About Starr Ranch Sanctuary

Starr Ranch is only open to the public through a Program Education reservation. 

The preserve is bordered on the west by a residential community of over 1,100 houses, extensive landscaping, and a golf course. All of the surface water run-off from this community is diverted and dumped into two Starr Ranch streams, Tick and Dove Creeks. Tick and Dove eventually meet with another, larger, Starr Ranch stream called Bell Creek (a headwater in the San Juan Creek Watershed). The residential surface water input into these streams is of concern to Ranch biologists because it alters chemical, physical, biological and hydrological dynamics.

Restoration
Starr Ranch manager, Pete DeSimone, worked with hydrologists, engineers, and local water districts on the installation of pumps on catchment basins at the beginning of Tick and Dove drainages. These pumps capture urban runoff for diversion into the Trabuco Canyon Water District’s water reclamation system. The pumps were installed and operational in 2008.
Since 2003, under the direction of our Director of Research and Education, Dr. Sandy DeSimone, seasonal research interns map the distribution and abundance of non-native plants in our creeks, plan and implement invasive control and restoration, monitor restoration, and recruit hundreds of volunteers each year to help us remove invasive plant species without the use of chemicals.

Water Quality Monitoring
Since 2003, Starr Ranch biologists have been using Rapid Bioassessment to gather data on the impact of run-off and subsequent pumping on the physical habitat, chemical and biological components of water quality in Tick, Dove, and Bell Creeks. We are also monitoring an unimpacted site in Bell Creek (north of where Tick and Dove join Bell) to use as a reference site. We will continue to monitor and document changes in water quality long term.

Education – Starr Ranch Field Ecology Programs

We offer seasonal ecology programs and guided walks that invite you into the preserve to learn straight from the landscape. Join us for hands-on wildlife tracking at scent stations, introductory birding and bird walks with opportunities for close-up viewing, and guided hikes along the Loop Trail to experience seasonal change, habitat diversity, and the research and monitoring that power Starr Ranch conservation work.

Starr Ranch Research Team
We have organized a group of dedicated community members interested in watershed conservation to work as volunteer citizen scientists. These volunteers undergo yearly training workshops for using the rapid bioassessment protocol and, under the direction of Starr Ranch staff biologists, carry out all of the data collection for this project. Citizen science volunteers also help staff biologists survey aquatic vertebrates and perennial pools in Bell Creek.

How to Get Involved
Contact the Director of Research, Education and Land Management
Sandy DeSimone
sandy.desimone@audubon.org