The Fish Slough Area of Critical Environmental Concern is a protected

slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

in Inyo County, eastern California. It is located on the western side of the

Chalfant Valley Chalfant or Chalfants may refer to: People * Chalfant (surname) Places * Chalfant, California Chalfant (also Chalfant Valley) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It is locate ...

, north of Bishop in the northern Owens Valley area. Its were designated as an

Area of Critical Environmental Concern Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is a conservation ecology program in the Western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FL ...

(ACEC) in 1982, and is managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

. The Fish Slough Area is an oasis in the middle of the otherwise arid volcanic tableland. In 1975, Fish Slough was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Plants and biomes

The Fish Slough ACEC is located in the transition zone (ecotone) between the Mojave Desert and

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

biomes 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 ...

. Plant communities including wetlands, alkali meadows, and uplands. One plant, Fish Slough milk vetch ('' Astragalus lentiginosus'' var. ''piscinensis''), is endemic to the area. The Alkali Mariposa lily (''Calochortus striatus'') is also a rare plant found in the ACEC, and is a vulnerable species on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants. CNPS−California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants: ''Calochortus striatus'' (alkali mariposa lily)
. accessed 1.1.2016.

References

External links

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bishop Field Office: official Fish Slough Area of Critical Concernwebsite

Protected areas of Inyo County, California Owens Valley Ecology of the Great Basin Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of Inyo County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Protected areas established in 1982 1982 establishments in California Bureau of Land Management areas in California National Natural Landmarks in California {{InyoCountyCA-geo-stub

Plants and biomes

See also

References

External links