Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve
Field Trip With Hailey Laskey 
Sunday March 13

March 9, 7:00 AM Update: This field trip is full. The RSVP-Waiver link is now disabled.  

The SANTA ROSA PLATEAU, located at the Southern edge of the Santa Ana Mountains in western Riverside County, is one of our areas most remarkable natural history and botanical sites. Varied soils, a basalt rock base, clay composition and a moderately level terrain have created a very special area for nature lovers. 

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Hailey Laskey, Reserve Manager with Center for Natural Lands Management will lead this amazing trip through restricted-entry areas of the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. This will include a 2-year post-fire recovery area, past chocolate lilies, and up to Mesa De Burro. We will drive through the 2019 Tenaja Fire burn scar to observe the regrowth of the chaparral and a budding forb community toward the main focus of the tour. We will then start our tour of one of the seven plateaus of the area, Mesa de Burro, to observe the native Stipa pulchra grasslands and vernal pools. The vernal pools hold an assemblage of rare, beautiful, and specialized plants, including two species of Downingia, Blennosperma nanum, Brodiaeas, Eryngium aristulatum var. parishii, Euphorbia spathulata, Isoetes howellii, Muilla maritima, Myosurus minimus, Orcuttia californica and Pilularia americana. We will walk 2-3 miles over relatively flat, but uneven ground through very healthy and diverse grasslands and discuss the ecology of the area and the plants present.  Your CNPS OC host is Rachel Whitt.

An alternative hike could also occur due to unfavorable weather and dangerous road conditions. If we get significant rain the week before the event, we won't be able to go up to Burro Mesa and will visit the Vernal Pools on Colorado Mesa.

SIGN UP - THIS FIELD TRIP FILLED ON MARCH 9. RESERVATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.  

Please note, this trip is limited to 15 CNPS Orange County Chapter members only.

Visit occnps.org or cnps.org to find out how you can become a member today.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP & SIGN THE WAIVER

LOGISTICS

REMINDER - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS STARTS MARCH 13!

Meet at 9 AM at the Visitor Center parking lot at 39400 Clinton Keith Rd, Murrieta, CA 92562, 4.1 miles W of Interstate-15 in Murrieta.

To independently carpool, meet at 7:45 AM at the parking lot at Bravo Burgers, 31722 Rancho Viejo Rd, San Juan Capistrano (just off Hwy 74 near Interstate-5).

Vehicles with high clearance and 4-wheel drive are required. We will meet and carpool in the 4 WD vehicles from the SRPER Visitor Center.
 
Before arriving, please clean out boots, pant cuffs, pockets, bags, etc., of all seeds. We will be spraying car tires and boots on arrival with hydrogen peroxide to prevent the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease.