Reserves and Habitats-NEW-04052023

Reserves & Habitats

Hillsides covered in wildflowers. A red-tailed hawk gliding overhead. Seasonal streams sparkling in the sunlight. The quiet majesty of rare oak trees. These are among the gifts of nature that we value and protect as a regional water provider.

A Responsible Footprint

When nature thrives, we all thrive. Metropolitan’s legacy of environmental protection spans decades and tens of thousands of acres of land. Through substantial financial investment and agency partnerships, we have acted to preserve and enhance open space, sensitive native habitats, and regionally significant ecosystems. Metropolitan has set a precedent with public and private partnerships that focus on environmental protection of entire ecosystems rather than individual species. Just as native species and their habitats are protected and enhanced through these efforts, so too are the well-being of people and communities benefitting from these valuable resources.

The benefits are multiple and meaningful:

Protecting sensitive plants and wildlife
Managing and restoring watersheds to maintain clean water supplies
Providing trails, views, and recreational assets that connect people with nature
Ensuring vast tracts of natural landscapes remain untouched by development

Environmental Stewardship Goes Hand-In-Hand with Infrastructure Investments

Multi-Species Habitat Preservation

Four large-scale multi-species reserves, spanning more than 30,000 acres, form the cornerstone of our environmental investments. Through partnerships with federal and state agencies, local governments, utilities, and private companies, and financial and land contributions we actively support many other open space and habitat protection initiatives throughout the state and the southwestern United States.

Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve

Nearly 13,500 acres of open space are preserved within the Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve, located adjacent to Diamond Valley Lake. Created in 1992, the reserve marked California’s first agreement for comprehensive, multi-species protection as opposed to approaches focusing on a single species at a time. The reserve is home to eight distinct types of habitat and protects at least 31 sensitive, endangered or threatened native California bird, animal and plant species.

Habitats in the reserve include coastal sage scrub, grassland and riparian communities, as well as pristine oak woodlands. Notable species include Stephens' kangaroo rat, California gnatcatcher, Bell’s sage sparrow, San Diego horned lizard, orange-throated whiptail lizard, Payson’s jewel flower, and Parry’s spine flower. Many other species also can be found, including mule deer, bobcats, and coyotes.

The reserve includes 9,000 acres surrounding and connecting Diamond Valley Lake with Lake Skinner via the 2,500-acre Dr. Roy E. Shipley Reserve, which Metropolitan purchased as partial mitigation for construction of Diamond Valley Lake. We partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District, and Riverside County Habitat Conservation Agency to cooperatively manage the reserve. The reserve contains more than 30 miles of biking, hiking and equestrian trails, including the North Hills, Wildflower, and Lake Skinner trails.

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Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve

Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve

The nearly 10,000 acres Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve is home to 200 species of native birds and 49 endangered, threatened or rare animals and plants, including one rare species of fairy shrimp that exists nowhere else on Earth.

Established in 1991, the reserve protects some of the most unique grassland, chaparral, and oak habitats in California. It also contains some of Southern California's last vernal pools (seasonal ponds) that support fairy shrimp, wintering waterfowl, and spring wildflowers.

Other notable species include the western pond turtle, California quail, red-shouldered hawks, coyotes, bobcats, mule deer, mountain lions, golden eagles, and a stand of Engelmann oak trees, considered one of the largest protected stands of this species in the world.

The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve showcases innovative preservation partnerships between Metropolitan, The Nature Conservancy , Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The preserved lands include 3,100 acres originally purchased by The Nature Conservancy and 3,700 acres purchased with Metropolitan’s assistance as partial mitigation for construction of Diamond Valley Lake.

The reserve has an extensive network of multi-use trails, a comprehensive interpretative program, and a visitor center. More information can be found here.

The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve showcases innovative preservation partnerships between Metropolitan, The Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations, Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and CDFW. The preserved lands include 3,100 acres originally purchased by The Nature Conservancy and 3,700 acres of additional land purchased with Metropolitan’s assistance as partial mitigation for construction of Diamond Valley Lake.

The reserve has an extensive network of multi-use trails, a comprehensive interpretative program and a visitor center. More information can be found here.

Lois B. Krieger Multiple Species Reserve at Lake Mathews

The 5,110-acre Lake Mathews Multiple Species Reserve is managed for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of native habitats and sensitive animal species. The creation of the reserve also ensured critical protection for the watershed surrounding Lake Mathews to protect the water quality in the reservoir.

Lake Mathews is an important bird resting and feeding site, especially in winter, when ducks, double-crested cormorants, grebes and eagles are present. The reserve includes non-native grassland and Riversidian sage scrub habitats, which support sensitive species such as Stephens' kangaroo rat and the coastal California gnatcatcher.

In 2019, Metropolitan's board voted to name the reserve in honor of Lois B. Krieger, who served as the first female board chairwoman from 1989 until 1992.

Reference Materials

Upper Salt Creek Wetland Preserve

The 40-acre Upper Salt Creek Wetland Preserve in Riverside County provides protection for unique vernal pool habitat and rare plants. The preserve was established as mitigation for impacts associated with construction of the Eastside Pipeline feature of Diamond Valley Lake. Public access is not provided on the preserve, and it is protected in perpetuity from future development.

