Wind Wolves Preserve

Wind Wolves Preserve
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Location of Wind Wolves Preserve
Location	Kern County, California
Nearest city	Maricopa, California
Coordinates	34°59′3″N 119°11′13″W / 34.98417°N 119.18694°W / 34.98417; -119.18694
Area	93,000 acres (380 km2)
Max. elevation	6,005 feet (1,830 m)
Min. elevation	640 feet (200 m)
Created	1996
Visitors	80000 (in 2022)[1]
Operator	The Wildlands Conservancy
Website	Wind Wolves Preserve

Wind Wolves Preserve is a 93,000 acres (380 km²) nature preserve in Kern County, California, owned and managed by The Wildlands Conservancy. Established in 1996 in the San Emigdio Mountains and Pleito Hills of the Transverse Ranges, it is larger than any California state park except Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The terrain ranges from grasslands at the edge of the Central Valley to montane forests over 6,000 feet (1,800 m), supporting diverse habitats. The preserve helps maintain a major wildlife corridor connecting the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range, and contains one of the largest populations of Tule elk in California. It also holds significant Native American archaeological sites, including Cache Cave and the Pleito rock art complex. Open to the public free of charge, the preserve draws about 80,000 annual visitors and hosts large environmental education programs serving thousands of schoolchildren. It is one of the preserves managed by The Wildlands Conservancy.

The preserve lies at the southern edge of the Central Valley, where the land rises into the Transverse Ranges. It includes the San Emigdio Mountains and Pleito Hills, with elevations ranging from 640 feet (200 m) to over 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Terrain within the preserve varies from grasslands near the valley floor to woodlands and montane habitats at higher elevations.

Several canyons cut through the property, including San Emigdio Canyon, where San Emigdio Creek forms a perennial stream and provides the primary area developed for visitor access. Other canyons such as Pleito and Santiago have been the focus of habitat restoration projects.^[2][3]

Wind Wolves Preserve adjoins the Los Padres National Forest, creating contiguous habitat with higher peaks of the Transverse Ranges. Together with nearby conserved lands such as Tejon Ranch and the Randall Preserve, it forms part of a regional wildlife corridor that links the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range. It is specifically identified in the South Coast Missing Linkages plan as a key component of the Tehachapi, Santa Monica–Sierra Madre, and Sierra Madre–Castaic connections.^[4][5][6]

Wind Wolves Preserve includes habitats ranging from valley grasslands and riparian corridors to oak woodlands and higher-elevation scrub. This variety supports a broad mix of wildlife common in California’s Transverse Ranges, together with several notable populations and restoration projects.

One of the preserve’s defining features is its herd of Tule elk. In 1998, 19 elk were translocated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the first of 88 elk reintroduced between 1998 and 2005. The population has since grown naturally, and annual inventories are conducted each fall with the help of large volunteer teams who survey different areas of the 93,000-acre preserve. In 2022, 445 elk were counted, giving the preserve one of the largest populations in California.^[7]

The preserve also provides nesting and foraging areas for California condors. In 2015 the Los Angeles Times reported that Wind Wolves was the only site in Southern California where thousands of tricolored blackbirds were observed nesting during the same season as tule elk and wildflower blooms.^[8] According to The Wildlands Conservancy, wetland restoration has supported more than 5,000 nesting pairs, aided by riparian restoration along Pleito Creek in partnership with the Mojave Desert Land Trust.^[9]

Endangered species recorded at the preserve include the San Joaquin kit fox, Buena Vista Lake shrew, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and the Bakersfield cactus.^[10][11] Conservation work has included cactus restoration following wildfire, riparian restoration along Santiago Creek, and broader habitat management.^[12][13] A technical study has also highlighted the preserve’s role in Bakersfield cactus conservation.^[14]

Wind Wolves Preserve contains several significant Native American archaeological sites. The most prominent are the Pleito site, with some of the most intricate Chumash rock art in California, and Cache Cave, which has yielded one of the largest collections of perishable artifacts ever recovered from the state. Access to both sites is restricted to protect them.^[15][16]

