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Natural area planning for recreational use transition
Landscape Planning, 12 (1985) 111--123
111
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
NATURAL AREA PLANNING FOR RECREATIONAL USE TRANSITION
KERRY J. DAWSON
Department of Environmental Design, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (U.S.A.) (Accepted for publication 19 December 1984)
ABSTRACT Dawson, K.J., 1985. Natural area planning for recreational use transition. Landscape Plann., 12: 111--123. Recent experiences with newly acquired natural areas in the University of California Natural Land and Water Reserves System (U.C. NLWRS) indicate that establishment of reserve status is only a first step toward preservation of an area. Many reserves have a long history of unrestricted recreational use including, but not confined to, hunting, target practice, flora and fauna collection, off-road vehicular use and camping. When such activities are suddenly restricted because of their incompatibility with natural area managment, vandalism and unruly behavior often result. This paper will discuss general strategies for, and problems arising from, recreational use transition in newly established natural areas. It will focus specifically on signing and access control, public relations and selective reduction of undesirable recreational activities, with Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve serving as the working model.
INTRODUCTION
The acquisition and establishment of natural areas n o t presently in the public domain presents several unique planning problems. Removal of land from local government tax bases, implications for the management of ecological systems on surrounding land (outside threats) and altering traditional patterns of use on the land when they conflict with natural area management goals are some o f the more conspicuous. U.C. NLWRS confronts these and other problems often in efforts to secure research and educational natural area laboratories within reasonable travel distance of the nine University of California campuses. Problems with tax-base removal are handled individually, with most local governments in support o f University goals. Ecologically defined outside threats perhaps offer the biggest problem in that reserve control over surrounding land use and management is often not possible or welcome (U.S. National Park Service, 1980). Reports from the U.C. system-wide NLWRS planning office indicate that nearly 80% of management time is spent dealing with off-site problems. Reserve management problems most often dealt with on-site, after initial establishment (aside from those of ecological stability), are inadequate infrastructure, over-use and traditional b u t incompatible recreational 0304-3924/85/$03.30
© 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
Fig. 1. A trailestablished in 1933 by John Vlahos to his homestead above the reserve. Although the homestead was long-ago abandoned, the trail became a main recreational access to area public lands during the 1960's. Demonstrated erosion in the photograph is the result both of increasing use and poor trailsiting.
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113
activities (Leopold, 1968). Infrastructure problems can arise when original resource information is not properly collected, resulting in, for example, roads or trails not designed in relation to topography or soil t y p e (Fig. 1). Over-use of popular natural areas is common, and the adage that "love can kill" is descriptively appropriate of the result (Wilkes, 1977). Undesirable recreational activity (in relation to natural area goals) is prevalent in areas of previously open land, principally, it would seem, because .it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable places for free target practice, off-road vehicular use or partying. A CASE STUDY All the previous problems arose following the recent acquisition of Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve b y the U.C. Davis Natural Land and Water Reserves Committee. Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve consists of 277 acres (112 ha) of canyon habitat on the eastern edge of the California Coast Range, a b o u t 3 miles from Winters, Solano County (Fig. 2). Acquired by the University of California in August 1979 as part of the Natural Land and Water Reserves System, it was the first such reserve associated with the Davis Campus. It was attractive as a reserve site because of its: (1) proximity to the Davis Campus (25 rain b y car); (2) wild and diverse nature; (3) topographic accessibility; (4) history of use b y UCD classes; (5) c o m m o n border on three sides with lands owned by the Bureau of Land Managment (BLM) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). University land ties the BLM and CDFG parcels together (Fig. 2), so that roughly 3--4 km 2 of public wild land is available for University use. Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve is north-facing and contains parts of two steep-sided canyons; Cold and Wild Horse. R o c k strata of the Cold Canyon area belong to the tilted Upper Cretaceous Great Valley Sequence. The canyon is eroded along the strike of the Yolo Shale, between the ridgeforming Venado Formation sandstones on the west and the Sites sandstone on the east. Large rockslides and landslides from the bordering ridges blanket the lower slopes and floor of most of the canyon. In most years, 5--10 cubic feet per second of clear water flows d o w n the stream at the b o t t o m of the main canyon from December to mid-May. Most of the water originates in the larger Wild Horse Canyon drainage. In the summer, the surface water ceases to flow and b y late summer only a few stagnant pools remain, in which large mats of algae have formed. Even during recent drought years, some pools have persisted throughout the year. Three recognizable plant communities are found in the area: foothill woodland, manzanita chaparral and riparian woodland. The foothill woodland is represented by such trees and shrubs as interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii), canyon live oak (Q. chrysolepis), blue oak (Q. douglasii), digger pine (Pinus sabiniana), b u c k e y e (Aesculus californicus), redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), and has
32
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Sign I i
Sign 10
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Sign 3
Sign 2
Sign I
Damage to signs:
E. Dogs
D. Bikes
C. Fires
B. Camps
A. Guns
Observed Presence of:
M, Other
L, UCD Research
K, UCD Class
J, Nature Study
I . Horse Riding
H. Camping
G. ORV Biking
F. Hunting
A. Main Gate and Fence
D. Hiking
Fig. 2. (a) The relationship of UC Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve to private and public land in the Cold Canyon Watershed. (b) A sample form for recreational-use observations made in the reserve during late 1981 and the first half o f 1982, including use-volumes and activities. The map lower right illustrates topography-and site access.
