Volcan Mountain is visible 60 miles from the Pacific coast, rising more than 5,000 ft in

height. It is part of the Peninsular Ranges running between Los Angeles and central Baja
California. The Volcan Mountain Foundation (VMF) manages the land. According to their site,
they control the numbers of non-native species, reintroduce former native species, restore and
reforest burned and disturbed habitat, and research and monitor post-fire plant and animal
reestablishment. They claim a noted 30 plus plant communities, 45 mammal species, more than
150 avian (bird) species, 36 reptiles, 12 amphibians, and an undocumented amount of insects and
invertebrate. Of these species, Volcan is home to some sensitive, rare, and/or endangered plants
and animals.
Some mammals that can be found at Volcan include the mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes,
grey foxes, deer, squirrels, raccoons and opossums. One of the many bird species is the wild
turkey.
There is an established 2,900 acre preservation of mixed conifers. Theres also oak
woodland and chaparral, thanks to the Mediterranean climate, and riparian habitat depending on
where you are on the mountain. Some plants found at higher elevation levels in the Volcan
Mountain preserve include bigcone Douglas fir/canyon oak forest, canyon live oak forest,
Coulter pine forest, Sierran mixed coniferous forest, Incense Cedar, and white fir. Other plants,
such as the banner dudleya, are common near the Santa Ysabel Creek.
A specific Triassic metamorphic rock known as Julian schist has been found at Volcan
Mountain. Its composed of micaceous schist, gneiss, and quartzite.
To reach Volcan Mountain you can drive east from the county. The east face of the
mountain drops to the Salton Sea depression. It has been noted that the mountain could
experience a 7.3 earthquake. The Volcan Mountain gateway is the headwater of the Santa Ysabel
Creek leading to the San Dieguito River. Thus Volcan Mountain is part of the San Dieguito
watershed that leads out to the Pacific. Its also the source of two other western rivers, and part of
three of San Diegos largest watersheds. Those watersheds are the San Diego, San Luis Rey, and
previously mentioned San Dieguito watersheds. Those three watersheds are 1,336 square miles
out of the 2,951 square miles of watershed in S.D. County. The single eastern flowing creek from
Volcan is San Felipe, which heads towards the Anza-Borrego desert. Protecting headwater
regions can help improve water quality downstream, so the mountain is important not only as a
water source but in the protection of those sources. There are also a number of springs, such as
Ironside and Catfish, and the land receives 30 or more inches of rain yearly. For these last
reasons, the local Native Americans named the mountain Hahachepangwhere the water
comes from.
Volcan Mountain is part of the Volcan Mountain Range within the Peninsular Range.
Depending on the level of elevation, there are different climates on the mountains. This effect is
called microclimates. The western face of Volcan tends to experience rain or snow due to
condensation from the Pacific, while the eastern face remains dry. Rain in July and August, and
snow running from November to May is not unheard of in the Volcan Range. It is usually cold
year round in the highest elevations. In the lower elevations, average summer temperatures are in
the 80s, but can reach the 100s. Winters tend to be mid 50s range, though there have been
instances where temperatures drop to the tens. There is sometimes no more than 12 inches of
yearly rainfall on the eastern face.

A quick fact about the human activity on Volcan shows it probably started around 2,000200 years ago with the local people were the Iipay. They didnt leave behind much waste
product, or any product, for that matter. Some of their food sources on the mountain included
berries, grass seeds, acorns, roots, deer and rabbit.
Global warming and climate change have, in many cases, been linked to the upward
movement of living organisms from lower elevation levels. A study in Switzerland conducted
over the course of seven years showed the uphill movement of plants, butterflies, and birds with
plants moving 8 meters, butterflies 38 meters, and birds 42 meters upwards. There was also a
noted phenomenon that showed the downward movement or relative stability of butterfly and
plant populations in higher elevations, those bird populations continued to move to higher
ground. Some people do believe that rather than follower temperature, some or most species are
following the damp climate thats come with global warming. In either case, Volcan Mountain
has seen a rise in oaks while spruces have been in declined because of the warmer temperatures.
General examples of the effects of climate change on animals include earlier nesting of 28
different bird species seen on the U.S. East Coast, 13 day early arrival of northeastern birds that
stay the winter in the south, and 16 of 23 species specifically studied in California changed their
migrations for an earlier arrival. Many coldwater fish, such as trout, are losing habitat. Theres a
lot of obstacles out there that arent going to make adaptation to global warming easy, like the
speed at which its taking place. But some species, such as the quino checkerspot butterfly, are
finding ways to adapt where scientists thought they couldnt. The quino checkerspot is an
endangered species found here in California. Somehow, it was able to recognize not only the
need to move itself to higher elevations, but to find a new host plant (place to lay its eggs)
because of this. Theres a lot of thought going into what species are going to continue to find
ways to thrive. Species with short lives have more generations to see evolution occur. A great
example of a short lived species with a high reproduction rate: fruit flies! Conifer trees have a lot
of gene variation, and that could also help. On the other hand, mammals with longer maturation
and reproduction periods, for instance may be hard pressed to see their lines continue.
If it wasnt for the many other problems that bee populations are facing right now, I
would have thought that theyd stand a pretty good chance against climate change. They have a
short lifespan compared to many other animals, though queens live three to four years. Imagining
they didnt have to deal with mites and other attackers, three to four years to bring a generation
with new variants again and again seems, at least to an inexperienced person like myself, enough
time to start adapting. Find five species, native or non native, and explain how you think they
will adapt or not to climate change.