Research at Cache Cave has included portable X-ray fluorescence analysis of pigments, residue analysis of artifacts, and advanced 3D modeling of basketry fragments. These studies show repeated use of the cave over centuries and have provided new insights into Chumash and Yokuts lifeways.^[17][18]

The Three Springs rock shelter contains examples of "Emigdiano Blue," an unusual pigment used by a subgroup of the Chumash. A 2018 analysis determined that the effect was produced by combining black and white materials to simulate blue, rather than using a mineral source such as azurite.^[19]

For a period, the preserve used virtual reality technology to make the sites accessible to visitors during special events. Although headsets are no longer offered, the project demonstrated new methods of engaging the public with sensitive cultural sites.^[20]

While most published research has focused on sites within the preserve, nearby locations such as Pinwheel Cave in the Tehachapi foothills have also attracted international attention for evidence of hallucinogenic use in rock art contexts. Together, these studies underscore the wider importance of the San Emigdio Hills and Transverse Ranges as a cultural landscape.^[21]

The San Emigdio region has been inhabited for thousands of years. Both the Chumash and Yokuts used the canyons and hills for settlement, travel, and cultural activities.^[22] In the 1820s, El Camino Viejo, the original inland route between San Francisco and Los Angeles, passed through the area.^[23] In 1842, the land was included in the Mexican land grant of Rancho San Emidio, later associated with figures such as John C. Frémont.^[24] From the mid-19th century through the 1990s, the property was operated as a cattle ranch.

In 1996, The Wildlands Conservancy acquired the 93,000-acre property and opened it to the public as Wind Wolves Preserve, the largest nonprofit nature preserve on the West Coast at the time. The name "Wind Wolves" refers to the visual effect of tall grasses bending and parting in gusts of wind, resembling unseen animals running across the slopes.^[25] Cattle grazing continues under management agreements on portions of the land.^[26]

Lightning ignited a fire in the Pleito Hills in 2011, damaging populations of the endangered Bakersfield cactus. Restoration efforts included replanting cactus at the burned site and establishing new populations. In 2021, the Wolf Fire burned 685 acres (277 ha) of grassland but was quickly contained through ground and air response.^[27][28]

Later in 2021, a conservation easement was placed on 14,631 acres (59.21 km²) of the preserve, monitored by the California Rangeland Trust. About 3,500 cattle graze on these lands under the easement.^[29][30]

Wind Wolves Preserve, accessible less than an hour from Bakersfield, offers a range of facilities including three ramadas, shaded picnic areas with benches, durable stone restrooms, two ponds, a picturesque waterfall at the canyon entrance, and a family-friendly campground. The administration center features murals and a stone-lined patio overlooking the canyon and serves as the campground check-in area.^[31]

The preserve maintains approximately 28 miles (45 km) of trails. The San Emigdio Canyon Trail is the primary public route, supplemented by riparian and foothill trails.^[32]

Outdoor education is a core mission at Wind Wolves. More than 120,000 children have participated since its founding. The Science Sleuths program encourages children (ages 10 and up) to solve nature-based clues across the preserve.^[33][34][35]

The preserve hosts a variety of recurring public events. The Spring Nature Festival, held annually in late March, features guided hikes, wildlife presentations, crafts, and wildflower viewing amid the canyons.^[36][37] The For the Birds event, focused on birdwatching and citizen science updates, is held annually in February.^[38] Evening experiences include outdoor movie nights at the San Emigdio Canyon Sunset Theater and astronomy programs offered periodically in partnership with the Kern County Astronomical Society.^[39][40]

• "Carmel Valley's Newest Preserve and Kern County's Tule Elk". OpenRoad. Episode 92. April 7, 2024. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved May 5, 2024. OpenRoad had editorial control. The Wildlands Conservancy funded the episode.

• List of The Wildlands Conservancy preserves

• Butterfield, Scott (2021). Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1642831269.
• Penrod, Kristeen; Beier, Paul; Luke, Chris; Spencer, William; Cabañas, Carolyn (2003). South Coast Missing Linkages: A Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion (PDF) (Report). South Coast Wildlands Project.

• Wind Wolves Preserve
• Wind Wolves Preserve Notebook on iNaturalist
• Historical markers at Wind Wolves Preserve (HMdb)