Wildlife preserve managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The
Spenceville Wildlife Area
is an 11,448-acre (46.33 km
2
)
wildlife preserve
managed by the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
. It is located in the
Sierra Nevada
Foothills, within
Nevada County
and
Yuba County
of northern
California
.
[1]
[2]
Geography
[
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]
The preserve is approximately 18 miles (29 km) east of the town of
Marysville
and
Beale Air Force Base
in the eastern
Sacramento Valley
. The elevation of the area varies from 200?1,200 feet (61?366 m).
[1]
Natural history
[
edit
]
Spenceville is a
foothill oak woodland
of
Blue oak (
Quercus douglasii
)
and
Foothill gray pine (
Pinus sabiniana
)
, and a grassland
habitat
. It is notable for many species of native birds and wildflowers, including the California endemic
Yellow mariposa lily (
Calochortus luteus
)
.
[3]
The
geology
of the Spenceville area is part of the
Smartville Block
formed during the
Middle Jurassic
epoch 200 million years ago. The Smartville Block is a part of the
California Mother Lode
for gold, and consequently Spenceville has had its share of mining activity.
[1]
Cleanup from copper and
zinc
mining continues to this day.
[4]
The area was originally home to the
Maidu
and
Nisenan
Native Americans
and evidence of their grinding holes and lodge pits still exist.
[1]
Recreation
[
edit
]
Spenceville hosts a variety of activities:
hiking
, biking, hunting, hunting dog field trials, target shooting, camping,
equestrian
trail riding,
birding
, and primitive camping.
[1]
A popular trail leads to a double waterfall called
Fairy Falls
(a.k.a. Beale Falls, Shingle Falls, or Dry Creek Falls). There can be a high level of rattlesnakes seasonally.
Conservation
[
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]
The Spenceville Wildlife Area may be environmentally impacted by the Waldo Dam Project proposed by the Yuba County Water Agency, and by housing development proposed between
Beale Air Force Base
and the wildlife area.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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