Fact Sheet: Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve
| Location: | San Diego and Riverside counties on the upper Santa Margarita River; 5 mi northeast of Fallbrook and 5 mi southwest of Temecula; 50 mi north of San Diego. |
| Year established: | 1962 |
| Collaborators: | Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy. |
| Size: | 1,790 ha (4422 ac) |
| Elevation range: | 150-700 m (500 to 2300 ft) |
| Average Precipitation: | |
| Average Temperatures: | |
| Watershed and Topographic Features: | Santa Margarita River Watershed; encompasses Temecula Gorge, a 5-mi canyon formed by the Santa Margarita River as it courses through the southern Santa Ana Mountains. |
| Vegetation: | Sycamore, cottonwood, and willow forests are part of a 30-mile protected riparian corridor. Coast live oak occurs along ephemeral drainages. Upland areas support coastal sage scrub and southern mixed chaparral. Native grasslands occur in small isolated patches. Orange, avocado and eucalyptus groves. |
| Facilities: | Dormitories, kitchens, labs, offices and classrooms are available for researchers and classes. Educational facility (Philip Miller Facilities) has four bedrooms with 14 beds and additional camping space for up to 40 people. Research facility has four bedrooms with 12 beds. |
| Equipment: | Wireless sensor network providing access to 60% of the reserve's habitats, high-speed internet access, GPS, basic hand tools and field measuring devices. |
| Databases: | Extensive GIS database including detailed vegetation maps and aerial photography, species lists, plant and animal collections, real-time meteorological stations (1994-present), RAWS (2000-present), and hydrology stations (2001-present), historic data sets, monitoring network for bird point-counts, vegetation (releves), and photomonitoring. |
| Contact information: |
Field Stations Program College of Sciences San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-4614 Tel: (619) 594-0580 Fax: (619) 594-0714 Email: fsp@sciences.sdsu.edu |
| Directions: |
Directions to Northside Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER) From Interstate 15, exit at Rancho California Road in Temecula. Go west (a left turn coming from San Diego) and continue for 2.3 miles into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Turn left onto Via Santa Rosa (the first left you can make after ascending into the foothills). Continue 1.5 miles and turn right onto Via Tornado. Via Tornado dead-ends after 0.8 miles at the entrance gate to SMER. After passing through the gate, continue down the main dirt road 0.4 miles to the trailers. Directions to the South Side of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve Take I-15 north from San Diego. Approximately 20 miles past Escondido, take the Mission Road / Fallbrook offramp. At the stop sign, turn left and cross over the Interstate. Turn right onto Mission Road towards the town of Fallbrook. Follow Mission Road 1.6 miles to Willow Glen Road. (Just before you get to the turn-off, you will see a yellow warning sign alerting you that Willow Glen is coming up on the right.) Turn right onto Willow Glen Road. Follow the double yellow line as Willow Glen winds through a residential area. After 2.2 miles, the road will make an abrupt right turn, become a dirt road, and change it’s name to Stage Coach Lane. After 1.7 miles on Stage Coach Lane (Stage Coach will start as a county maintained road and then become a single lane road with “No Trespassing Signs.”), the dirt road will dead-end at a locked gate, the entrance to the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve. Once inside the reserve, continue down the road. Take the first right (just before the orchard) onto a paved road. Up ahead on the hill, you will see the Southside facilities. Travel time: approximately one hour from downtown San Diego to the reserve. All visitors to the reserve must print out and complete this vehicle permit and display it on the vehicle dashboard at all times. All visitors must also contact Pablo Bryant 619-507-0944 pbryant@sciences.sdsu.edu at least 2 days prior to arriving at the reserve. |
