California Botanic Garden Botanist and CWC Board Member Naomi Fraga Featured in NY Times Story

Dr. Naomi Fraga, botanist at our local California Botanic Garden and CWC Board member, has been featured in a May 22 article in the NY Times for her work studying endangered plants.

Dr.Fragas’ “ultimate goal is to secure endangered or rare species designations for the most threatened plants. That can lay the foundation to legally force land managers to make accommodations for threatened species,” points out the Times’s article.

If you do not have a NY Times subscription, you can read about the amazing and difficult work she does by googling “Naomi Fraga NY Times”.

Clara Oaks Acquisition Nears Reality

by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com
A nearly 50-year-old vision to preserve Claremont’s hillsides may be on the brink of realization, thanks to the advocacy of a few hardworking residents and a welcome piece of the state’s budget surplus.
With the leadership of Assemblymember Chris Holden, the state legislature voted last Friday to allocate $2.7 million toward Claremont Wildlands Conservancy’s effort to acquire the Clara Oaks development site. This windfall, combined with local fundraising, a $3 million commitment secured by State Senator Anthony Portantino and another $1 million from the California Natural Resources Agency, means the conservancy has reached its goal to raise $7.2 million.
The $7.2 million figure is derived from a 2018 appraisal of the property. If the conservancy could raise the money, the developer Clara Oaks Estate, said it would sell the hillside parcel to the conservancy.
Located adjacent to The Webb Schools on the northwestern edge of Claremont, Clara Oaks, at 103 acres, is the last large chunk of wild land that could support a housing development. The addition of the Clara Oaks site would extend the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park across the entire span of our local hills.
“This is wonderful news. I didn’t find out until Friday afternoon, and I didn’t confirm it until Saturday because I wanted to be absolutely sure that it was right,” said Lissa Petersen, of the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy.
She called Holden’s Deputy District Director Matt Lyons, and he confirmed the money had been secured. “It’s a done deal for the conservancy. Great job on your tireless advocacy,” Lyons told her.
In April, Holden’s office asked the conservancy to submit a proposal. The request came in on a Wednesday, and they submitted it on Friday, complete with support letters.
“We asked for the full amount that we needed, and we were just thrilled that we got it,” Petersen said.
In 1974, all of Claremont’s hillsides were privately owned. What would become the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park began around that time with the creation of the 40-acre Sycamore Canyon Park. In 1996 a deal was struck with Pomona College to add 1,200 acres, including the very popular “loop trail.” Since then, there have been seven additional acquisitions, including the $11.5 million purchase of Johnson’s Pasture, which was paid for in part by a bond measure approved by Claremont voters in 2006.
Claremont Wildlands Conservancy incorporated in 2000 in order to assist in the effort to stop the development of Johnson’s Pasture. Since then, it has been key in the ongoing effort to preserve as much hillside land as possible. More than 2,500 out of 3,100 acres are now part of the city-owned wilderness park, which has become a recreational destination for the entire Inland Valley.
Petersen, conservancy president Terry Grill and Arlene Andrew have worked to acquire Clara Oaks for years. In November they launched a more focused campaign to raise enough money to buy the parcels and integrate them into the existing Claremont Hills Wilderness Park.
If the developer elects to push forward with building homes at Clara Oaks, it has many hurdles to overcome, including a conditional use permit, a tentative tract map, a zone change, a specific plan and a corresponding general plan amendment.
“The city is nearing the final stages of preparation of a draft [environmental impact report] to release for public review and comment. The EIR will analyze and discuss all associated environmental impacts of the proposed project on the environment,” according to Brad Johnson, Claremont’s community development director.
Perhaps the biggest challenge the developer will face is the land itself, which is in a very high fire hazard severity zone as defined by Cal Fire.
“The big hurdle is the fire danger. Building in the foothills right now is very risky,” Petersen said. “There were seven major fires in our foothills in the last century, and Clara Oaks burned in every one of them. Access on Webb Canyon Road is also a serious hurdle to developing there.”
Add to that list a Los Angeles County entitlement process, because the sole access to Clara Oaks — Webb Canyon Road — is on unincorporated county land.
The last time Clara Oaks had a public hearing, the issue of access brought out several residents of Webb Canyon who expressed concern about increased traffic on the narrow two-lane road, and the very real possibility they could be trapped in their cars in the event of a fast-moving wildfire.
Aside from Clara Oaks, roughly 400 acres of hillside land remains in private hands. The parcels are a patchwork, with none large enough to build more than about four homes. Palmer Canyon is also private, but since the Grand Prix Fire in 2003 building has been suspended there.
Now everyone involved is in a holding pattern of sorts while the Trust for Public Land, including Claremont resident Hugh Coxe, negotiates with Clara Oaks Estate, LLC to determine whether a deal can be reached.
“It is a great honor to be able to advocate on behalf of the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy and to help preserve open spaces and enrich the quality of life by expanding a wilderness corridor in the San Gabriel Valley,” Holden said in a statement. “I am proud to have secured $2.7 million that was supported by my colleagues in the Legislature and approved by Governor Newsom

Saving Clara Oaks for Preservation and Public Access

 

Green = parcels in Claremont’s Wilderness Park

Blue = parcels in LA County’s Marshall Canyon Park

Red = Clara Oaks

In 1995 almost all of the 3000 acres of Claremont’s foothills were in private hands. Today only 500 acres are and the 103 acres owned by Clara Oaks Estates, LLC are available to purchase and add to the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park if the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy can raise the appraised value of $7.2 million. The developer is willing to sell, but just in case we cannot raise sufficient funds, the owner has filed with the City of Claremont an application for a Specific Plan and accompanying Environmental Impact Report to develop 40 or more luxury homes on the parcel. We may have less than a year to secure Clara Oaks’ future as part of the wilderness park.

