Department of Fish and Game

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Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve Final
Land Management Plan
and
Environmental Impact Report

Project Description

The project is a Land Management Plan for the approximately 5,200 acre Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve in northern Santa Barbara County, California. The property is owned by the State of California, administered by the State Lands Commission, and managed under a 49-year lease by the California Department of Fish and Game, the lead agency for the project. The Land Management Plan guides management of habitats, species, and programs to achieve the Department's mission to protect and enhance wildlife values. It serves as a guide for appropriate public uses of the property, and provides a descriptive inventory of fish, wildlife, plants and habitats the reserve supports. It provides an overview of the property's operation and maintenance, and personnel requirements to implement management goals. It serves as a budget planning aid for annual regional budget preparation. It provides a description of potential and actual environmental impacts and subsequent mitigation which may occur during management, and contains environmental documentation to comply with state and federal statutes and regulations.

The Plan includes a fuel management plan for areas of the Reserve adjacent to the communities of Vandenberg Village, Mesa Oaks, and Mission Hills. Within the fuel management areas vegetation will be reduced, transitioning from sparse vegetative cover of shrubs adjacent to the urban edge, to that of naturally occurring density. The Land Management Plan also addresses access for wildfire response; retention of approximately 28 miles of trails; boundary fencing; interpretive signs; enforcement of regulations that prohibit bee keeping, unauthorized vehicles and equestrian use; phasing out farming and livestock grazing; habitat restoration; and protection of biological and cultural resources.

Planning Process

The planning process was guided by the general policy parameters that direct the Department, including compliance with all state and federal laws. The Department's mission, the purpose of ecological reserves, the purpose and history of the acquisition of Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve, and the purposes of land management plans, provided broad direction for the development of this plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR). An environmental analysis pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been conducted concurrently with plan development to identify the potential environmental impacts of operating the reserve under the provisions of this plan. As described in the Environmental Impact Report prepared for the plan under CEQA, implementing this plan would not have a significant impact on the environment. The EIR is included in the Plan as Appendix 8.

The Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve Draft Land Management Plan and Environmental Impact Report was released by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) on July 19, 2005. The public review and comment period extended from July 19, 2005, to September 9, 2005. A Public Meeting was held on July 21, 2005 at;

Lompoc City Hall
100 Civic Center Plaza
Lompoc, CA 93436

The Initial Study/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was posted at the Lompoc Public Library and the Vandenberg Village Public Library in Lompoc, the DFG Santa Barbara Field Office and on the Department's internet web page at www.dfg.ca.gov. It was also circulated to the following public agencies for review: Resources Agency; Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 3; Department of Parks and Recreation; Native American Heritage Commission; Department of General Services; Office of Emergency Services; Office of Historic Preservation; Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; Department of Conservation; Caltrans, District 5; Caltrans, Division of Aeronautics; Department of Toxic Substances Control; and the State Lands Commission. One public agency responded with comments (Santa Barbara County).

Individuals and/or interest groups who commented on the Land Management Plan (LMP) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR), along with the subject area of their comments, are listed along with the Department's responses in Appendix 4 of the EIR. Comments were received via mailed letters, e-mails, and verbal comments or submitted comment cards received at the July 21st Public Meeting.

Any questions may be directed to:

Ms. Kari Lewis
Department of Fish and Game
Wildlife Branch - Lands Program
1812 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 445-3789

Email: klewis@dfg.ca.gov

See below for a full list of related files. All files are in PDF format.

WARNING - A few of the files listed below are very large and may take a while to download depending on the speed of your internet connection. They are marked with an asterisk*

Environmental Impact Report
Chapters File Size
Appendix 8.0 - Burton Mesa Final Environmental Impact Report 318 KB
Appendix 8.1 - Notice of Determination, signed 268 KB
Appendix 8.1 - BMER NOP & NOC 1.7 MB
Appendix 8.1 - Burton Mesa Initial Study Final 47 KB
Appendix 8.2 - CDFG Fuelbreak Wildlife results 104 KB
Appendix 8.2 - CDFG Vascular Plant Field Assessment 102 KB
Appendix 8.4 - Public Outreach Summary & Response to Public Comments 48 KB
Appendix 8.4 - Public Comments Matrix 84 KB

Final Land Management Plan
Chapters File Size
Appendix 1 - Plant Species on Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve 65 KB
Appendix 2 - Wildlife Species List at Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve 139 KB
Appendix 3a - Wildlife Survey Observations on BMER 2004 GIS Data 92 KB
Appendix 3b - Bird Species Observed During Point Counts 82 KB
Appendix 4a - Museum Records of Sensitive Species 20 KB
Appendix 4b - Museum Records of Non-sensitive Species 22 KB
Appendix 5 - California Natural Diversity Database - Animals & Plants 416 KB
Appendix 6 - Rapid Assessment Plot Data 2.2 MB
Appendix 7a - Bird Count Form 76 KB
Appendix 7b - Rapid Assessment Field Form 195 KB
Signature Page (Signed and Dated) 143 KB
Final Land Management Plan for Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve 7.8 MB
All Appendices Combined 8.6 MB

Land Management Plan Maps
Maps File Size
Figure 01 - Project Region * 23 MB
Figure 02 - BMER Project Site * 33.5 MB
Figure 03 - Vandenberg Management Unit * 34.6 MB
Figure 04 - Santa Lucia Management Unit * 35.6 MB
Figure 05 - Purisima Hills Management Unit * 28.8 MB
Figure 06 - Encina Management Unit * 34.4 MB
Figure 07 - La Purisima Management Unit * 33.8 MB
Figure 08 - Easements 473 KB
Figure 11 - Geology 3.4 MB
Figure 12 - Soils 1.5 MB
Figure 13 - Elevation & Hydrology 4.9 MB
Figure 16 - 1938 Aerial Photography * 32.6 MB
Figure 17 - Fire History 3.7 MB
Figure 18 - Structures and Infrastructure 2.7 MB
Figure 19 -Trails and Roads 2.7 MB
Figure 20 - Survey Locations: Vegetation 3.7 MB
Figure 21 - Plant Communities * 25.8 MB
Figure 29 - Survey Locations: Animals 775 KB
Figure 30 - Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species Observations: Plants 948 KB
Figure 31 - Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species Observations: Animals 954 KB
Figure 32 - Wildlife Response Plan & Fuel Management Segments * 32.6 MB