Reserva de Hogwallows

Hogwallow Preserve offers a glimpse into the Tulare County landscape as it once was—rugged, rich with life, and shaped by time itself. Nestled near Lindcove, this 10-acre preserve protects an ancient and vanishing landform known as hogwallows, or mima mounds. These low, rounded mounds and seasonal vernal pools are estimated to be over 150,000 years old and once stretched across thousands of acres in the region. Today, only a handful remain—and this one, thanks to the Buckman family, has been preserved in its natural state for future generations.

El Dr. Phil Buckman compró el terreno en 1943, no con ánimo de lucro, sino por su profunda belleza e importancia ecológica. Con vistas panorámicas de Sierra Nevada y muestras estacionales de flores silvestres como el lirio de mariposa y la brodiaea, la propiedad ofrecía algo más que tierras de pastoreo o arcilla para ladrillos de adobe: paz, asombro y una profunda conexión con el lugar. Mientras las tierras cercanas se aplanaban y urbanizaban, el Dr. Buckman se aferró a la idea de que preservar esta topografía única era mucho más valioso que cualquier cultivo o venta.

Thanks to the foresight of the Buckman family, Hogwallow Preserve was donated to the Tulare County Historical Society in 1979 and is now protected in perpetuity. Today, soil scientists continue to study the mounds and swales, and visitors are invited to explore this rare patch of Central Valley land much as it looked before farming began—quiet, curious, and full of stories waiting to be discovered.