Cleveland National Forest

Projects & Plans - Land Management Plan

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Land Management Plan Strategy - Suitable Land Uses

Prospectus - Place-Based Program Emphasis

Upper San Diego River

Theme: A remote, primitive landscape with deep, rugged river canyons, popular waterfalls, and scenic vistas within a rapidly urbanizing area to the west. This is one of the key ecological areas within the national forests of southern California, containing a large number of rare species and habitats.

Setting: This Place includes the headwaters of the San Diego River and its tributaries. The steep canyons of Boulder Creek, Cedar Creek, and the San Diego River exhibit a remote, undeveloped character. The Upper San Diego River Place is located in the central part of the Cleveland National Forest between the community of Ramona, the Cuyamaca Mountains (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park), Capitan Grande Indian Reservation and the historic community of Julian. Private land and tribal lands make up the lower portion of this Place and surround the El Capitan Reservoir. The San Diego River drainage is the most distinctive natural feature in the area. Elevations range from 750 feet at El Capitan spillway to over 3,400 feet at the Inaja Memorial Picnic Area. The Place supports many rare and vulnerable plant and animal species and includes theKing Creek Research Natural Area, which contains stands of Cuyamaca cypress. Three Inventoried Roadless Areas are also found withinthis Place.

Vegetation includes a diverse mix of plant communities that change with elevation. The mix ranges from chaparral communities that dominate the hillsides at lower elevations to Coulter pine and black oak mixed with manzanita at higher elevations (above 3,000 feet). The San Diego River Place is the only area in the world where the Cuyamaca cypress (Cupressus stephensonii) grows. In addition, the rare Engelmann oak (Quercus engelmannii) grows in patches around Eagle Peak and other areas. The upper San Diego River canyon above El Capitan Lake contains the largest contiguous stand of coastal sage scrub on the Cleveland National Forest. This vegetation community is critical habitat for the threatened coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica).

There is a history of large, dangerous wildland fire in this Place including the 2003 Cedar fire, which burned the entire upper San Diego River watershed and spread all the way to the San Diego City communities of Scripps Ranch and Tierrasanta. A drought had resulted in the mortality of large areas of chaparral vegetation and triggered a bark beetle outbreak killing approximately 40 percent of the Coulter pine. The Inaja fire in the 1950s also affected the upper San Diego River watershed. There is a defensible space issue associated with most of the development in the Place and a lack of community fuelbreaks. Interagency protection efforts are currently being discussed regarding the communities adjacent to the western perimeter of the Place, and a fire safe council has been formed in Julian to the northeast.

There is a high potential for human caused fire near El Capitan Reservoir, Cedar Creek Falls, and adjacent to San Diego Country Estates, and for both lightning and human caused fire near Eagle Peak. The Cedar Creek Falls location has also been identified as a problem area for law enforcement and fire management due to poor access.

Fire frequency is an issue related to other vegetative cover within the Place. The interval between fires is very short in the coastal sage scrub. In fact, some parts of the San Diego River bottom have burned three times in the past eight years. The Cuyamaca cypress stand is now at risk to loss from fire until a viable aerial cone bank has been reestablished, possibly taking 30-50 years.

Land ownership patterns adjacent to this Place often constrain public and administrative access. Dense urban development occurs along the national forest boundary in some locations. Tribal interests, such as the Viejas, Barona, Inaja, and El Capitan Grande Indian Reservations, own large areas of land adjacent to Upper San Diego River. Access between the tribal land and National Forest System land is constrained, as rights-of-way and partnerships do not exist. Some urban influences do exist, including infrastructure, such as roads and power lines along the periphery, as well as some visible fuelbreaks. The proximity to urban development results in an increased threat of wildland fire.

The majority of this Place is undeveloped, and road and trail access is limited. Trail-based access within the Place is limited to a network of unofficial (non-Forest Service) trails and a short trail from Saddleback to the area above Cedar Creek Falls. The San Diego River Conservancy was recently established to protect open-space values along the San Diego River corridor. The Upper San Diego River Place is the location of a proposed link in the regional Transcounty Trail. Most visitors come to this Place to enjoy the scenery and solitude or to access specific destinations. Visitors to the Inaja National Recreation Trail can hike to vista points above the San Diego River headwaters and enjoy views that extend to the ocean.

Overall, recreation use throughout the Upper San Diego River Place is light and widely dispersed; however, some concentrated use is occurring at Cedar Falls. Good opportunities for hunting exist, and there is a high level of use on existing roads. Only one developed site (the Inaja Memorial Picnic Area) is located within the Place. Unauthorized motorized use is occurring around the periphery.

Special Designations:

Established Research Natural Areas:

• King Creek 992 acres

Proposed Research Natural Areas:

• San Diego River 5,965 acres

Total national forest acres--Upper San Diego River: 42,328

Desired Condition: The Upper San Diego River Place is maintained as a remote, natural appearing landscape that functions as respite for the surrounding urban population. The valued landscape attributes to be preserved (or restored) over time are a mosaic of coastal sage scrub, chaparral vegetation, riparian woodlands, and rare botanical species that add diversity to the landscape (i.e., Cuyamaca cypress and Engelmann oak). Other attributes include broad, undisturbed expanses of landscape that frame panoramic vistas; opportunities for viewing unique landscape features, such as deeply dissected canyons, waterfalls, and distant landmarks from vista points and road and trail corridors; and built elements that are rustic and unobtrusive. A diversity of age classes is developed over time in the chaparral as this watershed recovers from the Cedar Fire. Homeowners (in cooperation with the Forest Service) maintain defensible fuel profiles around their homes in recognition of the frequent fires that are likely to occur in this area. Opportunities for developed recreation and trails (including the Transcounty Trail) improve through time.

Program Emphasis: Management emphasis is to maintain the natural-appearing setting for dispersed recreation activities and to increase public understanding of natural systems through education and interpretation. Fire prevention emphasis featuring community protection will be increased in the lower portion and on the west and north sides of the Place. Recreation management in the vicinity of Cedar Creek Falls will be improved. Acquire rights-of-way to improve administrative and public access. Plan a trail system and develop support facilities commensurate with forest plan objectives to allow safe access to popular destinations, including an east/west section of the Transcounty Trail. Support the efforts of the San Diego River Conservancy to the extent feasible. Assess the landscape for opportunities to provide developed campgrounds and enhanced trail-based recreation. Conserve biological values associated with the Research Natural Areas. Monitor coastal sage scrub in the San Diego River bottom and take adaptive management measures to protect important habitats as necessary. Develop management plans for special areas.

Next Section: Forest-Specific Design Criteria