Press Release
Escondido Creek Conservancy, County secure Del Dios propertyPress Release October 2, 2002 • On Monday, September 30, 2002, The Escondido Creek Conservancy (TECC) along with the County of San Diego closed escrow on 345 acres of open space between Lake Hodges and Escondido Creek. The purchase was made to preserve the land in perpetuity as open space and wildlife habitat. • The land, previously owned by Adnan Derbas, was slated for an 84 lot development, known as the Montreux project. Mr. Derbas generously sold the property for less than he probably could have received from a developer. • Details of the transactions include the County of San Diego purchasing 92 acres, of the 345, for $1.2 million and TECC purchasing the remaining 253 acres for $3.3 million. The San Diego Foundation assisted TECC in obtaining a $3.3 million loan to complete the purchase. An agreement between TECC and the County of San Diego calls for the sale of TECC’s 253 acres to the County over a 3 year period. • Much of the credit for preserving this beautiful and important parcel goes to Mr. Derbas, Third District Supervisor Pam Slater, the TECC Board of Directors and other local environmental organizations such as the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy and others. • With preservation of these 345 acre, wildlife movement will be unencumbered between the Escondido Creek watershed and the San Dieguito River to the south. The 345 acres are adjacent to more than 1600 acres of contiguous open space preserved by Olivenhain Municipal Water District (OMWD), TECC and the Rancho Cielo Development. The 345 acre open space parcel also provides opportunities to connect trails within the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve (owned by OMWD) with those of the San Dieguito River Valley Park. • The preservation of this 345 acres is a milestone in North County habitat preserve planning and will protect coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, and chaparral habitats as well as ridgelines viewed from Lake Hodges, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo and Harmony Grove. Additionally, these open spaces provide a large contiguous area of wildlife habitats, which is extremely valuable in terms of connectivity. This continuous open space corridor will provide a functional migration path for wildlife. • Noteworthy sensitive species found on the 345-acres are the Encinitas baccharis (Baccharis vanessae) and the only nesting pair of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) west of I-15 in San Diego County. • TECC’s vision is to continue with creating an even larger corridor of open space stretching from the San Dieguito River across the Escondido Creek watershed to preserved open spaces in the City of Carlsbad. There is a real possibility that over 3,000 acres can be preserved as open space in the next few years. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Escondido Creek Watershed The Escondido Creek originates in the hills northeast of Escondido near Valley Center, and flows southwest through the city of Escondido to the ocean at San Elijo Lagoon (see TECC brochure for map of watershed). This vital watershed encompasses approximately 77 square miles and is home to a variety of natural habitats including oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage scrub and chaparral. The Escondido Creek Conservancy TECC was formed in 1990 (incorporated under Section 501(c)(3) in 1991) by a group of local, volunteer citizens concerned with protecting the Escondido Creek watershed which contains one of the few year-round creeks in San Diego County. Dedicated to the preservation and protection of Escondido Creek and the natural open space within its watershed, TECC’s goal is to establish a contiguous area of open space along the creek to preserve wildlife habitat and corridors, and to protect view sheds for the benefit of area residents. For more information contact: Leonard Wittwer (760)744-9052 leonardwittwer@earthlink.net OR Tim Costanzo (760)744-3056 TECC P.O. Box 460791 Escondido, CA 92046 www.escondidocreek.org