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7, Damage to:
F
C. Bird ]~atching
B. Hunting Access
A, Target Practice
M
Children
5. Observed sex r a t i o
6. Observed A c t i v i t i e s and numbers:
3. Register attached?
4. Observed group size
DATE & TIME
2. T a l l y from use counter
I , Number of v i s i t o r s observed
OBSERVER
STEBBINS COLD CANYON OBSERVATION FORMS
115 a patchy distribution in the area, mainly on east-facing slopes. The dominant plant c o m m u n i t y in terms of area covered is manzanita chaparral, a thick tangle of shrubs including manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa), chamise (Adenostoma fasciculata), buck brush (Ceanothus cuneatus), jim brush (C. sorediatus), poison oak (Rhus diversiloba), scrub oak (Quercus dumosa) and leather oak (Q. durata). In contrast to the manzanita chaparral community, riparian woodland is poorly developed, presumably because the canyon is extremely steep and the stream intermittent. It is characterized by water-loving trees and shrubs with their roots in the stream bed: cottonw o o d (Populus fremontii), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), sycamore (Platanus racemosa) and willows (Salix spp.). Interspersed with the tree and shrub communities are patches of grassland, represented principally by exotic species. The areas of grassland and major plant communities also offer spring displays o f wild flowers such as California p o p p y (Eschscholz californica), virgin's b o w e r (Clematis lasiantha), Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophyUe), shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii) and wild geranium (Geranium molla). In excess of 100 species of plants have been identified on the reserve so far. The fauna of the reserve area is also relatively numerous and varied. Three species of amphibians, 6 of reptiles, 83 of birds and 20 of mammals have been identified, but no list of insects or other invertebrates is as yet available. The most c o m m o n amphibians are newts (Triturus spp.) and tree frogs (Hyla regilla) which breed in the stream; ensatina salamanders (Ensatina escholtzi) have also been observed. Of reptiles, the most abundant appear to be western fence lizards (Sceloperus occidentalis} and garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.), although a few rattlesnakes have been seen. Used b y many migrant species, Cold Canyon is a favorite spot for bird watching, and probably 35--40 species breed in the area. There are potentially 35--40 species of mammals on the reserve, either transient or resident, including opossum, 2--3 species of shrew, 9 of bats, 3 of rabbits, 8--9 of rodents, 10--12 carnivore species and blacktail deer. Overall, Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve and the surrounding area provide a good representation of California Coastal Range foothill/chaparral flora and fauna. SURROUNDING LAND USE AND OUTSIDE THREATS As seen in Fig. 2, Cold Canyon is fortunate to be located in an area with substantial public lands ownership. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been very cooperative in discussions of natural area management for their adjacent lands, with a possible future transfer of some of these lands to the University. Recently acquired surrounding lands of the California Department o f Fish and Game (CDFG) were causing access problems through the reserve for hunters, and a preliminary agreement to solve them was reached.
116 Basically, the CDFG land was purchased to provide access to lands east of the reserve and it was just a particular of acquisition that some land adjacent to the reserve was included. CDFG has agreed to recommend to staff and the F&G Commission to; (1) change the status of F&G land at the entrance of the canyon from a wildlife area to an ecological reserve; (2) close the ecological reserve to hunting; (3) encourage access to quail hunting at the Putah Creek expansion area (near the reserve) through routes which would avoid the reserve; (4) stop deer-hunting in the watershed (for safety); and (5) enter into a m e m o r a n d u m of understanding between CDFG and U.C. Davis to manage the ecological reserve. The last remaining outside threat of immediate concern is a proposal by Solano County to build a camp-ground and recreation area near the reserve entrance. Solano C o u n t y has agreed to work with UCD in developing an appropriate Environmental Impact Report section detailing NLWRS concerns, and will also work with the University in designing the park to restore natural vegetation and lessen visitor impact on the reserve. In addition, their posture against firearms in the area and offer of rangers from the park to help patrol the reserve could be helpful. RECREATIONAL MANAGEMENT Because Stebbins Cold Canyon was the first reserve acquired by U.C. Davis, there was substantial interest on campus in getting the area quickly under management for research and education. At the time of acquisition, there were nearly a dozen research projects planned and steadily increasing visitation to the site for classes and teaching. At the same time, some traditional areas of recreation were conflicting with these uses. Camping, fire-building and partying activities had little respect for research plots. Dogs introduced domestic diseases through feces and contact with small mammals. Target practice and hunting access were t h o u g h t to have immeasurable impact on monitoring population levels. Recreational management for the U.C. Davis NLWRS Committee on Stebbins Cold Canyon included four basic options: (1) close the area totally to non-university-related research and teaching; (2) immediately begin a strategy to reduce unwanted recreational activity through simple and direct signing and fencing; {3} begin a slowly evolving public education program with environmental education, gradual removal of unwanted activities and a general tolerance for disturbances; or (4) allow existing use to continue. The last option was considered unacceptable in view of the research and education goals for the area. Closing the area to non-U.C, use was also considered unacceptable and not in the tradition of the reserve system. Primarily because of pressure to get the reserve functioning rapidly for research, but because of a lack of resources for a fully functioning on-site environmental education program, a decision was made to strike a balance
Fig. 3. E x a m p l e o f an e n t r a n c e sign at S t e b b i n s Cold C a n y o n . T h i s p h o t o g r a p h s h o w s t h e first level o f v a n d a l i s m t o o c c u r .
