Baldwin Lake and Meadows
Map SatelliteBaldwin Lake, a shallow lake fed by springs and creeks, lies at the eastern end of Big Bear Valley and is one of the few natural lakes in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is bordered by meadows, both wet and dry, and, in some parts, by a ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, forest or a pinyon-juniper woodland with Pinus monophylla and Juniperus occidentalis.
Botanically it is of extreme importance because of the number of rare plants that occur here. Thirteen rare or threatened species have been collected in this small area. Eight are known from only this or the Big Bear area. They include Arabis parishii, Arenaria ursina, Castilleja cinerea, Eriogonum kennedyi var. austromontanum, Mimulus exiguus, Pyrrocoma uniflora var. gossypina, Sidalcea pedata and Thelypodium stenopetalum. Three others, Ivesia argyrocoma, Linanthus killipii and Taraxacum californicum, occur here and in a few other localities in the San Bernardino Mountains. Two, Echinocereus engelmannii var. munzii and Poa atropurpurea, have a somewhat wider distribution and are found in several locations in the southern California mountains.
Animals are abundant, particularly birds. Bald eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, are regular winter visitors, and numerous ducks rest and feed here during migration. The cinnamon teal, Anas cyanoptera, breeds here. Other species include pinyon jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, and green-tailed towhee, Chlorura chlorura. Cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, have been observed building their nests under large limbs on the pines, a phenomenon not known to occur elsewhere.
Integrity: Portions of the area have been developed and further development is threatening.
Use: Research, educational, observational. Some private.
June 1982
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman