The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000-acres (130 km2)
native plants
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
and
wildlife preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
located in the
Little San Bernardino Mountains
The Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and ...
of the
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of Southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa Ba ...
, in the transition zone between the higher
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
and lower elevation
Colorado Desert
The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...
section of the
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...
. Due to its location within this transition zone, the area is especially high in natural diversity. The natural
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
fed desert
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentCottonwood (''Populus fremontii'') and
Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
(''Salix lasiolepis'')
riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...
habitats
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
in California. It is also identified by the
Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
as one of the most important avian habitat areas in California.
The entrance to the preserve is located within
Morongo Valley, California
Morongo Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) on State Route 62 in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2010 census, up from 1,929 at the 2000 census. The town is bordered by Yucca Valley, Califor ...
, an unincorporated town within
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...
just off
California State Route 62
State Route 62 (SR 62) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that cuts across the Little San Bernardino Mountains in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Its western terminus is at Interstate 10 in unincorporated Riverside County ...
. Admission is free. The preserve is open from 7:30 am to sunset, each day.
History
The last people to inhabit the canyon before the arrival of white settlers were the Morongos, a powerful clan of Serrano Indians. They lived peacefully in this canyon and surrounding valley until the mid-1800s.
The preserve was the site of a large (more than 10 acre) historic "Maringa" (Morongo) Native American Serrano permanent settlement. The site, CA SBR-561, is a large residential site with a continuous, dependable source of water. The valuable biotic resource assemblage that the water attracted, provided for ample food and manufacturing materials to support the view of it being a permanent Maringa Serrano residence for a long span of time. Present on the site are bedrock mortars, several types of ceramic wares, lithic tool stone debitage and numerous late period projectile points.
Human remains were discovered on the site in 1994 that were not cremated, suggesting a greater age of the site, since Serrano traditionally cremated their deceased in historic and ethnographic times. Little is known of the archaeological site, since no known ethnographic or historic accounts exist. The Serrano people who occupied this site had long before either left the area during the mission period, joining and merging with the populations of Cahuilla to the south and west on reservation lands, or had succumbed to European-introduced diseases long before. The Warren homestead, established in 1885 by Mark and Sylvia Warren, is located adjacent to the preserve.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in ...
, San Bernardino County, and the
United States Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one-eighth of the ...
all contributed and managed the lands which were organized to create the preserve in 1982. In 1982, the Bureau of Land Management recognized the ecological features of the area and designated almost 3,700 acres of the ridge and canyon as an "Area of Critical Environmental Concern." More than 570 acres of the preserve was once planned as a possible site for an oil pipeline pumping station but was later donated by
ARCO
Arco may refer to:
Places
* Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy
* Arco, Idaho, in the United States
* Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States
* ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings
Companies
* ARCO (b ...
to the Nature Conservancy in 1989.
The preserve has undergone two significant fires since 1990. The most recent fire, the Paradise Fire in 2005, burned over 2,000 acres in the preserve and required extensive repair and replacement of the boardwalks, trails, and interpretive facilities. The BLM rebuilt all the damaged facilities to meet and exceed standards set by the
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
and other standards. Because of the extreme fire danger present, smoking is forbidden anywhere within the preserve.
Today, the preserve is managed by the County of San Bernardino with the assistance of the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to protect rare and endangered wildlife, to promote the growth and restoration of a wide variety of plants, and to offer educational opportunities for students and nature lovers of all ages.
Wildlife
The preserve aims to educate the public about its purpose in protecting vulnerable wildlife and
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
s. Volunteers host educational opportunities including bird walks and group hikes. Public outreach programs and field trips are available.
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an internationally recognized birding site. Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons. The preserve has been designated as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by the
American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit organization, non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.
ABC is the second BirdLife International partner in the United ...
, the
American Birding Association
The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birdwatching, birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." ...
, and the Watchable Wildlife National Program, and is featured in the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
Guide to Bird Watching Sites. Over 247 bird species have been recorded in the preserve, with at least 72 resident breeding species.
While the preserve is most well known amongst
bird watchers
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...
, many animals also make their home within the preserve including the
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
,
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...
,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
,
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...
,
deer mouse
''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...
,
ground squirrel
Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones ar ...
,
cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbits are in the ''Sylvilagus'' genus, which is in the family Leporidae. They are found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characterist ...
, and various amphibians and reptiles, such as the Mohave rattlesnake and
rosy boa
''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the Family (biology), family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Species
There are two recognized species:
References
Boida ...
.
Geography
The preserve houses some of the oldest exposed rocks in California, dated at almost two billion years. They consist of
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
that has been altered by centuries of heat and pressure to form
gneiss
Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
and
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
.
The preserve is characterized by steep canyons, rugged terrain, and desert oases. The upstream end of the canyon originates in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
, while its downstream portion opens into the
Colorado Desert
The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...
. The Morongo fault running through the canyon causes water draining from the surrounding mountains to form Big Morongo Creek and the marsh habitat.
Location
While the preserve's eastern boundary runs parallel to
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, US National Park located in southeastern California, straddling north-central Riverside County, California, Riverside County and part of southern San Bernardino County, ...
on the east, no public access exists between the two parks.
Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 21,738 as of the 2020 census. Yucca Valley lies north of Palm Springs, and east of San Bernardino. Bordered to the south by the Joshu ...
is east of the preserve via State Route 62, while
Desert Hot Springs
Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 32,512 as of the 2020 census, up from 25,938 at the 2010 census. The city has ...
is to the southeast via State Route 62 and Pierson Boulevard. The nearest commercial airport is
Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs International Airport , formerly Palm Springs Municipal Airport, is an airport two miles east of downtown Palm Springs, California, United States. The airport covers 940 acres and has two runways. The facility operates year-round, ...
, which is south of the preserve.
Climate
Recreation
Camping
Camping is not permitted within the preserve. No fires of any kind are permitted.
Biking
Bicycles, skateboards, skates, or unauthorized vehicles of any kind are not permitted beyond the preserve's parking lot.
Hiking
Hiking is permitted only on designated trails. The preserve has several short trails, such as the Marsh and Mesquite trails which are under a mile long, while the Canyon trail is approximately round-trip.
Wheelchair access
Certain trails are built to meet and exceed
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
standards for wheelchair accessibility.
Pets
Due to the preserve's status as an
Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is a conservation ecology program in the Western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act ( ...
(ACEC), pets are not permitted within the preserve.
Hunting
Firearms and hunting are prohibited within the preserve.
Collecting
Collecting, or disturbance of wildlife is not allowed in the preserve.
Birding
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an internationally recognized birding site. Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons. Over 247 bird species have been recorded in the preserve, with at least 72 resident breeding species.
Special rules
The discharge of firearms is prohibited within the main body of the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve; however, hunting is allowed further south in the undeveloped region of the ACEC. Off highway vehicles, dogs, fires, and horseback riders are not allowed in the main body of the preserve either; however, these uses are allowed in the undeveloped portion of the ACEC. Within wilderness areas, certain uses, such as motorized equipment and/or mechanized travel, are prohibited per Section 4 (c) of the Wilderness Act (1964). Hunters must comply with California DFG laws and regulations for all areas open to hunting.
Facilities
An information kiosk is located at the trail head just off the parking lot. There are onsite camp hosts. Trail maps, trail guides for self-guided walks, information brochures, picnic facilities, and restroom facilities are available at the preserve. Facilities also include a nature education center, and wheelchair-accessible trails.Friends of Big Morongo – Hiking accessed 6/20/2010