The Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve is a 303-acre (123 ha) nature reserve that is part of the

University of California Natural Reserve System The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Co ...

. It is located near

Yucca Valley, California Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 20,700 as of the 2010 census. Yucca Valley lies west of Twentynine Palms, north of Palm Springs, south of Barstow via State Rout ...

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Administered by

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

, the reserve is owned by the University of California and managed for teaching and research. Reserve lands form a transition zone, or ecotone, between the high-elevation ecosystems of the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

and the lower, hotter

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

History

From 1947 to 1972, the reserve was owned by Bruce and Jean Burns. The couple built a home and raised a family there before selling much of the property to the University. The Burns house now serves as a field station that provides accommodations for reserve visitors. The University purchased the remainder of the Burns land in 1990.

Geology

The most salient feature of the reserve are its weathered boulder hills. Because the reserve lies in the rain shadow of the

, millions of years of drying eroded the soils. Wind blew away much of the soil, exposing the granitic bedrock below. Additional spalling produced the characteristic look of the reserve's boulder piles.

Ecology

Habitats at the reserve include desert, a freshwater seep, and a wash. Vegetation typical of the high elevation Mojave, such as

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

s (''Yucca brevifolia''), nolina ('' Nolina parryi''), and the reserve's namesake, the piñon pine (''

Pinus monophylla ''Pinus monophylla'', the single-leaf pinyon, (alternatively spelled piñon) is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and souther ...

'') grow atop the dry hills. The wash supports lower-elevation desert plants such as desert willow (''

Chilopsis linearis ''Chilopsis'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants containing the single species ''Chilopsis linearis''. It is known commonly as desert willow

'' subsp. ''arcuata''), mesquite (''

Prosopis glandulosa ''Prosopis glandulosa'', commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae). Distribution The plant is primarily native to the Southwestern United States and Northern M ...

'' var. ''torreyana'') and catclaw (''

Senegalia greggii ''Senegalia greggii'', formerly known as ''Acacia greggii'', is a species of tree in the genus ''Senegalia'' native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast Cal ...

''). Perennially moist lower Railroad Wash sustains Muller's oak (''

Quercus cornelius-mulleri ''Quercus cornelius-mulleri'' is a North American species of oak known by the common name Muller oak, or Muller's oak. It was described to science in 1981 when it was segregated from the ''Quercus dumosa'' complex and found to warrant species sta ...

'') and rushes (''

Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...

'' sp.) Two species of quail mingle on the reserve, mountain (''

Oreortyx pictus The mountain quail (''Oreortyx pictus'') is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. This species is the only one in the genus ''Oreortyx'', which is sometimes included in ''Callipepla''. This is not appropriate, however, as th ...

'') and Gambel's (''

Callipepla gambelii Gambel's quail (''Callipepla gambelii'') is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahu ...

'') . Other common fauna include

horned lizard Horned lizards (''Phrynosoma''), also known as horny toads or horntoads, are a genus of North American lizards and the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The common names refer directly to their horns or to their flattened, rounded bodies, ...

coachwhip snake ''Masticophis flagellum'' is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake, commonly referred to as the coachwhip or the whip snake, which is endemic to the United States and Mexico. Six subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecie ...

s, and

phainopepla The phainopepla or northern phainopepla (''Phainopepla nitens'') is the most northerly representative of the mainly tropical Central American family Ptiliogonatidae, the silky flycatchers. Its name is from the Greek meaning "shining robe" in ref ...

. Two new beetle species discovered in the wash were described in 2011.

References

External links

UC Irvine Natural Reserve System: Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns Pinon Ridge Reserve Protected areas of San Bernardino County, California University of California Natural Reserve System University of California, Irvine