Cleveland National Forest

Projects & Plans - Area Closures and Advisories to Protect Nesting Raptors

The Cleveland National Forest has been working hard to ensure that raptors, and their habitat across the Forest is proactively managed.  Area advisories for Prairie Falcon nesting activity and some sites warrant “area closures” for Golden Eagle nesting activities.

If you are interested in learning more, please visit the links below.

Birds of Prey and the Cleveland National Forest | A Few Facts About Our Raptors

There are five historical raptor nesting sites that the collaborative group is discussing.  Three of these sites are located on the Cleveland National Forest, and two sites are on BLM lands.  (BLM is an active member of the collaborative group). The five sites are:

1. Glen Cliff, Descanso Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest

2. Eagle Peak, Descanso Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest

3. Corte Madera, Palomar Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest

4. Rock Mountain, BLM, administered by San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department

5. El Cajon Mountain, BLM administered by San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department

Current Raptor activity at the 5 sites:

1. Glen Cliff:  Golden Eagle nesting activity is confirmed – December 2008.   Nesting is being monitored and is in progress. As of the end of May is was determined that nestlings had died. This nest failed.

2. Eagle Peak:  Prairie Falcon nesting activity is confirmed – February 2009.   As of April, the Prairie Falcons had moved to a new nest site east of the initial advisory area.  A new map is posted below.

3. Corte Madera:  Prairie Falcon nesting activity is confirmed – February 2009.  As of May 1, a pair of Peregrine Falcons was confirmed nesting at Corte Madera Mountain on the southeasterly face of the mountain.   The Peregrine Falcons have apparently displaced the Prairie Falcons at this site.  A new map is posted below.

4. Rock Mountain:  Nesting activity is not present at this time – February 2009.  

5. El Cajon Mountain:  Golden Eagle nesting activity was confirmed in January 2009.  As of April, it was determined that this nest failed. However, the Golden Eagles at this location re-nested and have an active nest as of July 2009.

Area Closures for Peregrine Falcon nesting:

• Corte Madera Closure Order -  May  2009

• Corte Madera Closure Flyer – May 2009   

Area Advisories for Prairie Falcon nesting:

• Eagle Peak Closure Flyer - May 2009

For additional information, please contact the Cleveland National Forest at 858-673-6180.

Some of the project documents are in PDF format and require the free Acrobat reader to view. The reader may be downloaded from the Adobe website.