118
between Options 2 and 3. A fence and gate were installed by CDFG on their property at the entrance to the canyon which completely eliminated off-road vehicle use (a policy of CDFG). Entrance signs were designed by the U.C. Davis NLWRS Committee which were imposing, with little writing but with very graphic symbols indicating prohibitions and stating as simply as possible the status of the area (Fig. 3). Smaller system-wide NLWRS signs scattered t h r o u g h o u t the area more fully explain the purpose of the reserve and its role in research and recreation. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RECREATIONAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
To assess the effectiveness of recreational management over the first full year of operation, a survey was begun on current use and activities. The original gates and signs were installed in the a u t u m n of 1981. In November of t h a t year, a direct-observation study was begun where the reserve was visited twice weekly for 1.5 h on a random schedule and all observed use and activity were recorded (Fig. 2). A student walked the entire length o f the reserve trail and recorded visitor numbers, group size and activities (including vandalism and presence of dogs, guns, motorbikes and campfires). In March 1982, a register was installed by reserve manager Wes Weathers, and from March until June correlations were made between the register and direct observation. Funding for direct observation was then phased out at the start o f the State fiscal year, 1 July 1982. From the survey information, overall use during 1982 was estimated to reflect a total of 4011 visitors (Fig. 4). The most heavily visited m o n t h s 800.
! 700
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1982 Total
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Fig. 4. Overall use o f S t e b b i n s Cold C a n y o n d u r i n g 1 9 8 2 a n d seasonal-use totals.
119
were in the early spring with the onset of warme~ weather, wild flowers and other increased signs of biological activity. U~e gradually diminished over the summer to a low point of just over 100 visitors a month in August, when high temperatures create extremely dry conditions. Activity increased again in autumn with the return of classes and research activity and reached the lowest point of the year during the rainy months of January and Febmary. Weekly and daily visitor-use were also observed and recorded, and the resultant information is compiled in Fig. 5. Over~60% of visitor-use is at the weekends, with Sunday seeing the most activity. Visitor-use drops to a low point on Monday and climbs steadily as the week progresses. Fifty percent of daily use is in the mid-afternoon between 1 and 5 p.m. Twenty-five percent of use occurs before noon, while evenings, after 5 p.m., are mostly visited during the longer days of summer. Overnight visits are rare but do occur. Daily V i s i t o r U s e 1 9 8 2
W e e k l y Visitor Use 1 9 8 2 S
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Fig. 6 illustrates visitor-use b y group-size and t y p e of activity. Approximately 75% of visitor-use was by people alone or in pairs, and group sizes of six and over included classes and oragnizations such as environmental groups, b o y scouts and social clubs. Visitor-use delineated b y activity has nature appreciation-related activities representing close to 50% of site use. Research and teaching-related activities represent approximately 25% of use, while the remaining 25% is termed recreational activity. Recreation in the study included target practice, camping, partying, alcohol and drug consumption, running dogs, m o t o r biking and vandalism.
