The Ramona Grasslands are located in the Santa Maria Valley, situated between the coastal
mesas and the mountains of the Peninsular Ranges in west-central San Diego County (Figure 1).
About two-thirds of what was once an extensive grassland ecosystem in the Valley has been lost
to development. The Santa Maria Valley’s remaining grasslands are largely intact, though
fragmented by roads and subjected to edge effects by adjacent residential and infrastructure
development. In recognition of its unique natural resource values, The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) included most of this remaining
habitat, along with the surrounding foothills to the north and south, in the roughly 8,000-acre
Ramona Grasslands Wildlife Area Conceptual Area Protection Plan (CAPP, CDFG 2002). The
CAPP was the inception of the County of San Diego’s Ramona Grasslands Preserve (Preserve).
Area Specific Management Directives for Ramona Grasslands Preserve San Diego County
