Panoche Hills

Panoche Hills RA https://www.blm.gov/visit/panoche-hills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panoche_Hills The Panoche Hills are a low mountain range in the Southern Inner California Coast Ranges System, in western Fresno County, California. They are east of the Diablo Range, on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Panoche Hills Recreation Area is located within the hills. The entrance to the BLM area is across Little Panoche Road from the Mercey Hot Springs resort.

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Panoche Hills Griswold Hills Tumey Hills Map & Guide Other Local Resources Mendota Wildlife Area 4333 Santa Fe Grade, Mendota, CA 93622 CA Dept of Fish and Game (559) 655-4645 Los Banos Wildlife Area 18110 Henry Miller Rd Los Banos, CA 93635 (209) 826-0463 Little Panoche Wildlife Area Little Panoche Reservoir, California 93622 CA Department of Fish and Game (209) 826-0463 San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area 31426 Gonzaga Road Gustine, CA 95322 (800) 346-2711 Bureau of Land Management 940 2nd Avenue Marina, CA 93933 (831) 582-2200 BLM_CA_Web_CC@blm.gov blm.gov/california BLM/CA/GI-2009-026+8350 REV 3/19 Desert Hills of the San Joaquin Valley Bureau of Land Management public lands in the Panoche, Griswold and Tumey hills of southern San Benito and western Fresno counties provide a wealth of outdoor recreational opportunities, including hunting, target shooting, camping, hiking, stargazing and wildlife viewing. The rugged hills west of Interstate 5 provide habitat for many rare and endangered species, such as the San Joaquin kit fox, giant kangaroo rat, and blunt-nosed leopard lizard. Vegetation consists of annual grassland, with saltbrush, Mormon tea shrubs, and yucca. Typical plants found growing on the gypsum barrens found in and protruding buckwheat. Blunt-nosed leopard lizard. Photo by Ryan O’Dell, BLM. RESTRICTIONS • mid-April to mid-October. • No shooting zone within 150 yards of any developed area. • There is no night hunting. • Vehicles are restricted to designated routes. • Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) are prohibited. Panoche Hills The Panoche Hills provide a “badlands” experience just a few hours from the Bay Area. Panoche Access Road winds east from Little Panoche Road (J-1 County Road), up the side of the valley and crests on a windswept plateau dotted with Mormon tea and juniper. Further south and east, the hills become a succession of razorbacked ridges and plunging canyons. The southern end of the hills encompass a series of terraces, along Panoche Creek, densely covered with saltbrush. The low ambient light in the region creates ideal conditions for stargazing, and both amateur and professional astronomers travel every year to the hills to view the Perseid meteor shower in August. Griswold Hills South from Panoche Road and north of the Vallecitos Valley, are the Griswold Hills. A foot trail from the day use area parking lot zigzags up the hillside to the ridgetop above. The Griswold Hills are a destination for hunters seeking upland game birds. Rock outcrops provide homes for the yellow-backed spiny lizard, which sports a bright black-and yellow collar and can grow to more than12 inches long. In the spring, the hills are covered with mariposa lilies, Indian paintbrush, poppies and wild sage. There is also good habitat for the foothill yellow-legged frog and the western pond turtle. Tumey Hills South of the Panoche Hills are the Tumey Hills, a series of bare rolling hills and valleys dotted with saltbush. Two entrances along Panoche Road give access to the area. Both entrances have pedestrian walk-through gates for access when entrance gates are closed. Annual grasslands are lovely in springtime, protected San Joaquin kit fox, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and giant kangaroo rats make their homes in these hills. Visitors enjoy a day use facility with parking, shade structures, picnic benches, vault toilets and an interpretive kiosk with a map and information about the area. Photo by Michael Westphal, BLM. Griswold Hills—Geology The Griswold Hills are an east-west trending ridge complex completely located within the north-south trending Coast Range Geomorphic Province of Central California. In a general sense this east –west trending ridgeline is bounded; to the north by the Panoche Valley, to the east by the Tumey and Ciervo Hills, to the south by the Vallecitos Valley and to the west by the San Andreas Fault system. Located approximately thirty-four (34) miles northwest southwest of the city of Fresno – the Griswold Hills provide some of the best exposures of the sedimentary units making up the Coast Range’s Diablo Range. The largest component of the exposed sedimentary terrain in this east-west trending anticline is the late Cretaceous aged Panoche Formation. On the successive sequential sections (with the exception of the regionally missing Oligocene-aged strata) from the aforementioned Panoche Formation to the Plioceneaged Oro Loma Formation. In essence, other than the regionally absent strata from the Oligocene – one can view the sedimentary record left from over 90 million years of the Earth history in this area. Traces of the Past The Panoche, Griswold and Tumey Hills are underlain by marine sedimentary rocks primarily of Cretaceous age (65 million years ago). During the Cretaceous, most of California that we see today was underwater. Small islands, representing the very highest points of the present day Co

