Whitewater Preserve is 2,851 acres surrounded by the Bureau of Land Management San Gorgonio Wilderness and is part of the Conservancy’s 33,000-acre Sand to Snow Preserve System. It includes 1,280 acres subdivided into 40-acre parcels that were being aggressively marketed at the time of the Conservancy’s purchase. The subdivision’s road system has been removed and restored to preserve the integrity of the wilderness. The Preserve also includes the 291-acre former Whitewater Trout Farm that was purchased at a substantial discount through a partnership with Friends of the Desert Mountains and the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy. This scenic 291 acres lies at the end of Whitewater Canyon Road, north of Palm Springs off Interstate 10, and is an important portal into the San Gorgonio Wilderness and preserve lands.

Whitewater Canyon is an important wildlife corridor between the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains.  The lower canyon is a living laboratory of evolution where mountain, inland and desert species hybridize.  In addition to acquiring the 2,851-acre Whitewater Preserve, The Wildlands Conservancy purchased an additional 3,200 acres in the Whitewater corridor that were donated to the Bureau of Land Management.  These lands include endangered fringe-toed lizard habitat at Windy Point and the confluence of the Whitewater and San Gorgonio Rivers.