Rancho San Antonio County Park - Habitat and Conservation

Habitat and Conservation

The State's tallest and third largest California bay laurel tree (Umbellularia californica), estimated to be over 200 years old, grows in Rancho San Antonio County Park. When it was protected by fencing and removal of a nearby handball court in 2004, it was 126 feet tall with a trunk circumference of 360 inches, and a canopy spread of 118 feet. In 1869, the wood of a California Bay Laurel was used for the “Last Tie” connecting North America’s first transcontinental railroad. The tree's leaves are highly aromatic and its small yellow flowers bloom between December and April, important to bees at a time when few other plants are in bloom.

Several ecosystems exist in the park. In canyons, bay trees and big-leaf maples form shady groves. Along creeks, several species of willow grow, and cottonwoods are found in a couple areas. On north-facing slopes, oaks and bays form a forest. On hotter, south-facing slopes, chaparral scrub of chamise, manzanita, and birch-leaf mountain mahogany predominates. Douglas-fir, common west of the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, can be seen as lone trees above the Rouge Valley trail, and along the Black Mountain trail; they are the only conifer in the park. Ridges support grassland and scattered oaks.

The park and preserve are important as they protect the entire watershed of West Fork Permanente Creek which begins on Ewing Hill and flows east. It is joined by Ohlone Creek just above Deer Hollow Farm, and then joins the Permanente Creek mainstem which then flows north under Interstate 280.

The park and preserve are important as they protect the entire watershed of West Fork Permanente Creek which begins on Ewing Hill and flows east. It is joined by Ohlone Creek just above Deer Hollow Farm, and then joins the Permanente Creek mainstem which then flows north under Interstate 280. Deer Hollow Farm is home to native species such as mountain lions and bobcats. These animals are tracked and thus far have posed no threat to the human visitors. Visitors are warned of the presence of the animals with signs at the entrance to the preserve. The Rancho San Antonio land preserve is one of the few remaining tracts of land in Silicon Valley in which native animals such as these roam free.