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Fig. 6. (a) Visitor-use by group size; (b) use by activity observed or registered. A primary hypothesis underlying plans for quickly establishing research and education in the reserve was that recreation would be displaced, anger would result, but t h a t the public would eventually understand and anger would subside. The hypothesis was the basis for both the design of the reserve signs and the decision to order several of each type of sign. The assumption was that vandalism would be severe on the first signs but less so on their replacements. Obviously more appropriate to a rural site where considerable effort is needed to travel to the reserve, the rationale might not apply in urban natural areas, where vandalism of signs might continue simply because easy access affords continuous opportunity. Entrance signs (Fig. 3) received a high level of vandalism from the beginning. Vandalism spread to the smaller signs, with closed areas receiving the highest levels (Fig. 7). The first spring after signing of the reserve, usevolumes increased with the warmer weather and traditional recreation activity on the site, such as target practice and camping, resumed. Anger over the new status o f the area prompted constantly increasing vandalism. Preliminary indications are that the strategy for removing unwanted activity is working and that vandalism is on the decline. The graph in Fig. 8 illustrates the effectiveness of signing and recreational management in Stebbins Cold Canyon from late 1981, when the reserve was first gated and signed, to early 1983. Before 1980, the reserve land was privately owned but generally not managed and open to most recreational activity. A primary goal of management on the reserve was to remove dangerous, unproductive and undesirable recreational activity. After heavy vandalism from
121
Fig. 7. T h e N L W R S s y s t e m - w i d e signs w h i c h p r e c i p i t a t e d t h e m o s t a n g e r - - t h o s e w h i c h d e s i g n a t e d closed access b e c a u s e o f biological research.
122
October 1981 to March 1982, and 8 months after initial on-site establishment of the reserve, new signs were installed to replace damaged ones. Vandalism increased slightly in the period directly after sign-replacement, but never to the levels seen in the beginning. Figure 8 clearly shows a continuous decline in both vandalism and unwanted recreational activities, confirming the original design hypothesis.
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Management
Effectiveness
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Fig. 8. Results from observation and register correlation covering the period from late 1981 to early 1983. The right-hand graph illustrates management success in reducing undesirable activity through the rotational signing program. CONCLUSION
It is very difficult for some recreationists to recognize the incompatibility of certain recreational activities with the goals of a natural reserve. Flora susceptible to trampling or fauna that cannot tolerate disturbance or human activity are not of primary consideration in a number of recreational pursuits. At the same time, managers who ignore all recreational activity needs in master-planning the future of a reserve are likely to suffer the consequences of the non-humanist view. A pleasing aspect of Stebbins Cold Canyon is its location in an area of great versatility for both conservation and recreation interests. The importance of the reserve is demonstrated by its status as the only reserve in the Southern Coastal Range segment of the approximately 800 000 acres of public land in the BLM Ukiah district. The closest comparable areas are the Northern California Coast Range Reserve and Kings Range Conservation Area, 100 and 200 miles, respectively, to the north. Displaced recreation can take advantage o f five designated recreation areas within 10 miles of the reserve, including Lake Berryessa, Lake Hennessey, Los
123 Posadas State Forest, Putah Creek Fishing Access Area and Solano Lake C o u n t y Park. Hundreds of thousands of public BLM acres are open to hunting, and within 5 miles, three hiking areas offer natural yet unrestricted recreation access. These are Mix Canyon, Gates Canyon and the west slope of Berryessa to Pope Valley. The success of the area as a research and teaching laboratory w o r t h y of the recreation it displaced has yet to be proved. After reasonable recovery of the ecosystem and populations, consumer satisfaction surveys (Chanter and Owen, 1976) of the researcher and teaching user will be a high priority for the NLWRS Management Committee. Lastly, although unwanted activity has been reduced on the reserve, the levels of personal safety required for unrestricted research have yet to be attained. Although w o m e n represent 50% of general enrollment at U.C. Davis and over 50% of the enrollment in some of the educational programs utilizing the reserve, female visitors make up only one-third of total use. Further, of the individual trips represented in Fig. 6, close to 95% are male. An increase in single-female trips in the a u t u m n of 1982, as beer drinking and target practice decreased, can be seen as an encouraging sign. However, women still relatively rarely visit the reserve alone, and although this is a national trend (Golden and Pilcher, 1982), it is disappointing. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge Ron Cole, Chairman of the U.C. Davis Natural Land and Water Reserves Committee, Wes Weathers, faculty member in Avian Science at U.C. Davis and reserve manager, Dimitrios Georges, U.C. Davis research assistant for reserve observations, the U.C. Davis Wildlife Club, and all others who have contributed to the management plan for Stebbins Cold Canyon, worked on the reserve and helped in compiling information on reserve recreational use. Funding was supported by the U.C. Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.C. Davis Institute of Ecology.
REFERENCES Chanter, D. and Owen, D., 1976. Nature reserves: a customer satisfaction index. OIKOS, 27 : 165--167. Golden, F. and Pilcher, J., 1982. New danger in the wilderness. Time Magazine, 16 August, p. 46. Leopold, A.S., 1968. Ecologic objectives in park management. East Afr. Agric. For. J., Special Issue, pp. 168--172. U.S. National Park Service, 1980. State of National Parks: A Report to Congress. N.P.S. Office of Science and Technolo~5', U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Wilkes, B., 1977. The myth of the non-consumptive user. Can. Field Nat., 91: 343--349.
