Transition Habitat Conservancy

 Mission :  Transition Habitat Conservancy is dedicated to preserving open space and natural wildlife habitat along the San Gabriel Mountain / Mojave Desert boundary for future generations

Transition Habitat Conservancy What we do  Transition Habitat Conservancy is a Pinon Hills based 501 (c) (3) charitable non-profit all volunteer organization created to preserve land in perpetuity for public open space.  Protect Natural Resources- Create Parks Watershed Protection* Wildlife Habitat * Natural Outdoor Classrooms

Transition Habitat Conservancy Reason for Creating THC was to Implement the Community Plan  Phelan/Pinon Hills Community Plan  Developed  Community Plan Adopted March 13, 2007 by County Board of Supervisors  53 Community Meetings to establish the priorities of this rural community make policies and set goals that guide our future development

Transition Habitat Conservancy Open Space Element  Policy Place high priority on preserving the open space character of Sand Canyon. Work with County Regional Parks, Special Districts and non-profit land conservancies to explore ways of acquiring property in Sand Canyon for public open space purposes.

Transition Habitat Conservancy Conservation Element  Protection and conservation of the plan area’s natural resources is vital to the preservation of the rural character.

Transition Habitat Conservancy Conservation Element  Goal PH/CO 1: Preserve the unique natural resources and features of Phelan/Pinon Hills including native wildlife, vegetation, and scenic vistas.

Transition Habitat Conservancy Conservation Element  Policies Support the purchase of privately owned land and the acquisition of conservation easements by Conservancy Organizations for the purpose of:  preserving unique habitats containing diverse and threatened species  to protect wildlife movement corridors, scenic vistas and recreational areas

Transition Habitat Conservancy THC Current Pinon Hills Project

Transition Habitat Conservancy Project  1000 acre park including headwaters of Mojave River Watershed  Pinon Hills highest peak 5800 ft  Excellent example diverse lower montane chaparral and woodland  3 ephemeral streams including Sheep Creek Wash (wildlife corridors)  Good upstream watershed with drainage and recharge for our aquifer in Sheep Creek Wash

Transition Habitat Conservancy Sheep Creek Alluvial Fan

Transition Habitat Conservancy “Recharge occurs from infiltration in upstream Sheep Creek Wash”- Izbicki  Along Sheep Creek Wash, the most rapid infiltration occurs in upstream reaches near the mountain front. Sheep Creek Wash flows as a result of precipitation and runoff in the San Gabriel Mountains, and surface flows in the wash are larger and more frequent near the mountain front.- USGS study, Izbicki et al

Transition Habitat Conservancy Importance of ephemeral streams  Ephemeral streams provide corridors from the Mojave desert to the San Bernardino National Forest along this transverse range  Shrubs tend to be taller and denser alongside washes, which provides cover for medium and larger sized animals that may use them as travel corridors. Mountain lions, bobcats, kit fox, coyotes need corridors.  In dry years, and particularly during prolonged drought, annual plants may only germinate in the vicinity of washes where the water table is relatively near the surface. Perennial shrubs adjacent to washes are often the only plants that produce flowers and fruit, which in turn are important to insects and the avian predators that feed on them.

Transition Habitat Conservancy What grows in our project area?  Diverse lower montane chaparral and woodland community is unique to the western Mojave. This vegetative type is so poorly represented on conservation lands that the California Natural Diversity Database, identified semi-desert chaparral as a threatened vegetation type.

Transition Habitat Conservancy What are we preserving?  The project area supports a wide range of biodiversity  Nature Conservancy’s two overlapping portfolio sites the Sheep Creek and Summit Valley/Cajon Pass portfolio sites. Criteria: 1)Viability of the plants, animals and natural communities over the long term, in places where ecological processes are largely intact or restorable 2) High biodiversity value 3) The suite of portfolio sites identified, if conserved, would protect the range of biodiversity of the Mojave Ecoregion  Special status species or species of concern include: short joint beavertail cactus, San Diego horned lizard, Loggerhead Shrike, Sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk and golden eagle  Black bear, mule deer, mountain lion, and bobcats are known to travel through these canyons. This land contains pinyon pine forests, Joshua tree forests, juniper, Manzanita, cholla and beavertail cactus.  Scenic vistas from the slopes and peaks include southern sierras, Victor Valley, Antelope Valley and Telescope Peak in Death Valley

Transition Habitat Conservancy How? Grants for Land Acquisition  Wildlife Conservation Board  Prop 84 AB31  Prop. 84 River Parkways THC hopes to apply with CSD co-applicant for Sheep Creek Parcels

Transition Habitat Conservancy Underserved County

Transition Habitat Conservancy 1000 Acre Grant Proposal Pending

Transition Habitat Conservancy Park Poor Communities  AB31 Local and Regional Parks $400 million Critically underserved communities Defined by < 3 acres/1000 residents We have 2 acres for 35,000 residents

Transition Habitat Conservancy Examples of Resources to Acquire Land  $483 million Wildlife Conservation Board  $26 million Proposition 84 River Parkways  $400 million Proposition 84 AB31 Local & Regional Parks (Communities with < 3acres of park/1000 people- we have 2 acres for 35,000 people)  Mitigation opportunities  Foundations  Landowner donations, conservation easement donations

Transition Habitat Conservancy Proposition 84 in general  All grants promoting partnerships and plans Between Land Trusts, Public Agencies, Cities, Education Groups, Special Service Districts, Water Providers, Regulatory Agencies  All grants promoting multi-purpose projects Parks that protect watershed, floodplains, wildlife and include opportunities for outdoor recreation and education, outdoor classrooms and field trips Connect people with land and nature

Transition Habitat Conservancy Methods of obtaining land  Fee title- purchase land from a willing seller  Conservation easement (purchased from or donated by willing landowner) Permanent deed restriction on land Requires baseline document and annual monitoring Can involve significant tax deductions if donated or can be purchased

Transition Habitat Conservancy Preserving Natural Resources  Watershed- If we preserve good upstream headwaters and watershed in their natural state and create parks we don’t have to fix problems later- we drain and infiltrate high quality water into the system  By developing linkages and synergies between all water interests we can develop multi-benefit projects that use expertise from across disciplines.

Transition Habitat Conservancy For our children and grandchildren