Colton Conservation Bank

About the Program
The Colton Conservation Bank program is operated in Colton, California, by the Vulcan Materials Company. Colton is located in San Bernardino county, which is part of the Inland Empire region, approximately 60 miles from Los Angeles. The 160-acre site contains Delhi Sand dunes, an unusual habitat only found in this region. The site has been planted with native vegetation to restore the ecosystem and is managed by the project team to preserve its unique habitat for wildlife. Species of note found at the site include the endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, the Los Angeles pocket mouse, the coastal California gnat-catcher and the burrowing owl. 

Practices and Impacts

• Vegetation is managed by drone monitoring observations and techniques such as grazing or manual removal to maintain optimal levels of coverage.
• In addition, invasive plants are monitored regularly and controlled.
• Species-specific surveys are carried out as well as frequent overall monitoring of the site's plants and wildlife.
• The company began a Delhi Sand soils monitoring program in 2018 to track movement and deposition of sands throughout the site to better understand how sand was moving across the site and if placement of drift fencing could capture the moving sand and potentially return it. To study this, a series of poles was buried across the property to measure changes in surface elevations. Results of this study will be used to determine future management actions.