San Jacinto Wildlife Area

Listen. There is nothing but the sound of birds--all kinds of birds. "As soon as there's water, the birds move right in," said Tom Paulek, manager of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area for the California Department of Fish and Game. "Look at this. It's terrific." Runoff from the raging San Jacinto River has filled adjacent Mystic Lake, which is normally dry farmland. Tony Metcalf, a biologist at UC Riverside, described it as "something to behold . . . awe-inspiring."

A chance to trek through the San Jacinto Wildlife Area--with its mosaic of habitats that makes it attractive to a variety of birds and other animals--is being offered Saturday. South Coast Audubon, one of two Orange County chapters of the National Audubon Society, will lead a trip to the Riverside County preserve, which encompasses almost 5,000 acres, including wetlands areas in the process of restoration and rolling hills with grasslands and pristine coastal sage scrub areas.

A chance to trek through the San Jacinto Wildlife Area--with its mosaic of habitats that makes it attractive to a variety of birds and other animals--is being offered Saturday. South Coast Audubon, one of two Orange County chapters of the National Audubon Society, will lead a trip to the Riverside County preserve, which encompasses almost 5,000 acres, including wetlands areas in the process of restoration and rolling hills with grasslands and pristine coastal sage scrub areas.

Listen. There is nothing but the sound of birds--all kinds of birds. "As soon as there's water, the birds move right in," said Tom Paulek, manager of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area for the California Department of Fish and Game. "Look at this. It's terrific." Runoff from the raging San Jacinto River has filled adjacent Mystic Lake, which is normally dry farmland. Tony Metcalf, a biologist at UC Riverside, described it as "something to behold . . . awe-inspiring."

The decision of the Department of Fish and Game to turn management of much of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area over to a private hunting club, and to allow put-and-take hunting, is a perversion of the purpose of California's wildlife areas. Instead of saving tax dollars as advertised, the program threatens the wildlife that the area is designed to protect.

Standing on a low mound not far from the water's edge, Frank Robinson looked Wednesday across the marshy expanse of Upper Newport Bay and smiled. "It's a fabulous program," Robinson, a longtime crusader for preservation of the bay, finally said. "It's going to make it that much harder for this delicate setting ever to be destroyed." Protecting the 752 acres of wildlife habitat in Upper Newport Bay has long been a mission for Robinson and other county environmentalists. That's why they view the area's inclusion in the newly created California Wildlands Program as a big step forward.

They're the only park rangers who ride a tram to work. It's either take the Palms Springs Aerial Tramway or hike eight miles to their ranger station. There are no roads and no vehicles are allowed in the wilderness. Jerry Frates and Eric Hanson are stationed at Long Valley Ranger Station, elevation 8,400 feet, on the eastern slopes of Mt. San Jacinto above Palm Springs. It's the highest ranger station in the state. "I have been a ranger 12 years in several different state parks.

You might call it a desert island. San Jacinto Peak, 10,804 feet high, is a cool oasis of alpine forests, meadows and bubbling streams surrounded by the desert. It is, arguably, the best mountain in Southern California. Barren and rugged in some spots, lush and gentle in others, San Jacinto's extremes are matched by few peaks anywhere. It is a wild place--more than 40 square miles at the top are designated wilderness--but remarkably accessible.

WATERFOWL hunters have had less success in Southern California since the season opened last month, except at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Riverside County, where the daily take per hunter has steadily increased. Geese and duck season in the Southland runs from Oct. 22 to Jan. 29. Youth hunting days, for hunters younger than 16, extends beyond the regular season to include the weekend of Feb. 4 and 5.

State fish and game officials, in an effort to increase revenue and draw more visitors to state wildlife reserves, unveiled a plan Wednesday to charge a $2 admission fee at nine state-owned reserves and use the money to finance guided tours, trails and facilities for visitors.

They're the only park rangers who ride a tram to work. It's either take the Palms Springs Aerial Tramway or hike eight miles to their ranger station. There are no roads and no vehicles are allowed in the wilderness. Jerry Frates and Eric Hanson are stationed at Long Valley Ranger Station, elevation 8,400 feet, on the eastern slopes of Mt. San Jacinto above Palm Springs. It's the highest ranger station in the state. "I have been a ranger 12 years in several different state parks.

Standing on a low mound not far from the water's edge, Frank Robinson looked Wednesday across the marshy expanse of Upper Newport Bay and smiled. "It's a fabulous program," Robinson, a longtime crusader for preservation of the bay, finally said. "It's going to make it that much harder for this delicate setting ever to be destroyed." Protecting the 752 acres of wildlife habitat in Upper Newport Bay has long been a mission for Robinson and other county environmentalists. That's why they view the area's inclusion in the newly created California Wildlands Program as a big step forward.

You might call it a desert island. San Jacinto Peak, 10,804 feet high, is a cool oasis of alpine forests, meadows and bubbling streams surrounded by the desert. It is, arguably, the best mountain in Southern California. Barren and rugged in some spots, lush and gentle in others, San Jacinto's extremes are matched by few peaks anywhere. It is a wild place--more than 40 square miles at the top are designated wilderness--but remarkably accessible.

The decision of the Department of Fish and Game to turn management of much of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area over to a private hunting club, and to allow put-and-take hunting, is a perversion of the purpose of California's wildlife areas. Instead of saving tax dollars as advertised, the program threatens the wildlife that the area is designed to protect.

Mystic LAKE sweeps across the San Jacinto Valley, lapping at meadows pungent with the scent of wet grass. Hummocks seem to float above steel-gray water. A white-tailed kite hovers overhead while killdeer and greater yellowlegs skim the mud below. Three months ago this was a dusty salt flat in dairy country, 15 miles southeast of Riverside. But winter storms filled the shallow basin to form an instant wetland.

To its advocates, the $2-billion proposed mega-development known as Moreno Highlands is just what this swiftly growing community needs: an orderly mix of residential, commercial and park projects that also manages to preserve the desert environment--and create thousands of jobs. "It has all of the amenities that a person living there could ask for," Councilwoman Judy Nieburger said.