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El Sobrante Landfill is a Class 3 regional disposal facility permitted to accept up to 10,000 tons per day, seven days per week. It employs approximately 40 full-time employees. Landfill operations are overseen by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health.
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The area surrounding the El Sobrante Landfill is a protected wildlife habitat and is home to 31 protected species. Unfortunately, these species were put in danger in May when a motocross rider illegally trespassed on the property, causing a fire that damaged almost a third of the preserve.
The fire started on a late Tuesday afternoon just east of the landfill in the Spanish Hills area of Temescal Valley. It took 160 local firemen to finally get the fire under control the following day, leaving a total of 990 acres scorched. Of those acres, 280 acres are owned by Waste Management and 172 acres are part of our wildlife preserve.
Vehicle trespassing is a serious and a constant problem for El Sobrante wildlife preserve. The trespassers not only damage the natural tapestry of the land but also damage habitat restoration projects being managed by our biologists. This ultimately places the livelihood of the 31 protected species identified at El Sobrante wildlife preserve in jeopardy, and destroys all of the work that is devoted to its care and upkeep.
We have made various efforts to deter trespasser, including placing “No Trespassing” signs at various strategic locations informing trespassers that they are entering private and protected land. However, many times these signs are either ripped down or end up serving as shooting targets. We’ve also tried more creative solutions such as erecting makeshift walls with large boulders and trenching along roads that have been identified as favored entrances by the recreational vehicle trespassers. In addition, our biologists have come up with their own solutions to protect many of their habitat restoration projects. For example, they have planted cactus patches around the projects to divert trespassers from trampling over them. Despite these efforts, we continue to see trespassers on the preserve.
After the fire, our biologists assessed the damage and determined that the largest loss was to the Riversidian sage scrub (RSS) habitat, which is the dominant vegetation in the preserve. The RSS is the habitat of the coastal California gnatcatcher, a member of the federal threatened species list. At least two pairs of this bird were affected by the fire and lost their nesting area. In addition, about six acres of the riparian habitat – consisting of green belt shrubs, willows, sycamores, and cottonwoods that grow along the streams found in the preserve – were burned. Birds, including the protected white-tailed kite, raptors and other animals use the riparian habitat for nesting and foraging.
Given how many animals call the preserve home, we acted quickly to start taking care of the damage. We’ve started weeding the damaged riparian habitat to get it ready for fall planting. In order to properly restore this area, we will need to plant about 2,000 plants per acre. We will also keep an eye on weeds for the next five years so that the native plants and trees can grow undisturbed. This is particularly important for the RSS, which will be competing against non-native grasslands that tend to thrive after fires.
Although it will take at least five years for the preserve to be restored, we’ll continue to host tours at the landfill and will include the burned areas as part of the tour to teach visitors the consequences of trespassing.
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