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bring the predators such as great blue heron (Ardea herodius) and great egret (Casmerodius <br /> alba). <br /> Mud flats <br /> Before farming and extensive alteration of the original land use, the bottom of Tracy Lake <br /> would have served as a giant mud flat during the late season drawdown period in <br /> midsummer. When farming began in 1940 and continuing to 1991, the mud flat nature of <br /> the lake bottom ceased to exist. During the past year or two that the lake bottom has not <br /> been farmed, portions of the Lake bottom have resumed their historic role as a mud flat <br /> (Photo 2). <br /> Vernal Pools <br /> Vernal pools or hog wallows are small, shallow depressions with an underlying hardpan <br /> that fill with water during the rainy season then dry completely. As the water evaporates <br /> from the pools they are often quite visible because of the many beautiful wildflowers which <br /> bloom in concentric rings around the pool margins, including woolly marbles, popcorn <br /> flower(Allocarya spp.), goldfields (Lasthenia spp.), downingia (Downingia spp.), and <br /> others.. Vernal pools are rare worldwide, and their associated plant species are often <br /> unique; several are listed as rare or endangered species in California. <br /> Two vernal pools, with a combined total area of 0.29 acre, were observed and mapped on <br /> the property by Sugnet& Associates in 1990 during the wetland delineation survey . An <br /> update of this orginal survey is currently being prepared. <br /> Buckeye Ranch Resource Plan (November, 1993) <br /> 53 <br />