San Felipe Creek Ecological Reserve is approximately 1,900 acres. San Felipe Creek provides a corridor of unique and highly valuable habitat. Habitat types include marsh, creosote bush scrub, mesquite woodland, mesquite dune, alkali sink scrub, and wash community.
The property was designated as an ecological reserve by the Fish and Game Commission in 1994. A restoration project removed tamarisk, which had invaded the desert wash, and restored native desert riparian habitat. Evapotranspiration by tamarisk causes loss of surface flows, and removal of tamarisk prevents this loss. Surface flow, and backwaters that may reform after tamarisk removal, are essential to maintaining San Felipe Creek as endangered fish habitat.
For more information, call the Inland Deserts Region Ontario office at (909) 484-0167.