Key Link Secured for O.C. Wild Lands

Environmentalists’ longtime goal of preserving Coal Canyon as a wilderness area was assured Tuesday when the state closed escrow on the 649-acre parcel near the Riverside Freeway in north Orange County.

“We’re thrilled,” said Warren Westrup, a spokesman for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which bought the land for $40 million from St. Clair Co. of Newport Beach. “It’s been an ongoing project, and it’s a significant biological linkage.”

Dan Mitrovich, a consultant who negotiated the deal for the landowner, echoed that sentiment. “We’re very elated,” he said. “We’ve been on the phone nonstop with everyone . . . to thank them.”

Environmentalists say the canyon is important because it joins two large wilderness tracts in one of California’s fastest-growing areas. The link allows birds and animals--including deer, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, gnatcatchers, golden eagles, raccoons and opossums--to roam freely between Chino Hills State Park and Cleveland National Forest.

“This is arguably the most critical biological corridor in California,” state Parks Director Rusty Areias said in August when the state Public Works Board approved the funding to buy the land.

State officials say they plan to preserve the canyon indefinitely as wild habitat. “The concept,” Westrup said, “is to retire the underpass under the 91 Freeway and convert it into a biological corridor. If you don’t create these kinds of connections, you end up with islands of habitat that may sustain themselves for 50 or 100 years but eventually perish. By creating linkages and connections, you retain the richness and biodiversity of the species found in the parklands.”

To complete the project, state officials now are negotiating to buy a 32-acre parcel north of the freeway from a separate landowner. But environmentalists Tuesday were already applauding completion of a project they say they have wanted for years.

“I feel absolutely joyous,” said Claire Schlotterbeck, president of Hills for Everyone, which helped create the state park and championed the purchase of Coal Canyon. “This is a hot spot of biodiversity. Without its preservation, half the species there will die out. Tonight we’re going to celebrate.”

Bill Corcoran, conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club’s Angeles Chapter comprising Los Angeles and Orange counties, said: “It’s fantastic news. It shows that a group of citizens who put their minds to an effort like this, stick to their guns and build bipartisan support can succeed.

“We believe that everybody needs nature nearby, and a place like Coal Canyon is a step toward making that a reality.”

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Closing the Deal

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has completed its purchase of Coal Canyon, a 649-acre wilderness area described as an essential habitat for many plants and animals.