Clara Oaks bridges the slopes between Claraboya and Webb Canyon Road just north of Webb Schools. It is a beautiful natural landscape, the site of the eastern waters of the San Gabriel River watershed and home to numerous species of native plants, birds and animals. Its location helps to form a link between Claremont’s Wilderness Park and the Los Angeles County Marshall Canyon Regional Park which extends toward the green corridor along the San Gabriel foothills. Wonderful maps and a more extensive description of the birds, plants, animals and benefits of retaining this property as open space can be found in our “Clara Oaks Campaign Packet.

We are fortunate to have the assistance of the national nonprofit Trust for Public Land to apply for grants from voter approved measures, governmental agencies and from local foundations. We are also working to raise local funds to fill funding gaps and demonstrate to major grantors that the community is committed. The Board of CWC has launched the local drive by pledging $75,000, the bulk of its budget, to the purchase. We are accepting donations to the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy through a PayPal portal on our web site or through checks sent to our mailing address. We are also able to accept pledges of funds using this form to be donated at the time of property ownership transfer.

Click on “Donate to CWC” on menu at the top to pledge or make a contribution.

If we succeed, we will save this splendid natural preserve for foxes and mule deer, for laurel sumac and western sycamores, and for hikers and nature lovers now and in the future.

Claremont Courier

City Receives 20-acre Parcel to Expand Wilderness Park

January 13, 2021 1:52 PM

The city of Claremont received a gift of 20 acres of land in the hills east of Webb Canyon, according to the city manager’s weekly update. The parcel, which was donated by Arthur and Susan Bertolina, will be preserved as open space.

“The city has had a long-standing commitment to preserving open space in our hillsides. I would like to thank the Bertolina family for their generous gift, which ensures more of our wilderness corridor remains preserved,” Acting City Manager Adam Pirrie said.

The parcel, which is appraised at $300,000, is bounded by three privately owned parcels to the north, west, and south and is adjacent to the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park on  the east. While the city issued a news release about the gift dated December 21, it was just announced Friday.
“The city would like to thank the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy for its role as a liaison between city staff and the Bertolinas throughout the negotiations and for its significant contribution to the costs of the transaction,” city officials said in a statement.

Terry Grill, president of the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy thanks the Bertolinas and congratulates the city for the project’s success.

“We are grateful to the Bertolinas for contributing this valuable open space to the Wilderness Park,” she said. “This addition is one more step toward our vision of extending the park westward from Johnson’s Pasture so that it links up with Marshall Canyon, helping to form a continuous wildlands corridor along the face of the San Gabriel foothills as far as Monrovia. And we commend our city, which supports efforts to expand the parkland in our hillsides and manage it effectively.”

Sycamore Canyon Gets Repairs

new stairs at Sycamore
New stairs at Sycamore Canyon

Good News! Restoration work has begun on the Sycamore Canyon portion of the CHWP. Phase 1 has been completed with the reconstruction and relocation of the stairs at the trailhead near the Thompson Creek Trail.

Phase 2 will focus on the rest of the trail, including the addition of “landing pads” on switchbacks. The hope is to get this second phase completed before the end of this fiscal year.

Phase 3 will address erosion. This will be ongoing and will include the Friends of the Wilderness Park and the help of Scouts and reserve Rangers.

~Meg Mathies is a CWC Board member and a volunteer with the Friends of the Wilderness Park.

 

Giving Tuesday

Next Tuesday, Dec. 3, is “Giving Tuesday.” This is a great opportunity to show your support for the Claremont Wildlands Conservency and our efforts on behalf of the Claremont Wilderness Park with your tax deductible donation. Simply click on “Donate to the CWC” and use PayPal or print the donation form and mail it in.

Reflections of a Pasture Walker

The focus of so much energy and effort and angst
The coming together of passion and politics and unexpected partnerships…
And now it’s finally ours!?
Be careful, though, when you say this.
Maybe it’s not really ours as in to own, or to possess.
Although we may walk there, or bike there,
Or simply know that it’s there…
We don’t live there.
We will never build a house there now, thank you very much.
We are but guests in the home of those who do live there—
The deer, the hawk, the coyote and bobcat
The sage and chamise, the sumac, and cactus and oak,
We are welcome to visit, but not to stay,
In this chaparral-and-meadow, fire-,water,-and-wind-designed corridor,
Narrowly perched between the rugged mountains above
And the human-filled valley below.
No, the Pasture owns itself, as it always has,
What really transfers in the sale of real estate
Is not ownership, but obligation:
Responsibility to protect, to preserve, to learn and to track,
To understand that property and plants and wildlife,
And watershed and airshed and view-shed
Have intrinsic value that cannot be owned,
But can be lost if we lose sight of our goal,
If we become weary of walking the walk.
As we celebrate our success in purchasing Johnson’s Pasture
And appreciate the many folks who made it possible,
We honor them best by owning our ultimate and never-ending responsibility:
To pass on to our children and their children and their children’s children
The legacy of living in harmony with the Earth
And with each other.

-B. Speak

12 June 2007