Orange County Central-Coastal Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan

The Orange County Central-Coastal Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan includes nearly 37,500 acres of protected open space. Metropolitan is an active participant in this effort, which is one of the first state-federal plans nationwide to mitigate the impacts of development by conserving protected species, expanding native habitat and managing natural ecosystems. The conservation area covers a number of habitat types and 39 species, including six that are federally listed as endangered. Notable among the habitats are coastal sage scrub, grassland and riparian habitats, and the species are coastal California gnatcatcher, cactus wren, and orange-throated whiptail lizard.

Connecting People & Wildflowers

Indian Paintbrush

Brittlebush

Cantebury Bells

Poppies

Arroyo Lupine

Baby Blue Eyes

Wildflowers

Wildflower Field

Tidy Tips

Chocolate Lilies

Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program

The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program was created in 2005 to balance the use of the Colorado River’s water resources with the conservation of native species and their habitats. It targets the restoration of natural habitat along the river corridor and includes riparian forests, marshes, and backwaters. The program involves state and federal agencies, and water and power utilities, municipalities, Native American tribes, and conservation organizations from Arizona, Nevada, and California. Metropolitan is the largest non-federal contributor to the program. The comprehensive program will create more than 8,100 acres of habitat comprised of conservation areas that benefit a variety of protected and native fish and wildlife species, including the planting of hatchery raised native fish. The program area extends over 400 miles of the lower Colorado River from Lake Mead to the border with Mexico.

Learn more.

There is a special area to Metropolitan of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program which dedicates about 635 acres of former farmland for a habitat of cottonwood, willow and honey mesquite trees. The Dennis Underwood Conservation Area was established in 2019 to honor the esteemed Western water expert and former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation who briefly served as Metropolitan’s general manager from April 2005 until his passing in November 2005.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Northern California

The Delta is the hub of the state’s water delivery system. Metropolitan, as a major State Water Project contractor, is an active participant in habitat restoration efforts in the Delta. We partner with multiple interest groups, state and federal agencies in activities designed to help restore the Delta’s habitats and protect fish species while ensuring reliable water supplies for California. This work includes science-based projects to understand food-web relationships and ecosystems, monitor fish populations, restore tidal and non-tidal wetlands, improve habitat and ecosystem health, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance water quality and reliability.

California EcoRestore Habitat Restoration

California EcoRestore was established in 2015 with a vision to restore 30,000 acres of habitat in the Delta. Restoration of habitat is critical to populations of endangered Delta smelt and other native fish species. As a participant in the EcoRestore program, Metropolitan supported habitat management activities including serving as a cooperating agency in the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project in the Sacramento Valley. In 2023, the California EcoRestore partners, including Metropolitan, started construction of the Big Notch Project located in the Fremont Weir State Wildlife Area in Yolo County, which will remove barriers and enable open channel upstream migration to the Sacramento River and their spawning areas. The project will benefit juvenile salmon by allowing them to feed and grow in the food-rich floodplain for a longer time, which will improve their chances of survival on their future journeys to the Pacific Ocean, and adult salmon and sturgeon by providing access to more spawning grounds.

Learn more.

More information

Tule Red Tidal Restoration Project

Metropolitan worked with the State and Federal Contractors Water Agency and the Department of Water Resources to complete the Tule Red Restoration Project in Suisun Marsh to restore tidal marsh wetlands and provide benefits to native fish species. The project opened hundreds of acres of wetlands in the southern Suisan Marsh and allows for a daily tidal exchange.

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Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project

Metropolitan supported and financially assisted the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project in Northern California, one of the largest cold-water fish restoration efforts in North America. The project involves the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the United States Bureau of Reclamation, USFWS, National Marine Fisheries Service, and CDFW. The effort is focused on restoring almost 50 miles of habitat for threatened and endangered winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon and steelhead in Battle Creek and its tributaries within the Sacramento River watershed while the production of clean hydroelectric power at the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project continues.

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Lake Oroville

Metropolitan supports the Lower Feather River Habitat Improvement Plan, an adaptive management plan to benefit threatened and endangered fish species. The plan was developed as part of a collaborative settlement agreement negotiated between XX, XX, and XX in XX to operate the State Water Project’s Oroville facilities for 50 years. The agreement requires that XX implements measures to improve and protect habitats in the area such as vernal pools habitat, minimizing disturbances to nesting bald eagles, and California red-legged frogs, and providing and maintaining nesting boxes for waterfowl.

Butte Sink Creek Bypass Project

Metropolitan participates in the Centerville Schoolhouse Workgroup, a diverse collection of stakeholders made up of representatives of who are committed to ensuring the future of Butte Creek’s population of spring-run Chinook salmon. The creek is located in the Central Valley and is a tributary of the Sacramento River. Topics of discussion include future research and habitat restoration projects.

Lake Oroville

Metropolitan supports the Lower Feather River Habitat Improvement Plan, an adaptive management plan to benefit threatened and endangered fish species. The plan was developed as part of a collaborative settlement agreement to operate the State Water Project’s Oroville facilities for 50 years. Additional measures to improve terrestrial habitat in the area include protecting vernal pool habitat, minimizing disturbances to nesting bald eagles and California red-legged frogs, providing nest cover for waterfowl, and maintaining wildlife nesting boxes.