LEMON GROVE, Calif. -- San Diego County Sheriff's Deputies in Lemon Grove are now working to restore a national wildlife refuge in Rancho San Diego that until Saturday was being trashed by transients living there.

Numerous complaints of crime sparked Saturday morning's sweep, which was a joint effort between the sheriff's department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Cuyamaca College and San Diego County Parks and Recreation.

Deputies found bags of trash, blankets, tarps and a clock hanging by a thread inside a national wildlife refuge.

"It's been going on for years and it's really sad," Rancho San Diego resident Wendy Risley told 10News. Dozens of complaints by citizens and nearby business owners were made about commercial, residential and vehicle burglaries believed to be directly linked to the transient population living behind the trees.

Sheriff's deputies from the Lemon Grove station set out on foot to sweep the area of transients and arrest anyone who, after more than a hundred days of warnings, had failed to leave.

"I used to ride my horses back there all the time and they seemed to be everywhere," said Joe Yacko, a resident of Rancho San Diego.

On Saturday, the transients had heeded the warnings and left to avoid arrest.

"Our goal is not to remove them and push them into another area, it's to provide help but unfortunately, they probably have gone into another area," said Christine Robbins of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

But a big concern still lies behind the trees that line Jamacha Road, which is potential damage to the endangered wildlife by all the trash that has surrounded them for years.

Sheriff's deputies were all working their normal shifts during Saturday's transient sweep. No extra funding was needed and no overtime had to be paid.