Caliente Creek: community-centered conservation

By Ella DeMaria, MDLT Social Media and Outreach Coordinator   

Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator Mackenzie Nelson holds a volunteer training with the residents of Caliente Creek, August 2023. Photo: Ella DeMaria 

It takes a village 

Conservation is a community effort. Few Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) properties exemplify this like Caliente Creek, a special place crucial to desert health. Here, mountain ranges merge with the desert floor as rolling hills of blue oak (Quercus douglasii) and gray pine (Pinus sabiniana) share soil with desert sagebrush scrub. MDLT acquired these 1,440 acres of ecological transition zone in 2022 in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land. Since then, working directly with on-the-ground land stewards, MDLT has begun developing a land management plan that goes beyond the traditional models of stewardship. With the help of local volunteers, MDLT has initiated a plan that incorporates community input and participation. Community members themselves are the stewards of the land at the Caliente Creek Preserve.  

Sage brush and oaks converge within the property. Photo: Jessica Graybill 

A unique ecotone 

Tucked in between multiple mountain ranges hundreds of miles from MDLT headquarters, Caliente Creek may seem far removed from the iconic Joshua trees, creosote, and ocotillo of California’s deserts. But Caliente Creek is a connective thread that ties together plant and animal communities from across California. The Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California ecosystems all converge here. 

“It is in an ecotone. Many of our lands, while in wildlife corridors, are in a singular biological community. Caliente being in this transitional zone has a great biological diversity, but also makes it a unique challenge on the management side of things,” says Sarah Bliss, MDLT Director of Land Conservation.  

Sweeping views. Photo: Jessica Graybill

Caliente Creek has been identified as a preferred migratory flight path for many avian species who favor the area’s low-lying hills. The rare and critically endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) may even be seen occasionally soaring in the skies.  

Shared stewardship  

Caliente Creek’s oaken grasslands bring a set of stewardship challenges different than MDLT’s usual desert properties. This is where first-hand experience with the land comes in. As ranchers, the community understands the importance of keeping the land healthy and protecting open space. MDLT will be using prescribed grazing as a fire prevention management strategy on portions of this property. Grazing livestock consume the invasive grasses before they form seeds, reducing the amount of invasive species in the seed bank and allowing the native wildflowers to re-establish. We will be working closely in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and The Tejon Ranch Conservancy on grazing best practices for ecosystem restoration. 

Lead land monitor volunteers Alice and Marci set out regularly on horseback to survey the area for prohibited activities like hunting, illegal off-highway vehicle riding, and mountain biking.

LEFT: Marci and her horse, Rhett, near the Caliente Creek Preserve. Photo: Alice Sorenson. RIGHT: Alice and her horse, Gus, near the Caliente Creek preserve. Photo: Marci Mauthe  

Alice says land monitoring allows them to witness the ecosystem in its natural state. “It’s probably the closest thing we will have out here to pristine. There are plenty of flora and fauna, birds, and lots of different kinds of animals, both prey and predator… It gives us a chance to see nature as nature is supposed to be. I hope the community sees volunteering as an opportunity to go out to the preserve. I’m hoping people will be interested and motivated to participate in all of this. It’s the cycle of life.” 

Enlisting the community’s support has helped MDLT overcome the logistical challenge of “managing a volunteer corps that is 200+ miles away from our headquarters in Joshua Tree,” says Mackenzie Nelson, MDLT Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator. “Thankfully, Alice and Marci have been great community ambassadors and lead volunteers in recruiting their neighbors to volunteer and monitoring the preserve when we are unable to be there in person.” 

Caliente Creek Preserve abuts present-day private property, making community stewardship vital to the Preserve’s long-term health. “The community's role and connection to the preserve is integral. With access to the preserve crossing into community neighborhoods, the property is interwoven in the landscape of the community,” Sarah explains. “For many years this property has been accessed and used by the community, and we are working to balance community needs with our mission to preserve and steward these lands in perpetuity.” 

Yanina Aldao Galvan, MDLT Lands Project Coordinator, says the goal is “to bring together all stewards of the land.” Future land management strategies could involve enlisting grazing animals to assist with removing invasive plants for ecosystem restoration and wildfire fuel reduction, for example.  

Photo: Sarah Bliss

Backyard naturalists and geologists 

Besides land monitoring, Caliente Creek community members will also be assisting MDLT with another mission: scientific research.  

Using the iNaturalist app, community volunteers are helping document plant and animal species in the Preserve. MDLT staff trained members of the Caliente community how to use the iNaturalist app on a recent outreach visit.  “Our volunteer corps is excited and eager to help with projects on the preserve. I am very excited to see how our volunteer opportunities will grow,” Mackenzie says.  

Residents examine geologic specimens during a lesson conducted by Education Programs Manager Mary Cook-Rhyne. Photo: Ella DeMaria 

Mary Cook-Rhyne, Education Programs Manager, gave Caliente residents a hands-on geology lesson to deepen their understanding of the land beneath their hometown. An interesting merging of minerals can be found here, with the granitic rocks of the Sierra Nevada meeting the metasedimentary rocks of the Tehachapi Mountains. The geology lesson allowed MDLT staff to connect with a broader community than usual. “I loved seeing the diversity of Caliente, not only in plants and animals, but with the people of the town too,” Mary said.  

By combining education with proactive stewardship, MDLT’s outreach is helping empower Caliente community members to manage the land. The strategy shows “how much more engaged people are when you proactively invite them to steward their own backyard,” Yanina says. “I know the community will protect the land and their way of living with their lives. This is not just their backyard, it's their hopes and dreams.” 

The Caliente Creek conservation project is funded by the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program under California Streets and Highways Code Section 164.56 in partnership with the Trust for Public Land.