111
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
NATURAL AREA PLANNING FOR RECREATIONAL USE TRANSITION
KERRY J. DAWSON
Department of Environmental Design, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (U.S.A.) (Accepted for publication 19 December 1984)
ABSTRACT Dawson, K.J., 1985. Natural area planning for recreational use transition. Landscape Plann., 12: 111--123. Recent experiences with newly acquired natural areas in the University of California Natural Land and Water Reserves System (U.C. NLWRS) indicate that establishment of reserve status is only a first step toward preservation of an area. Many reserves have a long history of unrestricted recreational use including, but not confined to, hunting, target practice, flora and fauna collection, off-road vehicular use and camping. When such activities are suddenly restricted because of their incompatibility with natural area managment, vandalism and unruly behavior often result. This paper will discuss general strategies for, and problems arising from, recreational use transition in newly established natural areas. It will focus specifically on signing and access control, public relations and selective reduction of undesirable recreational activities, with Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve serving as the working model.
INTRODUCTION
The acquisition and establishment of natural areas n o t presently in the public domain presents several unique planning problems. Removal of land from local government tax bases, implications for the management of ecological systems on surrounding land (outside threats) and altering traditional patterns of use on the land when they conflict with natural area management goals are some o f the more conspicuous. U.C. NLWRS confronts these and other problems often in efforts to secure research and educational natural area laboratories within reasonable travel distance of the nine University of California campuses. Problems with tax-base removal are handled individually, with most local governments in support o f University goals. Ecologically defined outside threats perhaps offer the biggest problem in that reserve control over surrounding land use and management is often not possible or welcome (U.S. National Park Service, 1980). Reports from the U.C. system-wide NLWRS planning office indicate that nearly 80% of management time is spent dealing with off-site problems. Reserve management problems most often dealt with on-site, after initial establishment (aside from those of ecological stability), are inadequate infrastructure, over-use and traditional b u t incompatible recreational 0304-3924/85/$03.30
© 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
Fig. 1. A trailestablished in 1933 by John Vlahos to his homestead above the reserve. Although the homestead was long-ago abandoned, the trail became a main recreational access to area public lands during the 1960's. Demonstrated erosion in the photograph is the result both of increasing use and poor trailsiting.
t~
113
activities (Leopold, 1968). Infrastructure problems can arise when original resource information is not properly collected, resulting in, for example, roads or trails not designed in relation to topography or soil t y p e (Fig. 1). Over-use of popular natural areas is common, and the adage that "love can kill" is descriptively appropriate of the result (Wilkes, 1977). Undesirable recreational activity (in relation to natural area goals) is prevalent in areas of previously open land, principally, it would seem, because .it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable places for free target practice, off-road vehicular use or partying. A CASE STUDY All the previous problems arose following the recent acquisition of Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve b y the U.C. Davis Natural Land and Water Reserves Committee. Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve consists of 277 acres (112 ha) of canyon habitat on the eastern edge of the California Coast Range, a b o u t 3 miles from Winters, Solano County (Fig. 2). Acquired by the University of California in August 1979 as part of the Natural Land and Water Reserves System, it was the first such reserve associated with the Davis Campus. It was attractive as a reserve site because of its: (1) proximity to the Davis Campus (25 rain b y car); (2) wild and diverse nature; (3) topographic accessibility; (4) history of use b y UCD classes; (5) c o m m o n border on three sides with lands owned by the Bureau of Land Managment (BLM) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). University land ties the BLM and CDFG parcels together (Fig. 2), so that roughly 3--4 km 2 of public wild land is available for University use. Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve is north-facing and contains parts of two steep-sided canyons; Cold and Wild Horse. R o c k strata of the Cold Canyon area belong to the tilted Upper Cretaceous Great Valley Sequence. The canyon is eroded along the strike of the Yolo Shale, between the ridgeforming Venado Formation sandstones on the west and the Sites sandstone on the east. Large rockslides and landslides from the bordering ridges blanket the lower slopes and floor of most of the canyon. In most years, 5--10 cubic feet per second of clear water flows d o w n the stream at the b o t t o m of the main canyon from December to mid-May. Most of the water originates in the larger Wild Horse Canyon drainage. In the summer, the surface water ceases to flow and b y late summer only a few stagnant pools remain, in which large mats of algae have formed. Even during recent drought years, some pools have persisted throughout the year. Three recognizable plant communities are found in the area: foothill woodland, manzanita chaparral and riparian woodland. The foothill woodland is represented by such trees and shrubs as interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii), canyon live oak (Q. chrysolepis), blue oak (Q. douglasii), digger pine (Pinus sabiniana), b u c k e y e (Aesculus californicus), redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), and has
32
o
~
a
Privat~
Management
of
Mr.
