|
Click here to view a video of this and neighboring preserves
Site Description: The Summerhill Preserve consists of 113 acres in the city of Lake Elsinore, Riverside
County, California. From high hilltops within the preserve are views of Lake Elsinore and the Santa Ana Mountains.
Surrounding lands are quickly being converted to suburban residential communities, and the preserve shares its borders with
several housing developments. Adjacent lands to the north support natural habitats with one of the county's densest
populations of California gnatcatchers.
Conservation Purpose: The Summerhill Preserve was created to mitigate for impacts to the federally
threatened California gnatcatcher. Five to six pairs of California gnatcatchers nest on the preserve, as do populations of
other declining species such as Bell's sage sparrow, rufous-crowned sparrow and loggerhead shrike. Although the preserve is
small in size, it will hold importance as a stepping stone for wildlife moving between larger protected areas to the north
and east and the Cleveland National Forest to the west should the surrounding open space be developed. The site is also an
important foraging area for birds nesting in the wetlands of Lake Elsinore.
Habitat Types: Aside from small patches of disturbed habitat, the Summerhill Preserve is covered
exclusively in Riversidian sage scrub. This is the preferred habitat of the California gnatcatcher and other rare birds. As
much as 90% of the Riversidian sage scrub in Riverside County has been converted to agriculture or urban areas in the past
100 years.
Management: The primary management goal on the Summerhill Preserve is to maintain nesting pairs of
California gnatcatcher. Since Riversidian sage scrub is the preferred habitat of this species, the existing healthy sage
scrub community must be maintained. Our management program on this preserve entails controlling invasive exotic weeds. To
verify that our management is attaining our objectives we monitor the composition of the plant community and the abundance of
California gnatcatchers.
To download brochure click, Here.
Manager: The Summerhill Preserve is managed by Kim Klementowski.
For information and inquiries please contact: Kim Klementowski
Preserve Manager
Phone: (951) 226-7228
e-mail:
kklementowski@cnlm.org |
