San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County, California, United States. History Native American tribes hunted and gathered along the shores of the estuary at least 8,500 years before European settlers arrived. Shell middens, the refuse of hunting-gathering societies, show the earliest inhabitants relied heavily on coastal resources, including foods such as scallops, clams, shark, barracuda, bonito, and abalone. More recently, the Kumeyaay occupied the area. They traveled seasonally to take advantage of resources both along the coast and inland. In 1769, the Portola Expedition named the area San Alejo in honor of Saint Alexius. In the early 1800s, Spaniards and other Europeans settled the region and established cattle ranches. The California Gold Rush brought an ever-increasing influx of people. Settlers established the community of Olivenhain, along Escondido Creek, as an experimental farming community. Farmers plowed and planted in the riparian corridors upstream of the estuary. It was the first time habitation had radically changed the vegetation and terrain...