California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 rights of way inside the line today. It covers 5,549 acres and was designated May 26, 1994, in the South Coast.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
3 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 3 under non-energy facilities.
- CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN RAILROAD1right of way
- CA DEPT TRANSPORTATION1right of way
- CA DEPT PUBLIC WORKS1right of way
The nearest areas
- Million Dollar SpringCalifornia · 6,353 acres · 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it26miles
- Johnson CanyonCalifornia · 3,985 acres · at least 1 active mining claim, 2 rights of way30miles
- PotreroCalifornia · 12,972 acres · 1 right of way32miles
- Santa Ana River WashCalifornia · 756 acres · 7 rights of way45miles
- Whitewater CanyonCalifornia · 16,415 acres · at least 2 active mining claims, 13 rights of way46miles
More from BLM's California office
Every area BLM's California office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026