About This Project

Who is proposing this project?

Lead Organization: Preserve Wild Poway

Contact Information:

Jeff, Schmidt, Preserve Wild Poway, Board of Directors Vice Chair and CEO.  

jeffrey.w.schmidt@hotmail.com

858 692-7664

What is proposed?

Preserve Wild Poway seeks funding to acquire approximately 34 acres of Boulder Mountain in the northern part of Poway to conserve endangered habitat and preserve the land as permanent open space.   PWP strives to create a model habitat reserve system consistent with the Poway Subarea Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). 

 Project Location

Boulder Mountain, Poway, California (Parcels APN: 275-260-2800, 275-470-2400, 275-470-2100). The property spans across 3 parcels that are under private ownership.

Why is this project on the 30x30 list?

Acquiring these 34 acres of Boulder Mountain in the northern part of Poway will protect a highly unique and diverse plant and animal habitat and preserve the land as permanent natural open space for use as a living laboratory for education and light passive recreation. The Boulder Mountain property consists of native and naturalized habitats including oak woodlands, coastal chaparral, and riparian habitats. This property is home to multiple endangered and threatened species and was estimated by Alan Marshall, Canyoneers Founder, San Diego Natural History Museum to have “more biological diversity, for its size, than anywhere else in San Diego County.”

Adjacent to the proposed open space parcels is a Kumeyaay Indian Village and 7 pictographs. Boulder Mountain supported a Kumeyaay population, who generated the highest density of pictographs known in San Diego County. These pictographs are unique compared to any others in North America. “These designs don’t exist anywhere else in North America,” concludes Greg Erickson, a rock art expert.

The Boulder Mountain Open Space Preserve falls fully within the Poway Subarea Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and will protect this portion of the designated HCP area from further development. Acquiring this land as a preserve will decrease habitat fragmentation by stopping checkerboard development of the land, protect rare, sensitive and declining species and help to maintain the overall functional ecosystems with the Poway Subarea Habitat Conservation Plan.

The following are some of the species living on Boulder Mountain:

• San Diego Horned Lizard---threatened/monitoring
• California Gnat Catcher---threatened
• Hermes Copper Butterfly---endangered (reported to be on Boulder Mountain in the historical record)
• Common Poor Will (night hawk) ---endangered
• Artemisia Palmeri (San Diego sagewort)---endangered
• Engelmann Oak---rare and endangered

Boulder Mountain will be used as an educational site, provide collaborative opportunities with schools and non-profit organizations, and provide recreational opportunities within the City of Poway.

• The San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, for example, hosted a trail and garden tour in April of this year (on an adjacent Boulder Mountain property), attracting more than 100 native plant enthusiasts enabling them to raise more $20,000 in support of sensitive habitat restoration. Purchase of these parcels will extend public access to view and explore a wider range of plant species.
• Alliances will be formed with local colleges, UCSD, SDSU, CSUSM, etc., to utilize this area for native plant and animal studies and surveys.
• Boulder Mountain is uniquely poised to host ethnobotanic studies of the Kumeyaay because of the nearby historic Kumeyaay village, attracting visitors and students.
• Boulder Mountain will tie into Poway’s existing trail system, increasing the public’s access to hiking and horseback riding. This Open Space Preserve will help reduce the strain on existing nature reserves by creating essential recreation space. The plan involves offering managed access to this natural area for residents of the nearby neighborhoods, regional schools, and providing organized nature tours.

 How will this project be completed?

PWP volunteers will coordinate with the City of Poway,  CDFW,  the Kumeyaay Diegueno Land Conservancy and local  conservation groups to establish a land management plan.  Volunteers from the community, local schools and conservation groups are envisioned as a large support basis for the management plan.