Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge
| Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
|
Calabasas Pond | |
  Map of the United States | |
| Location | Santa Cruz County, California, United States |
| Nearest city | Watsonville, California |
| Coordinates | 36°55′36″N 121°50′17″W / 36.92661°N 121.838°WCoordinates: 36°55′36″N 121°50′17″W / 36.92661°N 121.838°W[1] |
| Area | 168 acres (0.68 km2) |
| Established | 1975 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| http://www.fws.gov/sfbayrefuges/Ellicott/ | |
The Ellicott SloughNational Wildlife Refuge is a US National Wildlife Refuge located in the northern part of the Monterey Bay area of California. Originally established to protect the habitat of the threatened Santa Cruz long-toed salamander subspecies, Ellicott Slough also harbors other species later federally listed as threatened due to habitat loss, including the California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander[2] and robust spineflower The Refuge was established after the California Department of Fish and Game purchased the property from its original owner. Due to the Refuge’s close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, its weather is influenced by marine life.
Ellicott Slough NWR is made up of four discontinuous units.All units are not farther than 2.7 miles from each other and therefore have similar geography and mild climate, with a mean daily temperature ranging from 50 to 75 °F (10 to 24 °C). [3] The terrain is both hilly and flat.[4]
Ellicott Unit
The Ellicott Unit is one of the two units that has a pond. The Ellicott pond is the breeding grounds for the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander. The dominant habitats found there are northern coastal scrub, San Andreas coastal live oak woodland, riparian woodland, closed-coned coniferous forest and California coastal prairie. There are a few houses and farms surrounding the area.
Calabasas Unit
The Calabasas Unit is the northern most unit of the other four. A man-made water reservoir was largely destroyed in 1980 and the remaining dam and outflow reinforced in 1994 and 2006. Homes surround the unit.
Harkins Slough Unit
The Harkins Slough Unit is the southernmost unit, adjacent to the Buena Vista Landfill. The unit contains some buildings and houses that are neglected and in need of repair. It is also home to gulls and white pelicans.[5]
Buena Vista Property
The Buena Vista unit is beside California State Route 1 and is mostly uninterrupted by humans with the exception of one house and one garage that were built in 1951. A man-made pond breeds Santa Cruz long-toad Salamanders.
References
- ↑ "Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ Masters, Ryan (2 January 2016). "Cell tower appealed on salamander grounds". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ US Fish and Wildlife Service (September 2010). Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Final Environmental Assessment (PDF) (Report). United States Government Publishing Office.
- ↑ Loredo, Ivette. "Conceptual Management Plan". U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2005.
- ↑ Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Cruz County, CA. "Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact". Federal Registers.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.