Earth Day Victory for Wildlife

Sycamore Canyon in Glendale (Photos – arroyosfoothills.org)

Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy Acquires a Million Dollars to Protect a Critical Canyon Corridor.

By News Desk

Just in time for Earth Day, Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy has been awarded a grant of $1.023 million by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), to purchase 10 acres of privately owned undeveloped land in Glendale, known as Sycamore Canyon, for permanent conservation as natural habitat for wildlife.

Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (AFC), a regional non-profit land conservancy dedicated to saving land for wildlife, has been working for over a decade to save these ten acres in Glendale from development. In 2013, the organization began surveying this busy thoroughfare for evidence of potential wildlife passage: conducting camera research, ecological studies, GIS mapping, and community canvassing.  They found that this parcel is the most frequently used wildlife crossing along East Chevy Chase Drive.  Then they garnered significant community support for the Sycamore Canyon project from committed local residents and conservation supporters, Chevy Chase Estates Association, and the City of Glendale.

“With this grant we can now protect this wildlife corridor that serves as a lifeline for a range of species, including mule deer, coyotes, black bears, and bobcats,” said John Howell, Chief Executive of AFC. “True conservation requires decisive action.  By preserving this habitat in perpetuity, wildlife will continue to use this route for passage all the way through the San Rafael Hills, which is also made possible by access to the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena through our Cottonwood Canyon preserve. This will be monumental for the health and well-being of our wildlife communities for generations to come.”

Chevy Chase Drive, a major street bisecting the San Rafael Hills, poses a hazardous impediment to wildlife who must cross. The protection of Sycamore Canyon will not only preserve the precious oak woodland, chaparral, and riparian habitats along the canyon’s seasonal stream, but also provide safe travel routes for wildlife moving through the open spaces to the west and east of the canyon.

The funding from CNRA comes as part of the agency’s Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation grant program, which funds projects mitigating the environmental impacts made by new or modified state transportation facilities. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy also contributed $100,000 for the acquisition.

Wildlife corridors play a fundamental role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by allowing animals to travel freely between disconnected habitats, facilitating their movement, genetic diversity, access to essential resources, and ability to adapt to environmental changes.  Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy’s achievement in permanently protecting Sycamore Canyon as native habitat for wildlife will contribute to California’s effort to conserve at least 30 percent of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030. Preserving natural habitat and promoting biodiversity not only benefits wildlife, : it helps ensure that our region remains resilient in a changing climate.

For more information about AFC and its conservation initiatives visit ArroyosFoothills.org