Wind Wolves Preserve

The preserve has hiking trails, small waterfall, several ponds, picnic area, Ramada, restrooms and campground. Outdoor education programs are offered for school children on ecology, wetland ecosystems, geology and Native American lifeways. [2] San Emigdio Canyon Sunset Theater provides family oriented movies in an outdoor setting.

The only part of the preserve that has been developed is San Emigdio Canyon. There are 28 miles (45 km) of trails. One trail connects to an adjacent National Forest trail. One route is a dirt road that can be used for hiking and biking. There are also trails that follow a riparian zone. [3]

Two of the best Native American archaeological sites are at the preserve. Pleito is one of the best painted rock-art sites in the world. Rock art of the Chumash people is among the most elaborate rock art. Cache Cave has a substantial collection of artifacts. Neither site can be visited. Pleito is overly fragile. Cache Cave has complex passages. Instead virtual reality is used to show the sites. VR headsets are available for people visiting the preserve during special events. [4] [5] [6]

An international team researched the Cache Cave Native Californian site and produced several papers. [7] [8] [9] [10]

The San Emgidio Canyon at the Wind Wolves Preserve

At the southern end of the Central Valley the land rises to the Transverse Ranges. The preserve includes the San Emigdio Mountains and Pleito Hills.

The preserve helps connect the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada mountains. It's within the Transverse Ranges facilitating movement of animals improving genetic diversity.

The preserve is adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest.

Wildlife includes Tule elk, deer, bear, Western Rattlesnake, mountain lions, bobcats, desert tarantula, California condors, San Joaquin kit fox, and blunt-nosed leopard lizard.[11]

An annual inventory of the tule elk is done each fall. 445 tule elk were counted in 2022. [12] This is one of the largest populations in the state. In 1998, 19 elk were moved onto the preserve. Natural growth has resulted in the current population.

Wildflowers can be excellent in the spring if there was sufficient rain the prior winter. Wildflowers can include poppies, lupine, hyacinth and phacelia. [13]

An annual Spring Nature Festival has been held in March since 2014. There are exhibits, viewing of wildlife and wildflowers, and guided hikes. [14] [15] Almost 8,000 people visit over a weekend. [16] The wildflowers typically peak around festival time. [17]

Endangered species at the preserve include the San Joaquin kit fox, Buena Vista Lake Shrew, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and Bakersfield cactus. [18] [19]

The Chumash tribe lived in this region until the 18th century. [20]

In the 1820s, El Camino Viejo was a road that was part of the original road between San Francisco and Los Angeles. [21]

In 1842, the property was a Mexican land grant, Rancho San Emidio.

From the 1850s to the 1990s it was a working cattle ranch.

In 1996, Wildlands Conservancy acquired the property and opened the preserve to the public for light recreation.

In 2011, lightning started a fire in the Pleito Hills sweeping through the Pleito Hills Bakerfield cactus. The Conservancy restored cactus at the burned site and established four new sites.

In 2021, the Wolf Fire burned 685 acres (277 ha) of grasslands. Firefighters fought the fire using ground and air resources. [22] [23]

In 2021, a conservation easement was placed on 14,631 acres (59.21 km²) of land within the preserve. The California Rangeland Trust will monitor the easement. [24] [25] 3,500 cattle graze on this land. [26]

• The Wildlands Conservancy (2021). Behold the Beauty (2nd ed.). The Wildlands Conservancy.
• Butterfield, Scott (2021). Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1642831269.