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Figure 2 Overview of D7 Los Angeles County Survey Region

2.0 Background

2.1 Environmental Setting
The County of Los Angeles is part of the California Floristic Province (CFP), a zone of
Mediterranean-type climate that has one of the high levels of plant endemism in the
world. A number of threatened endemic species have historically lived in the Los Angles
County region, such as the kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.), the Light-Footed Clapper
Rail (Rallus Longirostris Levipes), California Least Tern (Sterna Antillarum Browni),
Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo belliipusillus), the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche
lygdamus palosverdesensis), Riverside Fairy Shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni), and
Bull Trout (Salvelinus Confluentus). The CFP represents the largest and most complex
biocultural diversity hotspot in the United States, yet the region is threatened by the
expansion of urban areas, pollution, and road construction. In the next century, one of the
goals of agencies such as Caltrans likely will be to create sustainable development
practices that mitigate impacts on the flora and fauna. Part of the environmental strategy
would be to incorporate appropriate indigenous management knowledge of human
interaction with plants and animals of the region. Since Native Americans have lived in
the region for millenia, these cultural groups have had the time and ability to develop

Caltrans D7 Region/Los Angeles County Ethnographic Consultation 9