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Forest makes this property an important piece of a larger tourist draw in the region. The PCT runs directly
through the property, drawing increasing numbers of hikers each year. In 2015, the long-distance hikers
received more than 4,453 permits to hike the PCT, and this number does not accurately reflect the thousands
of people who hike or visit portions of the PCT on any given day. The economic benefits provided to the
communities and campgrounds in the area are significant, and the health and wild beauty of the Santa Clara
River is an important draw to those visitors. Protection of this property would allow for a more robust trail
segment through the area and provide a draw for day-trippers looking or easy access from Soledad Canyon
Road and California State Route 14.

• (3) Restore river parkways throughout the state, including, but not limited to, Projects pursuant to the California River
Parkways Act of 2004.
This Project is consistent with the California River Parkways Act of 2004 in that it will provide recreational
opportunities via a robust trail easement for walking and hiking along the Santa Clara River Trail and protect
riverine and riparian habitat, including benefits to wildlife habitat and water quality. (See PRC section
5753(b)).

• (4) Protect and restore aquatic, wetland, and migratory bird ecosystems, including fish and wildlife corridors and the
acquisition of water rights for instream flow:
Located in a small gap of unprotected land between two swaths of the Angeles National Forest, this property
will protect an important fish and wildlife corridor and preserve instream flows in the Santa Clara River. As
previously mentioned, the South Coast Linkages Project identified the property as part of the San Gabriel-
Castaic linkage. The Santa Clara River is the focal element of this linkage, providing breeding sites and
traveling routes for a variety of wildlife, and supporting other critical natural processes such as natural flood
control, recharge of groundwater basins, and nutrient cycling. The Project area is identified as providing
"stepping-stone” habitat for semi-aquatic species, such as the western pond turtle, two-striped garter snake,
and mountain kingsnake; and also serves a suite of aquatic and riparian-dependent species (e.g., unarmored
three-spine stickleback, Santa Ana sucker, arroyo chub, California red-legged frog, arroyo toad). Water
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protected by the Project will also go toward managed releases for southern California steelhead habitat in the
Santa Clara River. Protection of the property will also ensure that the six acres of wetlands on the land remain
unspoiled by development.

• (9) Protect and restore rural and urban watershed health to improve watershed storage capacity, forest health, protection
of life and property, stormwater resource management, and greenhouse gas reduction:
The Project lands will be managed to protect and restore the health of the Santa Clara River as it traverses the
property and will benefit watershed resources. Retention and restoration of the natural features of the
landscape, including coastal sage scrub, riparian forest, and wetland habitat, will ultimately improve watershed
storage capacity, forest health, and reduce greenhouse gases. Maintaining natural cover on the landscape will
allow for ecosystem services such as water filtration and retention to occur to capture runoff that flows
directly into the Santa Clara River. The Project will protect existing flows into the river, prevent loss of
capacity due to sedimentation, and allow for substantial restoration by MRCA and partners in the future. It
will also support regeneration of important native vegetative cover on slopes adjacent to the Santa Clara
River.
• (11) Reduce pollution or contamination of rivers, lakes, streams, or coastal waters, prevent and remediate mercury
contamination from legacy mines, and protect or restore natural system functions that contribute to water supply, water
quality, or flood management:
The Project will prevent the development of a RV resort and campground and associated infrastructure that
would result in water quality degradation in the Santa Clara River through the possible release of effluent,
contaminated runoff, and sediment from grading, construction, and RVs and other vehicles.

7 South Coast Widlands, South Coast Missing Linkages: A Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion (2008), p.14
http://www.scwildlands.org/reports/SCMLRegionalReport.pdf

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