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San Diego Project Will Establish 56 Cactus Patches for Coastal Cactus Wrens

Coastal cactus wren foraging on a prickly pear cactus
Conservation · Restoration

A new habitat-restoration project at San Diego National Wildlife Refuge will create 56 cactus patches across 139 acres to support the coastal cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus sandiegensis). Earth Discovery Institute announced on 27 February 2026 that it had secured funding from California, USA’s Wildlife Conservation Board for the three-year project in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The restoration area lies about four miles southeast of Lemon Grove in San Diego County. The Wildlife Conservation Board identifies the site as a high-priority management area because it has the potential to support a large coastal cactus wren population, but existing cactus scrub is fragmented and much of the site is dominated by invasive grasses.

The 56 new cactus patches will be positioned to reduce distances between existing habitat patches and create the dense cactus thickets that the birds use for nesting, shelter and dispersal. The work is also intended to reduce wildfire risk in the restoration area.

Invasive Grasses Will Be Treated Before and During Cactus Establishment

Before and alongside cactus establishment, crews will treat invasive grasses and broadleaf weeds. The project plan includes hand pulling, line trimming and targeted herbicide treatment to remove accumulated plant material and suppress regrowth. Monitoring will follow protocols developed by the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Wildlife Conservation Board allocated $737,856 to Earth Discovery Institute for the work. The project is being carried out cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastkeepers and the California Climate Action Corps, with the refuge as the landowner.

Coastal cactus wrens depend on mature cactus scrub in southern California, where populations have become increasingly fragmented as habitat has been lost or degraded. The project targets that fragmentation by expanding cactus scrub and narrowing gaps between existing patches.

Sources and image credit

  1. Earth Discovery Institute. (2026, February 27). February 2026 newsletter. https://www.earthdiscovery.org/post/february-2026-newsletterPrimary project-implementer announcement published 27 February 2026. Earth Discovery Institute states that it secured Wildlife Conservation Board funding for a three-year cactus scrub restoration project at San Diego National Wildlife Refuge in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  2. Wildlife Conservation Board. (2026, February 26). Agenda for the February 26, 2026 WCB Board Meeting: San Diego Cactus Scrub Restoration. https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=241333&inline=Official project description confirming the $737,856 grant, 56 cactus patches across 139 acres, invasive-plant treatment, habitat-connectivity objectives, wildfire-risk reduction and monitoring protocols.

Image: Steve Brad / U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center — coastal cactus wren at Camp Pendleton, California, photographed 8 May 2013. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · Public domain (U.S. Geological Survey) · Source

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Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus Explore species

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