Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve is critical corridor for wildlife habitat

Reserve manager Pablo Bryant points to a series of yellow dots that run along a patchwork of green on a map detailing the bounds of Temecula’s Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve.

The dots represent the tracked movement of mountain lions who use the river valley as a corridor for their habitat.

The Santa Margarita River is southern California’s last free-flowing river.

The reserve spans the first 5 miles of the river, which Bryant said is one of the most critical corridors for wildlife and habitat biodiversity.

“We connect the Palomar Mountains to the East and Santa Ana Mountain to the West for...