|
The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000 acres (130 km2) native plants habitat and wildlife preserve located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges, in the transition zone between the higher Mojave Desert and lower elevation Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert.〔(Friends of Big Morongo ) accessed 6/20/2010〕 Due to its location within this transition zone, the area is especially high in natural diversity. The natural spring fed desert oasis found here is one of the 10 largest Cottonwood (''Populus fremontii'') and Willow (''Salix lasiolepis'') riparian habitats in California.〔(Friends of Big Morongo -- Flora ) accessed 6/20/2010〕 It is also identified by the Audubon Society as one of the most important avian habitat areas in California. The entrance to the preserve is located within Morongo Valley, California an unincorporated town within San Bernardino County, California just off California State Route 62. Admission is free.〔(Friends of Big Morongo -- Visitors ) accessed 6/20/2010〕 The preserve is open from 7:30 am to sunset, each day. == History == The last people to inhabit the canyon before the arrival of white settlers were the Morongos, a powerful clan of Serrano Indians. They lived peacefully in this canyon and surrounding valley until the mid-1800s. The preserve was the site of a large (>10 acre) historic “Maringa” (Morongo) Native American Serrano permanent settlement. The site, CA SBR‐561, is a large residential site with a continuous, dependable source of water. The valuable biotic resource assemblage that the water attracted, provided for ample food and manufacturing materials to support the view of it being a permanent Maringa Serrano residence for a long span of time. Present on the site are bedrock mortars, several types of ceramic wares, lithic tool stone debitage and numerous late period projectile points. Human remains were discovered on the site in 1994 that were not cremated, suggesting a greater age of the site since Serrano traditionally cremated their deceased in historic and ethnographic times. Little is known of the archaeological site, since no known ethnographic or historic accounts exist. The Serrano people who occupied this site had long before either left the area during the mission period, joining and merging with the populations of Cahuilla to the south and west on reservation lands, or had succumbed to European introduced diseases long before.〔http://www.fws.gov/carlsbad/PalmSprings/DRECP/Appendix%20L_Bureau%20of%20Land%20Management%20Worksheets/Appendix%20L_BLM%20Worksheets%20-%20ACEC_Part8_5.pdf〕 The Warren homestead, established in 1885 by Mark and Sylvia Warren, is located adjacent to the preserve. The Nature Conservancy, San Bernardino County, and the United States Bureau of Land Management all contributed and managed the lands which were organized to create the preserve in 1982. In 1982, the Bureau of Land Management recognized the ecological features of the area and designated almost 3,700 acres of the ridge and canyon as an "Area of Critical Environmental Concern." More than 570 acres of the preserve was once planned as a possible site for an oil pipeline pumping station but was later donated by ARCO to the Nature Conservancy in 1989. The preserve has undergone two significant fires since 1990. The most recent fire, the Paradise Fire in 2005, burned over 2,000 acres in the preserve and required extensive repair and replacement of the boardwalks, trails, and interpretive facilities. The BLM rebuilt all the damaged facilities to meet and exceed American for Disability Act and other standards. Because of the extreme fire danger present, smoking is forbidden anywhere within the preserve. Today, the preserve is managed by The Bureau of Land Management with the assistance of the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve to protect rare and endangered wildlife, to promote the growth and restoration of a wide variety of plants, and to offer educational opportunities for students and nature lovers of all ages. Dee Zeller currently serves as onsite camp host and naturalist. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Big Morongo Canyon Preserve」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|