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S a n t a M o n i c a M t n s. This is one of the few coastal to inland connections remaining in the South Coast Ecoregion. From the rugged Santa Monica Mountains on the coast to the gently sloping Simi Hills, and on to the Santa Susana Mountains. A rich mosaic of natural communities occurs in this area, including Coast live oak woodland and riparian forests, Valley oak woodlands, walnut woodland, grasslands, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub. The creeks and lagoons in the area are especially important to over wintering and migratory songbirds on the Pacific Flyway, in addition to providing year round habitat and critical resources for resident species.
Large area dependent species selected as habitat
connectivity indicators for this linkage complex include badger,
mule deer, and mountain lion. Badger have recently been cited in
the Santa Susana Pass; mule deer are utilizing an existing overpass
to travel between the Simi Hills and Santa Susanas; and P2, a
collared female mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains has been
sitting on a bluff overlooking Interstate 101 at Liberty Canyon for
long periods, with the Simi Hills on the other side. The critically
endangered Southern steelhead trout was also chosen as a focal
species to ensure watershed integrity.
The
steelhead
population in Malibu Creek historically occupied spawning and
rearing habitat as far upstream as East Las Virgenes Creek in the
Simi Hills. A number of other focal species were selected to
represent the complexity of interactions among species, from native
invertebrates such as the harvester ant, a barometer of ecosystem
health, to a few of their native predators, the Western toad and
Western whiptail. |
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