Dlab]o
Base
NOrth
& Mer~dxer
u~ivY_P,siTy o r CZ~LIFO~Im L A N D A N D W A T E R ~tESEn;~S S Y S T K M
TTN ~2~o
NaTU~
Private
Land
Bureau
b
B. Counter C. Register
E. Picniking
Sign I i
Sign 10
Sign 9
Sign 8
Sign 7
Sign 6
Sign 5
Sign 4
Sign 3
Sign 2
Sign I
Damage to signs:
E. Dogs
D. Bikes
C. Fires
B. Camps
A. Guns
Observed Presence of:
M, Other
L, UCD Research
K, UCD Class
J, Nature Study
I . Horse Riding
H. Camping
G. ORV Biking
F. Hunting
A. Main Gate and Fence
D. Hiking
Fig. 2. (a) The relationship of UC Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve to private and public land in the Cold Canyon Watershed. (b) A sample form for recreational-use observations made in the reserve during late 1981 and the first half o f 1982, including use-volumes and activities. The map lower right illustrates topography-and site access.
•9@;
i-L
~i
7, Damage to:
F
C. Bird ]~atching
B. Hunting Access
A, Target Practice
M
Children
5. Observed sex r a t i o
6. Observed A c t i v i t i e s and numbers:
3. Register attached?
4. Observed group size
DATE & TIME
2. T a l l y from use counter
I , Number of v i s i t o r s observed
OBSERVER
STEBBINS COLD CANYON OBSERVATION FORMS
115 a patchy distribution in the area, mainly on east-facing slopes. The dominant plant c o m m u n i t y in terms of area covered is manzanita chaparral, a thick tangle of shrubs including manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa), chamise (Adenostoma fasciculata), buck brush (Ceanothus cuneatus), jim brush (C. sorediatus), poison oak (Rhus diversiloba), scrub oak (Quercus dumosa) and leather oak (Q. durata). In contrast to the manzanita chaparral community, riparian woodland is poorly developed, presumably because the canyon is extremely steep and the stream intermittent. It is characterized by water-loving trees and shrubs with their roots in the stream bed: cottonw o o d (Populus fremontii), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), sycamore (Platanus racemosa) and willows (Salix spp.). Interspersed with the tree and shrub communities are patches of grassland, represented principally by exotic species. The areas of grassland and major plant communities also offer spring displays o f wild flowers such as California p o p p y (Eschscholz californica), virgin's b o w e r (Clematis lasiantha), Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophyUe), shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii) and wild geranium (Geranium molla). In excess of 100 species of plants have been identified on the reserve so far. The fauna of the reserve area is also relatively numerous and varied. Three species of amphibians, 6 of reptiles, 83 of birds and 20 of mammals have been identified, but no list of insects or other invertebrates is as yet available. The most c o m m o n amphibians are newts (Triturus spp.) and tree frogs (Hyla regilla) which breed in the stream; ensatina salamanders (Ensatina escholtzi) have also been observed. Of reptiles, the most abundant appear to be western fence lizards (Sceloperus occidentalis} and garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.), although a few rattlesnakes have been seen. Used b y many migrant species, Cold Canyon is a favorite spot for bird watching, and probably 35--40 species breed in the area. There are potentially 35--40 species of mammals on the reserve, either transient or resident, including opossum, 2--3 species of shrew, 9 of bats, 3 of rabbits, 8--9 of rodents, 10--12 carnivore species and blacktail deer. Overall, Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve and the surrounding area provide a good representation of California Coastal Range foothill/chaparral flora and fauna. SURROUNDING LAND USE AND OUTSIDE THREATS As seen in Fig. 2, Cold Canyon is fortunate to be located in an area with substantial public lands ownership. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been very cooperative in discussions of natural area management for their adjacent lands, with a possible future transfer of some of these lands to the University. Recently acquired surrounding lands of the California Department o f Fish and Game (CDFG) were causing access problems through the reserve for hunters, and a preliminary agreement to solve them was reached.
