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Merced Grasslands

Spring sunrise © Gary N. Crabbe

The Merced Grasslands, one of the largest and most intact vernal pool-grasslands habitats in the world, supports a unique assemblage of native species. The vernal pools, ringed by wildflowers in the spring, harbor a number of rare and endangered species. The pools also attract large flocks of wintering waterfowl and shorebirds in the rainy season.

Location
San Joaquin Valley, northern California. Map

Size
125,000 acres

Plants
Rare plants include:

• succulent owl's-clover
• Ewan's larkspur
• dwarf Downingia
• pincushion navarretia
• spiny-sepaled button-celery
• hogwallow starfish
• San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass.

Animals
Endangered animals such as fairy shrimp call the vernal pools of the region home. The grasslands are home to a number of native species inlcuding:

• Raptors
  • bald eagle
  • prairie falcon
  • Cooper's hawk
  • red-shouldered hawk
  • burrowing owl
• Songbirds
  • tricolored blackbirds
  • California horned larks
  • savannah sparrows
• Mammals
  • San Joaquin kit fox
  • San Joaquin pocket mouse
  • Merced kangaroo rat
• Amphibians
  • California tiger salamander
  • western toad
  • western spadefoot toad
• Crustaceans

All of the minute crustaceans that inhabit the pools are rare, including:

Vernal pool fairy shrimp © Larry Serpa

• Fairy shrimp which are ethereal, nearly transparent beasts generally less than an inch long. These include the:
  • vernal pool fairy shrimp
  • midvalley fairy shrimp
  • California fairy shrimp
  • Conservancy fairy shrimp (named for The Nature Conservancy)
• vernal pool tadpole shrimp, shaped like a horseshoe-crab

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site 
The San Joaquin Valley is the fastest-growing region in the state. The pristine landscapes of the Merced Grasslands are imperiled by trends that are typical throughout the San Joaquin Valley: subdivision into "ranchettes," development, road building, and conversion of unplowed rangelands to incompatible agricultural uses such as row crops, orchards, and vineyards. Every year since 1987, an average of 3,000 acres of Merced County grasslands has been converted to incompatible agriculture.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
While the Conservancy launched the Merced Grasslands Project in July 2000, our involvement in this area began in the early 1980s when we received the generous donation of two conservation easements protecting 5,000 acres of the Flying M Ranch.

Merced pasture © Gary N. Crabbe

The Conservancy is working to protect at least 60,000 acres of the Merced Grasslands, concentrating on two principal areas within the grasslands: the Highway 140 corridor leading to Yosemite, and the area around the planned U.C. Merced campus. We will form a core reserve area by acquiring conservation easements on a network of strategically located private properties. We are cooperating with the University of California to establish a rangeland management and easement monitoring program to ensure the long-term health of the grasslands and vernal pools in the area. Our partners for this project include the California Department of Fish and Game, East Merced Resource Conservation District, University of California, Great Valley Center, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California Rangeland Trust, Merced County Farmland and Open Space Trust, private foundations, and other county, state, and federal agencies.