sign in sign up
<<
Home , Salton Sea, Sonny Bono

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Area Map Sonny Salton National Wildlife Refuge Complex 906 West Sinclair Rd Calpatria, CA 92233 Telephone 706-348-5278 fws.gov/Sonny_Bono_Salton_Sea National Wildlife U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov 10 Refuge Complex For Refuge Information: 1-800-344-WILD National Wildlife 62 Mt. San Refuge California Relay Service Jacinto Area of Voice 1-800-735-2922 Sonny Bono State Park map TTY 1-800-735-2929177 Indio Salton Sea / Visitors with disabilities may be reasonably accommodated upon request, and/or receive an Coachella Valley Coachella alternative format publication. Center

Imperial Wildlife Area 195 Wister Unit 10 86 Salton Sea Sonny Bono Blythe Rd. Neighbors Salton Sea NWR

Julian 111 Cibola 78 78 79 N.W.R. 95

Imperial Wildlife Area r e Finney Ramer Unit iv R Cuyamaca o

Rancho 78 d a

Glamis r Imperial

State Park o l

G o N C N.W.R. To ecko Rd. Miles 0 10 20 30 40 February 2021 115 Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Kilometers 0 10 20 30 40 HoltvilleCover: Burrowing owls. (U.S. ©Jenny Bureau Ross of California Land Management)

Mexico 98 8 2 Yuma 2 Arizona

5 Named in honor of Congressman Sonny Bono for his inspired conservation efforts at the Salton Sea, Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is located within California’s .

The refuge has documented more than 400 bird species along the southern shore of the Salton Sea and adjacent habitats.

As California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea has established itself as crucial feeding grounds for birds as they migrate from the to as far as .

The shore of Salton Sea at sunset, from the Rock Hill Trail. USFWS Sonny Bono Located within the Lower Salton Sea River Basin on the southern end National Wildlife of the Salton Sea, the refuge Refuge encompasses 37,900 acres of wetland, farmlands, desert scrub, shorelines, and open water habitat.

The refuge is designated as an Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy and a Regional Shorebird Reserve by the Shorebird Reserve Network.

Remnants of an It’s often said that the Salton Sea is Ancient Lake a man-made accident. In reality it is & A Changing the most recent form of ancient Lake Landscape , which has repeatedly been flooded by the over the millennia. This regular flooding deposited fertile silt into the valley, turning the surrounding lands into an agricultural hotspot.

In the 1950s, the Salton Sea became a haven for tourism and fishing. Today, due to water conservation, less agricultural drain water is feeding into the sea, decreasing water levels and increasing water . This increasing salinity is affecting species found at the Salton Sea, causing some wildlife like shorebirds to increase while others like and Right: Snow geese on cultivated rye grass fields. USFWS Background: Shorebirds along the shore of Salton Sea. cormorants to forage elsewhere. USFWS Wildlife By the Seasons Visitor Activities

Visitor Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Spring is when migrant birds fly home to their Information Wildlife Refuge has a volunteer- summer nesting sites. Colorful species Services staffed visitor center that you can call such as verdin and Bullock’s oriole can or visit. be seen perched in trees on the refuge. Designated The Rock Hill Trail takes visitors Trails through all the different habitat types found at the refuge. Starting at the visitor center, it is a two-mile loop that ends at the top of one of the area’s active volcanoes. The Hardenberger trail allows visitors to walk around the Reidman Duck Ponds and access Summer is nesting season! Quails, rails, and a photo blind. The .7-mile loop starts surprising nesters such as western at the observation tower. gull-billed terns and black skimmers all raise their young here.

Fall is time to migrate back south. Migration starts as early as July and peaks in November. Rafts of northern shovelers and ruddy ducks are common sights in the area. Wildlife Visitors are encouraged to use the Observation & observation towers and platforms, Photography self-guided interpretive trails, and photo blind at the refuge headquarters and Unit 1 areas for wildlife observation and photography.

Hunting Waterfowl hunting is permitted on the refuge from October to January Winter is for fattening up. The area’s mild in designated areas. These areas winters mean more than 200 bird are managed by state and federal species call this refuge home. Some of Opposite page, regulations. Refuge hunt maps the more boisterous species include top to bottom: are available at nearby state hunt sandhill cranes and snow geese. verdin; Gambel stations. quail; northern shovelers (©Jenny Ross); sandhill cranes. USFWS Above: Snow geese. USFWS Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Encompassing 3,709 acres of aeolian (wind transported) sand dunes, Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is home to over a dozen endemic species. Some of the more well known species are the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard and the Coachella Valley milkvetch. Coachella Valley NWR is part of the larger Thousand Palms Conservation Area that is managed within the guidelines of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. Due to the sensitive nature of the dunes and the status of the fringe-toed lizard and milkvetch, the refuge is maintained as a preserve and public visitation onto the refuge is prohibited.

If visitors wish to experience the Coachella Valley dune landscape, they can visit the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, managed by the Center for Natural Lands Management. While not a part of the refuge complex, the preserve provides similar habitats for visitor education and recreation.

Opposite page: Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (USFWS); scorpion under ultraviolet light (©Paisley Ramstead, UCR) Background: Sand verbena blooming on dunes. USFWS Regulations Niland Pets Pets must be on a leash at all times. Hunting dogs on public hunting areas Salton Sea

must be under effective control. Davis Road English Road Hazard Tract 111 Camping No camping is allowed on the refuge. (to Imperial Wildlife Area) Sonny Bono Salton Sea Schrimph Rd. Red Hill National Wildlife Marina Signs & Fencing Marked locations around the refuge are closed to the general public to Refuge Rock Hill Trail protect wildlife and endangered Union Tract Sinclair Road species. Please respect all signage. McKendry Rd. Obsidian r

e

Butte v Lindsey Rd. i R Road

Friends Group o

m

a l

Garst Road Sea & Desert A 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to A Interpretive promoting the Salton Sea through N Young Road Association education and interpretation, based at Main Street Unit 1 Bowles Road the Salton Sea State Recreation Area. To Calipatria Indio

Road Albright Road 78 Kalin Road Poe Road 86 Brandt

Marsh Foulds Road Road Hardenberger N Trail ew For more information: Agricultural fields River Refuge Manager Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Visitor Center Lack Walker Road

Wildlife Refuge r Parking Vendel 111 906 W. Sinclair Rd Road Calpatria, CA 92233 Designated trails open year-round Baker Bannister Forreste Road 760-348-5278 Refuge boundary Rutherford Road Public Hunting Area See hunting brochure for information Salton Sea State 100 State Park Rd Westmorland ve. Recreation Area Mecca, CA 92254 All other areas, except designated trails are closed to entry. Trailhead 78

760-393-3052 86 stern A Wildlife Observation Platform Miles 0 1 2 3 4 We Brawley Photography Blind Thousand Palms 29200 Thousand Palms Canyon Rd Kilometers 0 123 45 6 Oasis Preserve Thousand Palms, CA 92276 760-343-2733 Hardenberger Trail Rock Hill Trail Observation Rock Hill Trail ne mile one-way California 8700 Davis Rd platform Department of Niland, CA 92276 Observation deck Fish & Wildlife 760-359-0577 Salton Sea Marsh Freshwater ponds Hardenberger Trail .7-mile Loop Yawning bobcat. USFWS Reitman Duck Ponds Vendel Road Photography Agricultural field blind Photography blind Marsh Observation deck Feet 0 500 1000 1500 Feet 0 500 1000 1500 2000

Meters 0 100 200 300 400 Meters 0 100 200 300 400