San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area

Recreational Opportunities

Activities: wildlife viewing and hunting

Please see current informational flyer and maps posted in the kiosk.

[PASSESMOD]

Hunting:

Type C: San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area does not require the purchase of a hunting pass for entry. Entry permits and/or passes or special drawing may be required for hunting on some Type C wildlife areas.

Area History

The lands currently in the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area were part of two large, contiguous, private holdings: Rutherford Ranch and Rancho San Felipe. The earliest known cabins at Rutherford Ranch were built in the mid-1860s. Although the ranch supported vineyards, orchards, and agricultural crops, it was primarily used for grazing cattle and sheep. Human activity has been limited, leaving the ranch relatively undisturbed. Likewise, Rancho San Felipe was a family-owned operation for nearly a century. Historically, it was used for cattle grazing, limited agriculture, and private recreational uses.

The property was designated as a wildlife area by the Fish and Game Commission in 1999. The land was acquired in three phases to protect critical deer migration corridor and deer fawning habitat, and oak woodland and riparian habitat. Funding sources were Proposition 70 (Wildlife and Natural Areas Conservation Program of 1988), Proposition 117 (Habitat Conservation Fund/ Mountain Lion Initiative) and Proposition 12 (Parks Bond Act of 2000).

Large acquisitions adjacent to the existing wildlife area in 2003-04 increased the area by over 5,000 acres to the northwest and 7,500 acres to the southeast. Management activities are on-going throughout the wildlife area to ensure public safety, compatible wildlife-dependent public recreation, and adequate resource conservation.