Pine Hill Preserve, Mother Lode Field Office, Bureau of Land Management

Oak Trees at Fort Ord National Monument.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

California



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Mother Lode Field Office

Pine Hill Preserve

Pine Hill Preserve chaparral plant community Located in western El Dorado County, Pine Hill Preserve is home to a collection of eight rare plant species.

Four of the plant species that grow in the Pine Hill Preserve are endemic, which means they grow nowhere else in the world. One species is nearly endemic, with only a few plants found elsewhere. This assemblage of rare plants is part of a unique community confined to soils known as the Rescue soils, named after the nearby community of Rescue, CA.

These plants grow in a roughly oval area centering on Green Valley Road and stretching from Folsom Lake in the north to Highway 50 in the south. The entire preserve encompasses 4,746 acres under Federal, State and County ownership, and 3,362 of these acres are included in an area designated for the recovery of five federally listed plants.

Pine Hill Preserve Vicinity Map (pdf 260 kb)

The rare plants are:

El Dorado bedstraw
Pine Hill Ceanothus
Pine Hill Flannelbush
Stebbins' morning-glory
Layne's butterweed
Red Hill soaproot
El Dorado mule-ears
Bisbee Peak rush-rose

Rescue soils have unusual properties derived from the underlying gabbro rock. They are generally red, mildly acidic, rich in iron and magnesium, and often contain other heavy metals.

Seven hundred distinct plant species have been recorded in the Rescue soil areas and the adjoining serpentine and metamorphic rocks. This means that about 10% of the native plant species in California can be found in this tiny fraction of the state!

Pine Hill Preserve Western blue eyed grass
Pine Hill Preserve Rare Stebbins morning glory flowers Pine Hill Preserve Yellow star tulip Pine Hill Preserve Red bud

Final Pine Hill Preserve Management Plan (pdf 904 kb)

Pine Hill Preserve's Rare Plants

Spring Tours at Pine Hill Preserve

Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery also Available on Flickr

Additional information go to: www.pinehillpreserve.org

The Pine Hill Preserve is operated under a cooperative management agreement between the following agencies and organizations:

Pine Hill Preserve mixed chaparral plant community

The Preserve needs, and appreciates our dedicated Volunteers!!

For more information about the Preserve, how to visit and/or to Volunteer, please contact:

Graciela Hinshaw, Preserve Manager
ghinshaw@blm.gov
Phone: (916) 941-3134

Bureau of Land Management
Mother Lode Field Office

The mission of the Pine Hill Preserve is to conserve in perpetuity the rare plant species and plant communities of the western El Dorado County gabbro soil formation.