acquired by the RCA on July 25, 2011 with a combination of state and federal grant funding.
The property is comprised of Cell 6970 within the Western Riverside County Multiple Species
Habitat Conservation Plan (Western Riverside County MSHCP). The Western Riverside County
MSHCP targets the conservation of 153,000 acres of additional lands for preservation of
wildlife and plant life. The property is adjacent to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological
Reserve, which is approximately 8,300 acres in size.
The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve protects unique ecosystems like Engelmann
oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, bunchgrass prairie and vernal pools.
The Murrieta 180 property contains important biological resources, including vernal pool
habitat and grassland habitat.
Preservation of these plant habitats, vernal pools, and animal species meets the objectives
identified for Federal Grant Number E-20-HL-3.
Wildlife and Habitat Value:
In addition, the subject property is located in a vital conservation area within the
Western Riverside County MSHCP, identified as Constrained Linkage 10. This constrained
linkage connects the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve with the Cleveland National
Forest located further west. This constrained linkage already includes other publicly
conserved lands, including approximately a dozen properties owned by the Western
Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority. These conserved lands total
approximately 279 acres of additional reserve land.
Aerial Photo of Murrieta 180 Property
View of the vernal polls from the Northwest Corner of the parcel towards the Southeast
View of the vernal pools from the Northeast Corner of the parcel towards the South
