Wilderness Preservation

After nearly a century of timber production, parts of the San Jacinto Mountains looked like little more than a logging camp, with stumps and wood debris covering ground where tall trees had once stood, while livestock grazing added further damage. John Muir toured the region with members of the National Forest Commission and urged protection and preservation of the high country. Based on the Commission's report, President Cleveland established the San Jacinto Forest Reserve in 1897. Stronger protection followed in 1927 with the creation of a Forest Service game refuge to regulate deer hunting. Ten years later, the Federal Government, the California State Park Commission, and local officials worked together to permanently protect the region by designating this land as Mount San Jacinto State Park and setting it aside as a wilderness area. Adjacent Federal land was later designated the San Jacinto Wilderness, resulting in permanent protection for nearly all of San Jacinto's high country.

California · United States