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Map Satellite Included in this area is the Williams Wildlife Preserve. Four plant communities are present, with the oak woodland the most widespread. The dominant trees in the woodland are the valley and blue oak, Quercus lobata and Quercus douglasii, and the California buckeye, Aesculus californica. Grassland intergrades into the oak woodland; the most prominent native grass is the needlegrass, Nassella cernua, while the exotics, the wild oat, Avena barbata, and downy brome, Bromus tectorum, are present in abundance. Foothill lupine, Lupinus microcarpus var. horizontalis, Fritillaria striata, Brodiaea coronaria, and the rare Streptanthus farnsworthianus are present here. The type locality and largest known colony of the Streptanthus is located within the area. Chaparral is found on some of the south-facing slopes and here includes buck brush, Ceanothus cuneatus, mountain mahogany, Cercocarpus betuloides, and the ubiquitous poison oak, Toxicodendron diversiloba. Animals are abundant in the area and it is used as a feeding ground by the endangered California condor, Gymnogyps californianus. Populations of the California slender salamander, Batrachoseps attenuatus, and the California newt, Taricha torosa, have been reported here, at or near the southern limits of their range in the Sierra. Granitic outcrops are common in the area and there are some pre-Cenozoic metamorphic rocks present. Integrity: Portions of the area are grazed, and there have been fires since 1950. Much of the area is relatively undisturbed and a portion has been set aside as a preserve. Use: Research, educational, observational. Most of the area is private. Ref: Lawrence, George, 1960. The Effects of Chaparral Fire on the Vertebrate Animals in the Southern Sierra Foothills. Jour. Eco. (Spring). May 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2008 Steven Louis Hartman
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