Great Valley Grasslands State Park is a
state park of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States, preserving a parcel of remnant native
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
in the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
. Such a
temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to sem ...
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
was once widespread throughout the whole
Central Valley. The park was established in 1982. Largely undeveloped, it was formed by combining two former state park units: San Luis Island and Fremont Ford State Recreation Area. Its chief attractions for visitors are spring
wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
s, fishing, and wildlife watching.
Grassland Ecological Area
The park is part of the larger
Grasslands Ecological Area (GEA) of federal, state and private lands all managed for
wildlife refuge
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
values. The GEA represents the largest remaining contiguous habitat block of
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s remaining in all California. The GEA is north of the
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area lies within the San Joaquin River basin in California and supports the largest remaining block of wetlands in the Central Valley, containing of private wetlands and associated, and surrounding of state and f ...
.
Flora and fauna
Several
rare and
endangered species inhabit the park.
*In the grasslands
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
and
plant community
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...
they include:
**
Alkali sacaton (''Sporobolus airoides'') — a
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
California
bunchgrass
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perenni ...
**
Delta button celery (''Eryngium racemosum'') — an
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
and state-listed endangered species
*In the
flood plain of the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
and in
vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...
s, from biologists' reports, they include:
**
California Tiger salamander ''(Ambystoma californiense)'' — an
amphibian endemic to
Northern California, a listed
vulnerable species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
Vulnera ...
**
Vernal pool fairy shrimp ''(Branchinecta lynchi)'' — a
fairy shrimp
Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are referred to as fairy shrimp. They live in vernal pools and hypersaline lakes across the world, and they have even been found in deserts, ice-covered mo ...
endemic to the vernal pools of Oregon and California, a listed endangered species
**
San Joaquin tadpole shrimp ''(Lepidurus packardi)'' — a
tadpole shrimp endemic to California, endangered because of its limited distribution and
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
Proposal for closure
Great Valley Grasslands State Park was one of 48
California state parks
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...
proposed for closure in January 2008 as part of a deficit reduction program. Those closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.
See also
*
List of California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...
*
List of California state parks
This is a list of parks, historic resources, reserves and recreation areas in the California State Parks system.
List of parks
See also
* California State Beaches
*List of California State Historic Parks
* Parks in California
* California Dep ...
*
List of protected grasslands of North America
The protected grasslands of North America consist of prairies, with a dominant vegetation type of herbaceous plants like grasses, sedges, and other prairie plants, rather than woody vegetation like trees. This ecosystem was generally dominant w ...
References
External links
Great Valley Grasslands State Park
{{authority control
1982 establishments in California
Grasslands of California
Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
Parks in Merced County, California
Parks in the San Joaquin Valley
Protected areas established in 1982
State parks of California