116 Basically, the CDFG land was purchased to provide access to lands east of the reserve and it was just a particular of acquisition that some land adjacent to the reserve was included. CDFG has agreed to recommend to staff and the F&G Commission to; (1) change the status of F&G land at the entrance of the canyon from a wildlife area to an ecological reserve; (2) close the ecological reserve to hunting; (3) encourage access to quail hunting at the Putah Creek expansion area (near the reserve) through routes which would avoid the reserve; (4) stop deer-hunting in the watershed (for safety); and (5) enter into a m e m o r a n d u m of understanding between CDFG and U.C. Davis to manage the ecological reserve. The last remaining outside threat of immediate concern is a proposal by Solano County to build a camp-ground and recreation area near the reserve entrance. Solano C o u n t y has agreed to work with UCD in developing an appropriate Environmental Impact Report section detailing NLWRS concerns, and will also work with the University in designing the park to restore natural vegetation and lessen visitor impact on the reserve. In addition, their posture against firearms in the area and offer of rangers from the park to help patrol the reserve could be helpful. RECREATIONAL MANAGEMENT Because Stebbins Cold Canyon was the first reserve acquired by U.C. Davis, there was substantial interest on campus in getting the area quickly under management for research and education. At the time of acquisition, there were nearly a dozen research projects planned and steadily increasing visitation to the site for classes and teaching. At the same time, some traditional areas of recreation were conflicting with these uses. Camping, fire-building and partying activities had little respect for research plots. Dogs introduced domestic diseases through feces and contact with small mammals. Target practice and hunting access were t h o u g h t to have immeasurable impact on monitoring population levels. Recreational management for the U.C. Davis NLWRS Committee on Stebbins Cold Canyon included four basic options: (1) close the area totally to non-university-related research and teaching; (2) immediately begin a strategy to reduce unwanted recreational activity through simple and direct signing and fencing; {3} begin a slowly evolving public education program with environmental education, gradual removal of unwanted activities and a general tolerance for disturbances; or (4) allow existing use to continue. The last option was considered unacceptable in view of the research and education goals for the area. Closing the area to non-U.C, use was also considered unacceptable and not in the tradition of the reserve system. Primarily because of pressure to get the reserve functioning rapidly for research, but because of a lack of resources for a fully functioning on-site environmental education program, a decision was made to strike a balance
Fig. 3. E x a m p l e o f an e n t r a n c e sign at S t e b b i n s Cold C a n y o n . T h i s p h o t o g r a p h s h o w s t h e first level o f v a n d a l i s m t o o c c u r .
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between Options 2 and 3. A fence and gate were installed by CDFG on their property at the entrance to the canyon which completely eliminated off-road vehicle use (a policy of CDFG). Entrance signs were designed by the U.C. Davis NLWRS Committee which were imposing, with little writing but with very graphic symbols indicating prohibitions and stating as simply as possible the status of the area (Fig. 3). Smaller system-wide NLWRS signs scattered t h r o u g h o u t the area more fully explain the purpose of the reserve and its role in research and recreation. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RECREATIONAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
To assess the effectiveness of recreational management over the first full year of operation, a survey was begun on current use and activities. The original gates and signs were installed in the a u t u m n of 1981. In November of t h a t year, a direct-observation study was begun where the reserve was visited twice weekly for 1.5 h on a random schedule and all observed use and activity were recorded (Fig. 2). A student walked the entire length o f the reserve trail and recorded visitor numbers, group size and activities (including vandalism and presence of dogs, guns, motorbikes and campfires). In March 1982, a register was installed by reserve manager Wes Weathers, and from March until June correlations were made between the register and direct observation. Funding for direct observation was then phased out at the start o f the State fiscal year, 1 July 1982. From the survey information, overall use during 1982 was estimated to reflect a total of 4011 visitors (Fig. 4). The most heavily visited m o n t h s 800.
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119
were in the early spring with the onset of warme~ weather, wild flowers and other increased signs of biological activity. U~e gradually diminished over the summer to a low point of just over 100 visitors a month in August, when high temperatures create extremely dry conditions. Activity increased again in autumn with the return of classes and research activity and reached the lowest point of the year during the rainy months of January and Febmary. Weekly and daily visitor-use were also observed and recorded, and the resultant information is compiled in Fig. 5. Over~60% of visitor-use is at the weekends, with Sunday seeing the most activity. Visitor-use drops to a low point on Monday and climbs steadily as the week progresses. Fifty percent of daily use is in the mid-afternoon between 1 and 5 p.m. Twenty-five percent of use occurs before noon, while evenings, after 5 p.m., are mostly visited during the longer days of summer. Overnight visits are rare but do occur. Daily V i s i t o r U s e 1 9 8 2
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Fig. 6 illustrates visitor-use b y group-size and t y p e of activity. Approximately 75% of visitor-use was by people alone or in pairs, and group sizes of six and over included classes and oragnizations such as environmental groups, b o y scouts and social clubs. Visitor-use delineated b y activity has nature appreciation-related activities representing close to 50% of site use. Research and teaching-related activities represent approximately 25% of use, while the remaining 25% is termed recreational activity. Recreation in the study included target practice, camping, partying, alcohol and drug consumption, running dogs, m o t o r biking and vandalism.
