District Size: 174,900 acres Year Formed: February 8, 1961 Projects: While the District had gone through a goal setting process seven years ago with aid of a U.S. Forest Service facilitator, the Director's came to see that its planning process needed to target more precisely the District's work and resource conservation projects. The District had gone through many changes since its last serious planning efforts. It went from being a small District with a few specific low-profile projects, to being involved in large community-based conservation and environmental efforts with increasing visibility.
Staff changes and the need for more office space with improved organization provided further impetus to "get organized". In addition, the demographics of the District had changed dramatically from an agricultural, rural, remote and sparsely populated area to a community with many suburban developments, estate-sized properties, many with horse stables, and nearly non-existent agriculture. Thus, it became apparent that the District needed to readjust its vision to changing community needs.
In April 2000, the District obtained the services of The Mediation Institute to distill from the Directors and Staff a long range plan of work. Directors and staff met in several charting and writing sessions. Many revisions later, the current plan evolved. New emphasis was placed on expanding the District's outreach to resource agencies and local governments, fostering the Malibu Creek Watershed Council's efforts at implementation of projects, finding funding for projects, addressing invasive plant and animal species, encouraging re-introduction of steelhead trout to several watersheds, and updating office facilities and procedures.
There are three major watersheds within the boundaries of the District all of which drain into Santa Monica Bay. The largest watershed is the Malibu Creek Watershed which drains a 109-square mile area of the Santa Monica Mountains and contains the cities of Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and portions of Hidden Hills. There are eight subwatersheds within the Malibu Creek Watershed. They include Hidden Valley, Westlake, Lindero Canyon, Triunfo Canyon, Palo Comado, Las Virgenes, Cold Creek and Malibu Canyon. In 1992, the District spearheaded the development of a natural resources plan for the watershed. After extensive community outreach, the Malibu Creek Watershed Council was established, which developed an action plan of 44 targeted resource issues. The report includes an overview, action plan update, key findings and future restoration priorities.
The second largest watershed is the Topanga Creek Watershed. Major research and restoration efforts are underway for this watershed, including a study to determine the feasibility of restoring the historic Topanga Lagoon. A perennial stream runs through the community of Topanga surrounded by steep hillsides and areas of dense housing clusters. Recently, steelhead trout have been seen in lower Topanga Creek.
The third largest watershed is the Solstice Creek Watershed, most of which is owned and managed by the National Park Service. The District has an Memorandum of Understanding with the National Park Service and will be assisting NPS with restoration projects that will encourage steelhead re-introduction. Overview: The largest portion of the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains lies mostly in northwestern Los Angeles County, with a smaller portion spilling over into southern Ventura County. District boundaries encompass much of the Santa Monica Mountains beginning at Topanga State Park and extending northward into the Conejo Valley. Another northerly arm reaches into the Simi Hills in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The area is mainly mountainous, Sandstone Peak being the highest peak at 3,111 feet. The mountains are cut through by numerous small and several larger valleys which provide the corridors for the 101 and 23 freeways, and other highways. Altogether, the District contains six cities, one town, and numerous small communities.
Located within the southern California coastal belt, the District is characterized by a Mediterranean type climate. The average January air temperature is 53 degrees F while the average July air temperature is 71 degrees F. The area also contains many pocketed areas with wider temperature ranges. Fluctuations of hot, dry spells with cold wet ones are characteristic. Summer heat often reaches 85-95 degrees F with occasional highs of 105 degrees F or more. Annual rainfall ranges between 14 and 24 inches. Nearly all the rainfall occurs between November and April. The rainfall in any one year may range from near zero to five times the mean annual precipitation. During the summer, the "marine layer" or ocean haze of water droplets may occur along the coast. Coastal fog commonly occurs in the spring and fall but usually dissipates by early afternoon.
The Santa Monica Mountains are part of California's Transverse Ranges, which are underlain primarily by marine sandstones and shales deposited roughly 70 to 20 million years ago. Elevations range from over 3,111 feet at Sandstone Peak in Ventura County, to sea level at Santa Monica Bay.
In the eastern, upper-most reaches of the mountains, a wide valley floor consisting of Holocene alluvium up to 60 feet deep overlies and is surrounded by Miocene Conjeo volcanics. The middle northern reaches of the mountains are Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments. Shallow alluvium fills in the relatively steep canyons. Tertiary basaltic and andesitic flows, pillow breccias, intrusives, and dikes are found in the eastern reaches of the watershed. Malibu Canyon cuts through Tertiary sandstones, siltstones, and breccias interbedded with Tertiary volcanics. Quaternary landslides occur throughout the watershed but are especially noticeable near the coast and in the Cold Creek subwatershed.
The soils were formed in material weathered from sandstone, shale, and basic igneous rock, and in alluvium derived from mixed rock sources. Marine sandstone, shale, igneous rock and semi-consolidated material occupy the major part of the uplands. Loamy, silty, and clayey soils, such as Castaic, Diablo, Nacimiemto, and San Benito soils, formed in material weathered from shale. Sandy soils such as Gaviota, formed in material weathered from sandstone. The Malibu Creek Watershed contains 38 soil mapping units in the Ventura County portion, and 40 soil mapping units in the Los Angeles County portion of the watershed.
A University of California Los Angeles report stated that the Santa Monica Mountains and the other lands within the RCD boundaries are richly diverse biologically. The region is broadly characterized by coastal sage scrub, chaparral, southern oak woodlands, oak savannahs, grasslands, and unique riparian habitats. There is abundant habitat for many animal species, including 650 species of native vascular plants, 50 species of mammals, almost 400 species of birds, and over 35 reptile and amphibian species. What is amazing is that this rich biodiversity is adjacent to the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, the second largest urban area in the nation.
Nine birds, one fish, two plants, and one reptile are federally listed as threatened or endangered. Nineteen additional state-listed species, and forty-nine species, which are candidates for federal listing, likely occur within the District's boundaries. Endangered plant species include pentachaeta, and corizanthe, a spineflower. The District has reintroduced the threatened Tidewater Goby to Malibu Lagoon where it has flourished and is being monitored. The beautiful San Diego Mountain Kingsnake is a threatened reptile. The full list of threatened and endangered species can be found in the Malibu Creek Watershed Natural Resources Plan published by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, July 1995.
