The BCEP encompasses many vegetation communities. Annual grasslands, blue oak-gray pine, valley oak woodlands, valley foothill riparian, riverine and mixed chaparral can all be found within the boundaries of the Preserve. (Based on the California Wildlife Habitat Relations (Mayer and Laudenslayer 1988) vegetation classification system.) The topography of the landscape within this stretch of Butte Creek contributes to the close proximity of upland vegetation to the riparian corridor as well as the diversity of community types coexisting on the 93-acre preserve. The dominance of embedded cobbles and gravels and lack of soil due to a long history of mining has limited the regeneration of native vegetation.
Several reclamation, restoration and mitigation projects have been implemented at the BCEP. Many of these projects have been implemented with the assistance of school groups from K-12 institutions as well as university-based courses and organizations.
BCEP Vascular Plant List Hyperlinked to Calflora Species Accounts (PDF)
(Cursory Assessment of the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve, Don Hankins, 2007) (PDF)