120
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Fig. 6. (a) Visitor-use by group size; (b) use by activity observed or registered. A primary hypothesis underlying plans for quickly establishing research and education in the reserve was that recreation would be displaced, anger would result, but t h a t the public would eventually understand and anger would subside. The hypothesis was the basis for both the design of the reserve signs and the decision to order several of each type of sign. The assumption was that vandalism would be severe on the first signs but less so on their replacements. Obviously more appropriate to a rural site where considerable effort is needed to travel to the reserve, the rationale might not apply in urban natural areas, where vandalism of signs might continue simply because easy access affords continuous opportunity. Entrance signs (Fig. 3) received a high level of vandalism from the beginning. Vandalism spread to the smaller signs, with closed areas receiving the highest levels (Fig. 7). The first spring after signing of the reserve, usevolumes increased with the warmer weather and traditional recreation activity on the site, such as target practice and camping, resumed. Anger over the new status o f the area prompted constantly increasing vandalism. Preliminary indications are that the strategy for removing unwanted activity is working and that vandalism is on the decline. The graph in Fig. 8 illustrates the effectiveness of signing and recreational management in Stebbins Cold Canyon from late 1981, when the reserve was first gated and signed, to early 1983. Before 1980, the reserve land was privately owned but generally not managed and open to most recreational activity. A primary goal of management on the reserve was to remove dangerous, unproductive and undesirable recreational activity. After heavy vandalism from
121
Fig. 7. T h e N L W R S s y s t e m - w i d e signs w h i c h p r e c i p i t a t e d t h e m o s t a n g e r - - t h o s e w h i c h d e s i g n a t e d closed access b e c a u s e o f biological research.
122
October 1981 to March 1982, and 8 months after initial on-site establishment of the reserve, new signs were installed to replace damaged ones. Vandalism increased slightly in the period directly after sign-replacement, but never to the levels seen in the beginning. Figure 8 clearly shows a continuous decline in both vandalism and unwanted recreational activities, confirming the original design hypothesis.
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It is very difficult for some recreationists to recognize the incompatibility of certain recreational activities with the goals of a natural reserve. Flora susceptible to trampling or fauna that cannot tolerate disturbance or human activity are not of primary consideration in a number of recreational pursuits. At the same time, managers who ignore all recreational activity needs in master-planning the future of a reserve are likely to suffer the consequences of the non-humanist view. A pleasing aspect of Stebbins Cold Canyon is its location in an area of great versatility for both conservation and recreation interests. The importance of the reserve is demonstrated by its status as the only reserve in the Southern Coastal Range segment of the approximately 800 000 acres of public land in the BLM Ukiah district. The closest comparable areas are the Northern California Coast Range Reserve and Kings Range Conservation Area, 100 and 200 miles, respectively, to the north. Displaced recreation can take advantage o f five designated recreation areas within 10 miles of the reserve, including Lake Berryessa, Lake Hennessey, Los
123 Posadas State Forest, Putah Creek Fishing Access Area and Solano Lake C o u n t y Park. Hundreds of thousands of public BLM acres are open to hunting, and within 5 miles, three hiking areas offer natural yet unrestricted recreation access. These are Mix Canyon, Gates Canyon and the west slope of Berryessa to Pope Valley. The success of the area as a research and teaching laboratory w o r t h y of the recreation it displaced has yet to be proved. After reasonable recovery of the ecosystem and populations, consumer satisfaction surveys (Chanter and Owen, 1976) of the researcher and teaching user will be a high priority for the NLWRS Management Committee. Lastly, although unwanted activity has been reduced on the reserve, the levels of personal safety required for unrestricted research have yet to be attained. Although w o m e n represent 50% of general enrollment at U.C. Davis and over 50% of the enrollment in some of the educational programs utilizing the reserve, female visitors make up only one-third of total use. Further, of the individual trips represented in Fig. 6, close to 95% are male. An increase in single-female trips in the a u t u m n of 1982, as beer drinking and target practice decreased, can be seen as an encouraging sign. However, women still relatively rarely visit the reserve alone, and although this is a national trend (Golden and Pilcher, 1982), it is disappointing. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge Ron Cole, Chairman of the U.C. Davis Natural Land and Water Reserves Committee, Wes Weathers, faculty member in Avian Science at U.C. Davis and reserve manager, Dimitrios Georges, U.C. Davis research assistant for reserve observations, the U.C. Davis Wildlife Club, and all others who have contributed to the management plan for Stebbins Cold Canyon, worked on the reserve and helped in compiling information on reserve recreational use. Funding was supported by the U.C. Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.C. Davis Institute of Ecology.
REFERENCES Chanter, D. and Owen, D., 1976. Nature reserves: a customer satisfaction index. OIKOS, 27 : 165--167. Golden, F. and Pilcher, J., 1982. New danger in the wilderness. Time Magazine, 16 August, p. 46. Leopold, A.S., 1968. Ecologic objectives in park management. East Afr. Agric. For. J., Special Issue, pp. 168--172. U.S. National Park Service, 1980. State of National Parks: A Report to Congress. N.P.S. Office of Science and Technolo~5', U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Wilkes, B., 1977. The myth of the non-consumptive user. Can. Field Nat., 91: 343--349.