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Site Description: The Warm Springs Preserve consists of 113.5 acres in two units within the city of Murrieta, Riverside County, California.  From the banks of Warm Springs Creek within the preserve, a visitor can easily forget being within one of the nation's fastest growing urban areas.  Rising rapidly from the creek to the north of the preserve are the Hogbacks.  The steep clay and granite hills within the preserve are covered in dense chaparral and sage scrub, and the creek is lined with large coast live oaks and cottonwoods.  Standing beside the creek, within the shade of the oaks, is a stone house built in the early 1950s by the original resident.

Conservation Purpose: The Warm Springs Preserve was created to mitigate for the impacts to the federally listed threatened California gnatcatcher and endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly.  Three pairs of California gnatcatchers occupy the preserve, as do populations of other declining species such as bobcat, western pond turtle, white-tailed kite, Cooper's hawk, Bell's sage sparrow, rufous-sided sparrow and loggerhead shrike.  Rare plants that occur on the preserve include long-spined spineflower and Palmer's grapplinghook.  Mountain lions regularly appear to prey on deer that come to feed on acorns in the winter.  Although the preserve is small in size, it holds importance in protecting a portion of one of the most important populations of the Quino checkerspot butterfly.  The site is also important for flood control and water quality maintenance within the Santa Margarita River watershed.  Riverside County recently acquired 378 acres of open space adjacent to the preserve as part of the county's Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan preserve system, and the City of Murrieta is working to secure more lands along Warm Springs Creek to protect much of the remaining open space.

Habitat Types:  The dominant habitat type on the Warm Springs Preserve is chamise chaparral.  Oak and willow woodlands line the Warm Springs Creek and an unnamed tributary, while approximately 25% of the preserve supports Riversidian sage scrub.  Sage scrub is the habitat of the Quino checkerspot butterfly and California gnatcatcher.  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 goals on the Warm Springs Preserve are to maintain habitat for the California gnatcatcher, Quino checkerspot butterfly, and other sensitive species that utilize sage scrub.  We also strive to maintain high quality riparian habitat along Warm Springs Creek.  Although the primary management focus is on the sage scrub community, the dominance of chaparral allows us to manage for a broader diversity of species.  Our management program on this preserve entails controlling invasive exotic weeds, monitoring the reproductive performance of native species, and limiting public access to the least sensitive areas.

Public Access: The public is welcome to use designated hiking trails on the preserve, but no public access is permitted on the easternmost 45 acres where most of the sensitive habitats and rare species reside.  Trailheads are located at the end of Hunter Road and at the end of Calle de Amor.  Please respect the surrounding private properties and our neighbors.

Manager: The Warm Springs 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