January 29, 2024 - SAN DIEGO— Approximately 1,300 acres of wildlands that serve as habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife will be permanently protected under a legal agreement finalized last Friday over the Otay Ranch Village 14 project in San Diego County.

The wildfire-prone site near Chula Vista had been approved for a 1,100-home sprawl development with 10,000 square feet of commercial space. But with the state acquisition of the land, it will now be permanently preserved.

Conservation of this sensitive habitat comes after legal challenges from the Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Habitats League, Preserve Wild Santee, California Native Plant Society, Sierra Club and the California Chaparral Institute.

“This conservation win is excellent news for San Diego and the best outcome for struggling species like the Quino checkerspot butterfly,” said John Buse, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s such a relief to see not just an end to this flawed project but the permanent protection of an ecologically valuable site. It’s a big victory in the effort to protect Southern California’s rapidly vanishing wild places.”

In an acquisition and closing facilitated by the Nature Conservancy for $60 million, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will now own and manage the property as an expansion of the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. This property is joined with the nearby San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the development project in 2019, greenlighting a plan that would have paved over critical habitat for the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly, San Diego fairy shrimp, California gnatcatcher and some of the region’s last golden eagles. The project also would have brought new residents to a very high fire hazard severity zone that has already burned twice. And it would have contributed to a major increase in greenhouse gas pollution and attendant climate change.

A coalition of environmental groups sued the county for violating the California Environmental Quality Act in approving the Otay Ranch Village 14 project. The California attorney general later joined the lawsuit.

In 2021, a court ruled that the county had failed to consider and mitigate wildfire risks, greenhouse gas emissions, wildlife threats and other environmental issues associated with the project.

Following negotiations and reaching an agreement with the landowner to acquire the property for conservation, the California Wildlife Conservation Board approved $30 million for the purchase. Other funding for the property comes from the Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Homeland Security. The $25 million from the Department of Homeland Security came from a settlement agreement over construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“This win for wild nature was catalyzed by the lawsuit brought forth by environmental groups and the resulting legal settlement to sell the property for conservation,” said David Hogan, legal committee chair of the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club. “Anyone following news on the environment knows that nature is taking a beating across the world. So, it’s great to be able to share some really good news for a change that a place of global significance will be protected forever.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Endangered Habitats League is a Southern California conservation organization dedicated to ecosystem protection and sustainable land use for the benefit of all the region’s inhabitants.

The Sierra Club, which is America’s largest environmental organization, works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.

Preserve Wild Santee is a volunteer community environmental organization that has worked to protect and enhance the quality of life and preserve natural resources in the City of Santee and adjoining areas since 1994.

The California Chaparral Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to the preservation of the chaparral, helping communities thrive in California's Mediterranean-type climate, and supporting the creative spirit as inspired by nature.

California Native Plant Society is a statewide nonprofit organization that protects California’s native plants and their natural habitats through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy. CNPS has nearly 13,000 members and 36 chapters supporting its mission throughout California and Baja California, Mexico.
Source: Center for Biological Diversity