{"id":334231,"date":"2025-10-26T16:50:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T16:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334231\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T16:50:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T16:50:18","slug":"nonprofit-saves-san-diego-countys-tallest-waterfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334231\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit saves San Diego County\u2019s tallest waterfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mildred Falls. (Photo by Alexander S. Kunz)<\/p>\n

The San Diego River Park Foundation<\/a> has successfully purchased a 58-acre parcel from a private owner, the organization announced this week.<\/p>\n

Why is that important? <\/p>\n

Because that land includes the one and only Mildred Falls<\/a>, San Diego County\u2019s tallest waterfall, located about five miles west of the Pine Hills<\/a> community. Its dramatic cascade drops roughly 300 feet to where Ritchie Creek plunges toward the San Diego River.<\/p>\n

This is a huge accomplishment for the San Diego River Park Foundation, especially as Scenic Treasure Ritchie Creek is a key tributary to the San Diego River. <\/p>\n

Ownership of Mildred Falls will help the foundation protect a golden eagle nest, a California gnatcatcher habitat, southwestern pond turtles, arroyo toads, cougars, and other large mammals.<\/p>\n

More than 250 donors raised more than $300,000 to buy the property. With the sale closed, the waterfall and surrounding land are now conserved and held in trust for the public.<\/p>\n

Alexa Lewis-Rosenfeld, the philanthropy and communications manager for the San Diego River Park Foundation, shared that Matthias Blume \u2013 one of their longtime donors and volunteers \u2013 is a prime example of the community\u2019s dedication to preserving the waterfall. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am beyond excited. Supporting this acquisition\u00a0is literally a high point of my life,\u201d said Blume. \u201cLike a trophy,\u00a0it is not the falls themselves that are so important, but it is a 400-foot-tall tribute to successful conservation. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the tallest waterfall in San Diego County. You can see it all the way from Ramona,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mildred Falls (Photo by Alexander S. Kunz)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely awesome that the San Diego River Park Foundation was able to acquire and protect it. There is a bald eagle nest in the face of the cliff over which Mildred Falls flow. Isn\u2019t that amazing?\u201d<\/p>\n

With ownership complete, the foundation \u2019s immediate priorities are now land stewardship and public access planning. They are focusing on taking care of the land and creating a safe viewing area for visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most inspiring things for me is just to know that this land will be conserved forever, and its use will only be to protect it and conserve it for the wildlife,\u201d said Lewis-Rosenfeld.<\/p>\n

The Mildred Falls purchase is one more step in the foundation\u2019s multi-decade effort to protect land along the 52-mile San Diego River. The foundation has completed dozens of acquisitions in its 23-year history, conserving more than 2,600 acres of at-risk privately owned open space. Those efforts aim to safeguard a globally significant ecosystem, while still preserving public access and environmental resilience for the San Diego region.<\/p>\n

The conservation of Mildred Falls thus preserves not only a dramatically beautiful natural landmark, but an important stretch of riverine habitat \u2013 ensuring that future generations can experience the roar of San Diego\u2019s tallest waterfall and the wildlife it supports.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruly, every dollar mattered in this campaign, and together, we saved an iconic natural treasure in the region, and the falls, the tallest waterfall in San Diego County, will always be protected,\u201d Lewis-Rosenfeld said.<\/p>\n

For those who want to be notified when the waterfall is flowing, or learn about special guided trips, can sign up for Mildred Falls alerts by emailing mildredfalls@sandiegoriver.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mildred Falls. (Photo by Alexander S. Kunz) The San Diego River Park Foundation has successfully purchased a 58-acre…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":334232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,165534,165535,3549,165536,165537,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,165538],"class_list":{"0":"post-334231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-mildred-falls","12":"tag-pine-hills","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-san-diego-river-park-foundation","15":"tag-san-diego-waterfalls","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa","23":"tag-waterfalls"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115441502781718653","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}