Many native Orange Countians can remember a view, or a place that has been forever altered if not totally obliterated by suburban development.
Few places remain as they appeared a hundred years ago.
The National Audubon Society's Starr Ranch Sanctuary is one of those landscapes, and this is the story of those who have lived and worked among these hills over the centuries. The history behind the 4,000 acres that comprise the Starr Ranch Sanctuary crosses cultures and spans centuries. Centuries later, in 1776, the area came under the authority of the Spanish Catholic Church. The Native American Indians encountered by the Padres were associated with the nearby missions and called the Luise o and Juane o tribes. Members of these tribes were relocated to the missions from their villages, including a winter camp located in the Sanctuary's Upper Bell Canyon.