Franks Tract State Recreation Area
Map SatelliteAll but about 120 hectares (300 acres) of the area is a flooded, formerly levee-encircled, Delta island.
Along the borders of the open water and in the leveed Little Franks Tract there are freshwater marshes with cattails, Typha spp., and tules, Scirpus acutus, dominant. On the higher portions, particularly the islands created by the former levee, there is a riparian association with willows, Salix spp., alder, Alnus sp., and cottonwood, Populus fremontii.
The area is rich in animal life and supports an excellent sports fishery. Some 76 species of birds have been sighted in the area, including resident burrowing owls, Speotyto cunicularia. Beaver, Castor canadensis, river otter, Lutra canadensis, and mink, Mustela vison, occur here.
Integrity: The area is heavily used for recreation, and vegetation on some of the uplands is relatively disturbed. The marsh at Little Franks Tract is reclaimed farmland.
Use: Educational, observational, present.
March 1980
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman