The Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

National Wildlife Refuge located in the northern part of the

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

area 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 ...

. Originally established to protect the habitat of the threatened Santa Cruz long-toed salamander subspecies, Ellicott Slough also harbors other species later federally listed as threatened due to habitat loss, including the

California red-legged frog The California red-legged frog (''Rana draytonii'') is a species of frog found in California (USA) and northern Baja California (Mexico). It was formerly considered a subspecies of the northern red-legged frog (''Rana aurora''). The frog is an IU ...

California tiger salamander The California tiger salamander (''Ambystoma californiense'') is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander (''A. tigrinum)'', the California tiger sal ...

and robust spineflower. The refuge was established after the

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protec ...

purchased the property from its original owner. It is made up of four discontinuous units all separated by less than 2.7 miles. The refuge experiences a mild climate influenced by the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. Temperatures are generally from . The terrain is both hilly and flat.

Ellicott Unit

The Ellicott Unit is one of the two units that has a pond. The Ellicott pond is breeding habitat for the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander. Ecosystems in the area include northern coastal scrub, San Andreas coastal live oak woodland, riparian woodland, closed-coned coniferous forest and California coastal prairie. There are a few houses and farms nearby

Calabasas Unit

The Calabasas Unit is the northernmost unit. A man-made water reservoir was largely destroyed in 1980 and the remaining dam and outflow were reinforced in 1994 and 2006. Homes surround the unit.

Harkins Slough Unit

The Harkins Slough Unit is the southernmost unit, adjacent to the Buena Vista Landfill. The unit contains some buildings and houses that are neglected and in need of repair. It is habitat for seabirds such as gulls and white pelicans.

Buena Vista Property

The Buena Vista Unit is adjacent to California State Route 1 and is mostly undisturbed with the exception of one house and one garage that were built in 1951. It is the location of the other strip of Santa Cruz long-toed salamander breeding habitat.

References

External links

Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. {{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in California Protected areas of Santa Cruz County, California Protected areas established in 1975 Wetlands of California Landforms of Santa Cruz County, California