The Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve: Protection of the Natural Wildlife Habitats

Michael Momeni

What a great day we had at the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER) on October 7, 2016 at 9:30 AM! Santa Margarita Sierra Club members joined members and friends of the Conservation Committee of the Temecula Valley Woman’s Club (TVWC) to learn more about the area.  This outing was organized by Meryle Hammatt, Conservation vice-chair and a member of both organizations.  

The Reserve has a total area of 4344 acres. Murray Schloss bequeathed the core 2480 acres to SDSU in 1962, ~1200 acres are leased from the BLM, and ~400 acres were donated by the Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy intends to acquire and donate nine more nearby parcels of lands as they become available.

SMER is managed by the San Diego State University Foundation. The purpose of the reserve is to keep the property in its natural state for the preservation and protection of the native plants, animals and habitat, and for related educational and research purposes.

We were met at SMER by Pablo Bryant, Reserve Director.   He reviewed the significance of SMER and the historical background to the facility.  

  

The following figure show the relative location of SMER, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Cleveland National Forest (west and east of the highway 15) and the city of Temecula. 

 The above figure shows the rugged topography of the region and the location of Highway 15 within the southern section of Temecula.  The highway divides the natural routes for wildlife passage between the western section of Cleveland National Forest, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, and the eastern section of the Forest.

Two proposed major developments in Temecula, Altair and Temecula Inn Golf Course, close to Highway 15 would further exacerbate the problem.  The Altair development would be located on the western side of Temecula, adjacent to the Old Town.  The Temecula Inn Golf Course Development would be located on the present golf course land. The projects will seriously impact the wildlife migration between the western and the eastern sections of Cleveland National Forest.  Our Sierra organization is working and consulting with other local organizations pursuing the same objectives, protecting the wildlife and creating a viable wildlife corridor. 

The Santa Margarita habitat and the Santa Margarita River are essential to the wildlife in the region and should be permanently protected.  

After the presentation, we all walked on a very pleasant and picturesque road down to the Santa Margarita River. 

We enjoyed our sack lunch and soaked our feet in the river.