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Big Morongo preserve gets 40 acres
By Mark Wheeler / Hi-Desert Star
MORONGO VALLEY — Big Morongo Canyon Preserve just received 40 more acres from the county. This addition will extend its property line east along the base of the hills to just about even with the Morongo Valley dump.
The county regional parks department made the grant, and like the other 240 acres of county land incorporated within the preserve boundaries, these lands will be managed as part of the preserve by the Palm Springs office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Preserve manager for the Palm Springs BLM office Greg Hill is pleased with the new parcel. “It adds an interesting habitat to the preserve, and will be an excellent place for horseback riding,” he noted. “It will also make a nice extension to our hiking trail system when we eventually get to that stage of development.”
Running along the base of and up into the hills, the property includes an extensive field portion fronting the hills. Although much of this was burned in the Paradise Fire of 2005, it has historically supported a healthy community of creosote and other field plants altogether different from the preserve’s marsh to the west and the more sparsely vegetated hillsides above.
If it does recover its previous ecological character, the land will support a variety of plants and animals that are specific to open shrublands and do not typically inhabit either hillside scrub or marsh.
For many years, the property has obviously served as habitat for the illegal dumper. Especially now, with so much of the vegetation burned off, the piles of rummage and rusted appliances can be seen everywhere. Hill is working with the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to coordinate a clean-up project in the area, and to repair and replace fencing around the property to help prevent further dumping trespass.
The Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve are Hill’s local support group. They have been instrumental in helping the BLM maintain the preserve with their manpower and, sometimes, with their funding.
In the case of the new 40 acres, the BLM gave the Friends money for restoration projects after the Paradise Fire. Some of those funds are being used to pay for this clean-up. The primary cost is rental of seven to ten 15-cubic-foot Dumpsters that will be needed for all the trash involved.
Five car bodies have already been removed, compliments of county code enforcement.
The California Department of Forestry is providing a crew from its Oak Glen Conservation Camp for the clean-up. About 14 men in the state prison conservation program are included. Jerry Messerschmidt is the project manager for the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and is pleased with the new property addition and the CDF’s help in cleaning it up.
Messerschmidt estimates the entire job, counting clean-up and fence restoration, will take about 20 working days.
He’s especially glad the fence will be installed, since it not only will help discourage illegal dumping, but also will help limit some of the off-road vehicle trespass into the preserve hills behind the property.
“Riders have used this area to gain illegal access to interior preserve properties,” he said, and stated the hope that, “fencing the area should help limit that activity.”
With the fence in place, Messerschmidt said there would be three access points for horses, including one that is large enough for loading and unloading trailered horses. He said the Friends group is looking for suggestions from the equestrians how the trail system might be designed.
The county regional parks department made the grant, and like the other 240 acres of county land incorporated within the preserve boundaries, these lands will be managed as part of the preserve by the Palm Springs office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Preserve manager for the Palm Springs BLM office Greg Hill is pleased with the new parcel. “It adds an interesting habitat to the preserve, and will be an excellent place for horseback riding,” he noted. “It will also make a nice extension to our hiking trail system when we eventually get to that stage of development.”
Running along the base of and up into the hills, the property includes an extensive field portion fronting the hills. Although much of this was burned in the Paradise Fire of 2005, it has historically supported a healthy community of creosote and other field plants altogether different from the preserve’s marsh to the west and the more sparsely vegetated hillsides above.
If it does recover its previous ecological character, the land will support a variety of plants and animals that are specific to open shrublands and do not typically inhabit either hillside scrub or marsh.
For many years, the property has obviously served as habitat for the illegal dumper. Especially now, with so much of the vegetation burned off, the piles of rummage and rusted appliances can be seen everywhere. Hill is working with the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to coordinate a clean-up project in the area, and to repair and replace fencing around the property to help prevent further dumping trespass.
The Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve are Hill’s local support group. They have been instrumental in helping the BLM maintain the preserve with their manpower and, sometimes, with their funding.
In the case of the new 40 acres, the BLM gave the Friends money for restoration projects after the Paradise Fire. Some of those funds are being used to pay for this clean-up. The primary cost is rental of seven to ten 15-cubic-foot Dumpsters that will be needed for all the trash involved.
Five car bodies have already been removed, compliments of county code enforcement.
The California Department of Forestry is providing a crew from its Oak Glen Conservation Camp for the clean-up. About 14 men in the state prison conservation program are included. Jerry Messerschmidt is the project manager for the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and is pleased with the new property addition and the CDF’s help in cleaning it up.
Messerschmidt estimates the entire job, counting clean-up and fence restoration, will take about 20 working days.
He’s especially glad the fence will be installed, since it not only will help discourage illegal dumping, but also will help limit some of the off-road vehicle trespass into the preserve hills behind the property.
“Riders have used this area to gain illegal access to interior preserve properties,” he said, and stated the hope that, “fencing the area should help limit that activity.”
With the fence in place, Messerschmidt said there would be three access points for horses, including one that is large enough for loading and unloading trailered horses. He said the Friends group is looking for suggestions from the equestrians how the trail system might be designed.
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mandybug wrote on Feb 9, 2009 1:00 PM:
" Sylvia was a very loved friend of mine. I was so blessed to know her in the little amount of time she had. I spent a lot of days at her home with her, and she spent many nights sleeping over at my house. I love looking through my pictures of her. She will forever be missed... "
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simplybohemian wrote on Jan 26, 2009 10:09 AM:
Shalow was heavily involved.
I hope Her family will find the peace they deserve. "