It has been less than a year since we made an announcement like this (and we hope this trend continues!). Chino Hills State Park was created along ridgeline boundaries to protect the viewshed for visitors and watershed for wildlife. Today, we are thrilled to announce that the Wildlife Conservation Board voted to fund two more ridgeline acquisitions—both properties have been coveted since the late 1970s!! View our Press Release.
Shopoff Realty Investments (Eastbridge property shown above) was a willing seller in a transaction to preserve its 80-acre inholding surrounded on three sides by Chino Hills State Park (yellow on the map below). And the first of a three-phase acquisition protects land owned by First National Investment Properties. The 320 acres of Phase 1 connects the State Park islands to the main portion of the Park (medium blue on the map below). We expect escrow to close on each property transferring title from private ownership to a protected status in the next couple of weeks. Our vision is to conserve the remaining parcels in Phase 2 and 3 over the next 18 months (light blue on the map below). All of these acquisitions will be managed in the short-term by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority with the ultimate goal to transfer title to the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Hills For Everyone took on the lead role with the Eastbridge acquisition and assisted The Conservation Fund with Phase 1 of the First National Investment Properties acquisition (shown below). Both of these properties include ridgeline land. If these parcels were developed into housing, State Park visitors would have likely seen houses on the ridges and the Park would have faced increased management costs. Both of these properties were identified in the State Park General Plan as high-priority acquisitions. Our key connectivity goal is to build an improved wildlife connection between the 14,100-acre State Park and the 4,000-acre Prado Wetlands. We will continue to facilitate these acquisitions by bringing our expertise, connections, and understanding of the landscape to the forefront of these conservation activities.
We are grateful for the work of so many, including, but not limited to: Shopoff Realty Investments, The Sauls Company, First National Investment Properties, The Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
We hope you are able to celebrate with us (remotely) these important conservation wins for our region! Please know that your financial support allows us to be involved in these conservation transactions with the goal of protecting additional lands for the region and ensuring the habitats crucial for wildlife remain protected. More of these hills are now protected for everyone–forever.
P.S. Phase 1 of the First National Investment Properties acquisition protected the main ridgelines on the eastern edge of Chino Hills State Park. No houses will ever encroach on these ridgelines now that the land will be permanently protected. This view is from the Aliso Canyon Overlook looking southeast.