Bag limits, seasons of use, and size restriction of fish can be found on the same web site. Fisherman and Fire Wildfire can be both beneficial and devastating. It can wipe out homes and businesses as well as rejuvenate forested lands and riparian areas. It is always best to leave fire to the professionals and always make sure your campfires and burning items are completely out before you leave. Please remember to be very careful with fire. fishing accidents. Always be sure of your footing when walking or wading (and it is generally better for you and the aquatic species to stay out of the streams and rivers while fishing). Large and small wildlife (snakes and mosquitos) can Nutria be an annoyance when fishing. Be aware of your surroundings and watch where you step. Wear mosquito and bug repellant with deet to keep them from eating you alive. As always, be careful when driving to and from your secret fishing hole. When boating, always have a Quagga Mussels life vest handy (and kids under 15 must always wear a vest while in a boat per California State Law). Mother Lode Field Office (916) 941-3101 5152 Hillsdale Circle El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-5713 (El Dorado Co.) freshwater/license-information. fishermen and women are injured or lose their lives in Applegate Field Office (530) 233-4666 708 W. 12th Street Alturas, CA 96101-3130 (Modoc Co.) at http://www.eregulations.com/california/fishing/ opportunity, it can be dangerous as well. Every year, Surprise Field Station (530) 279-6101 602 Cressler St. phy./ P.O. Box 460 mlg. Cedarville, CA 96104-0460 (Modoc Co.) California. A listing of those requirements may be found Eurasian Milfoil Palm Springs Field Office (760) 833-7100 1201 Bird Center Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262-8001 (Riverside Co.) Freshwater Fishing license issued by the State of Hyacinth Needles Field Office (760) 326-7000 1303 So. Hwy. 95 Needles, CA 92363-4217 (San Bernardino Co.) Even though fishing is a tremendous recreational license, you are required to possess a California Arcata Field Office (707) 825-2300 1695 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521-4573 (Humboldt Co.) While you are not required to have a “BLM” fishing Aquatic Invasive Species include Bakersfield Field Office (661) 391-6000 3801 Pegasus Drive Bakersfield, CA 933086837 (Kern Co.) Safety Barstow Field Office (760) 252-6000 2601 Barstow Road Barstow, CA 92311-6653 (San Bernardino Co.) License Requirement water to another. Redding Field Office (530) 224-2100 6640 Lockheed Drive Redding, CA 96002 (Shasta Co.) Never release plants, animals, or fish into water bodies. Never move fish or plants or bait from one Bishop Field Office (760) 872-5000 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100 Bishop, CA 93514-3101 (Inyo Co.) Dry – Completely dry equipment and gear between visits to fresh water systems. Ridgecrest Field Office (760) 384-5400 300 So. Richmond Road Ridgecrest, CA 93555-4436 (Kern Co.) Drain – Empty coolers, bilge pumps, and buckets of all water before leaving a water body. Central Coast Office (831) 582-2200 940 2nd Avenue Marina, CA 93933-6009 (San Benito Co.) Clean – Rinse and remove all mud and plant materials from boats, fishing equipment, and clothing. Ukiah Field Office (707) 468-4000 2550 N. State Street Ukiah, CA 95482-5194 (Mendocino Co.) serious and irreversible harm to aquatic habitats in California if allowed to spread unchecked. Eagle Lake Field Office (530) 257-0456 2550 Riverside Drive Susanville, CA 96130-4710 (Lassen Co.) Take measures to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive plants and animals. They can cause El Centro Field Office (760) 337-4400 1661 So. 4th Street El Centro, CA 92243-4561 (Imperial Co.) Prevent the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species f you have any questions, feel free to contact ny of the following BLM offices in California: uestions? Catch and Release A large percent of California freshwater anglers are catch and release fishermen — meaning they are very careful with the fish after they catch them and they release them back to the water as quickly as possible. It is always a good thing to keep your fish in a “fish friendly” net in the water until you are ready to release it. Barbless hooks Leave No Trace How to photograph your catch Take only pictures and leave artifacts where you find them. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 makes removal of cultural resources punishable by fines and jail time. When it’s a catch and release fish species or regulation, that creates a challenge for getting a photo of your prize catch. Remember if you’re in a catch and release scenario keep the fish in the water at all times and take the photo of you also harm fish less that barbed ones. The use of live bait holding the fish in the water. is also a detriment to catch and release fishing. Please If it’s a not catch and release and it’s a keeper then you remember, the fish you catch and release today may be can have it out of the water. the fish yo