About Friends

Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley

The Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley is a grassroots conservation group dedicated to preserving and protecting the northern San Jacinto Valley, the San Jacinto Wildlife Area (SJWA), Mystic Lake, and Potrero Creek Conservation Unit of the SJWA. We are a 501(c)(3) organization.

The 10,000 acre Davis Road Unit of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, owned by the people of California and managed by the Department of Fish and Game,  is located is on the eastern border of Lake Perris and is bordered by the Ramona Expressway on the south, Bridge Street on the east and Gilman Springs Road on the north.  The 9,000 acre Potrero Unit is located north of Gilman Springs and east of Highway 79. 

The San Jacinto Wildlife Area is a core reserve of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan reserve system.  Over 65 of the 146 species of plants and animals protected by the plan are to be found on these conservation lands, including 25 species of raptors, and three threatened and endangered plants (San Jacinto Crownscale; Spreading Navarretia; Thread-leaved Brodiaea)

Friends’ Activities

• Sponsors free monthly bird and nature walks at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area from September through May to introduce all interested to the wonders of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area
• Attend community events to share information about the wildlife area and its wildlife resource and educational values.
• Conduct tours of the SJWA for school groups and other interested people.
• Submit written and oral comments on a wide variety of land use and transportation issues which affect the San Jacinto Wildlife Area and the northern San Jacinto Valley.
• Work to conserve the wildlife resources and encourage proper management of the wildlife values at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area and the northern San Jacinto Valley.
• File lawsuits for failing to properly comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and the County General Plan in approving the Villages of Lakeview Project.

Friends’ Contact Information      

If you would like more information about the Friends and want to receive our newsletter, please go to www.northfriends.org and email us at northfriends@northfriends.org.  If you do not have internet access, please call Sue Nash at 909-228-6710.  Our mailing address is P.O. Box 4266, Idyllwild CA 92549.