friends of hellhole canyon open space reserve
Mission
To preserve, protect and enhance the cultural and natural resources in Hellhole
Canyon and to provide educational and recreational opportunities for visitors
to the Preserve.
History
Friends of Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve is a non-profit, community-based
educational and land trust organization in Valley Center, an unincorporated
community in the north inland area of San Diego County, California (a map is
available if needed).
The Friends organization was created by a small group of volunteer County
Parks Department docents concerned about how increasing development pressures
in Valley Center were threatening the integrity of the County owned and operated
Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve. Our aim is to preserve the canyon in its
natural state by increasing public awareness of the importance of preserving
open space, and the value of Hellhole Canyon, and averting development in significant,
but privately owned and thus vulnerable, portions of the canyon by purchasing
them and adding them to the Preserve. Our organization was incorporated in
the State of California as an educational and land trust organization in June
2000 and is a federal 501c3 tax exemption organization.
Who is involved?
Our organization is all volunteer and is composed primarily of residents who
live in Valley Center, many of them near Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve.
Since itÍs founding the Friends has developed a core membership, established
a regular newsletter, conducted community-education programs, and acquired
nearly 900 signatures on a petition demonstrating public support for protecting
and expanding the Preserve.
In the area of community education, for example, we have conducted educational
outreach in our community and had high school students research plants for
an educational brochure. We have held annual Halloween story tellings at the
Preserve and we conduct monthly guided hikes through the Preserve.
In the area of land preservation, we secured a purchase option on a 155-acre
parcel of land located in the center of Hellhole Canyon and surrounded on three
sides by the Preserve. The property supports sensitive biological resources
and provides optimal topography, cover, and habitat for facilitating animal
movement through the canyon. Evidence shows extensive movement of mammals and
migrating/dispersing birds. Disruption of this linkage could affect mountain
lions and other species that breed in the Preserve. The location of this parcel
makes it key to preserving regional and local connectivity between undeveloped
or public lands east and southeast of Hellhole Canyon and the San Luis Rey
River Valley to the northwest.
Our organization has received support from the Valley Center Community Planning
Group, an elected County land use advisory board. We work to coordinate our
activities with San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department. Our work
demonstrating public support for the Preserve strengthened the County of San
Diego Parks Department application for State of California Habitat Conservation
Funds to support the Brown property acquisition.
Projects
In March 2001 we secured a purchase option on a 155-acre parcel of land is
located in the center of Hellhole Canyon and is surrounded on three sides by
the Preserve. To date, and pending resolution of the current state budget crisis
and final allocation of grant awards, the Friends has assembled nearly $410,000
to complete funding for the Brown property project.
The Friends of Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve presents quarterly educational
activities focusing on such topics as native plants, animals and habitat, and
land use designed to make community members more aware of the value of natural
open space, and the importance of ensuring that open space for conservation,
parks, recreation and agricultural use is maintained in the face of rapid and
widespread residential development. Average attendance at these quarterly meetings
is 30.
Other current projects include a working core group of about 15 members
working with County rangers to do some post fire recovery work and an archaeological
surveying project at the Preserve. Goals
This Brown property acquisition is the start of the larger project of completing
the Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve by buying, or working with the County
to buy from willing sellers, the parts of Hellhole Canyon now in private hands
and therefore not included in the Preserve.
As a land trust organization, the Friends group is also committed to working
in a regional context, to ensure the preservation of wildlife corridors throughout
the region, and to identity and conserve additional corridors in rapidly developing
Valley Center area, so that wildlife movement between the Lake Wohlford area,
Daley Ranch, (a large open-space preserve in the city of Escondido), Geujito
Ranch, Hellhole Canyon, and then north and northwest to the San Luis Rey River
Valley can continue without destructive interruption. This will require purchase
of property, or inducing landowners to donate property in important corridors
for tax or other benefits.
Members of the Friends group have actively worked to support this greater
project through participation in the San Diego County General Plan 2020 planning
process, which will determine land use throughout the area, and through active
support of the North County MSCP planning process. We are also working with
residents of Pauma Valley, a less developed area which adjoins Valley Center,
to identify critical properties in both areas, and ensure their preservation.
Why we joined the Conservation Resources Network
We realize the importance of working with similarly motivated organizations
in order to accomplish land acquisition and management goals. We are looking
forward to being able to use the technical and organizational development resources
the network provides, such as connecting us with volunteers to help with restoration
projects in the preserve. We hope to realize the value of collaboration and
coordination and the importance of a regional perspective in the protection
and management of wild lands. We look forward to these benefits because of
our participation in the CRN.
How are we unique?
We are the only organization focused on preserving lands in and around Hellhole
Canyon. Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve is one of the largest of the County's
open space preserves (1700+ acres) and until recently was relatively unknown.
Our organization has also participated actively in the County's General Plan
2020 process. We have worked to increase citizen involvement in the planning
process focusing on planning issues in the Hellhole Canyon and Paradise Mountain
areas of Valley Center area.
Business Partnerships?
We are in the process of developing a corporate membership program. A number
of local businesses have supported our programs and efforts with contributions
and by distributing our materials at their businesses. We have a membership
in the VC Chamber of Commerce.
Education Partnerships?
We have no formal partnerships with local schools, however we do send flyers
and notices to schools that the teachers distribute to advertise our special
events targeting elementary children and parents. We have provided opportunity
for local high school honor students to complete community service projects
with the Friends. They have worked to fold and stuff our newsletter and participated
in plant and trail identification projects. One of our Board members is a teacher
at Orange and she arranged a logo design competition among high school art
students. An Orange Glenn High school student won a $100 award for designing
the Friends logo.
Job Opportunities:
We do not have any available (paying) position at this time. We are currently
recruiting for volunteer Board members.
Wish List
a) We need contributions to our Acquisition Fund so that we can acquire and
protect additional critical acreage.
b. We would like introductions to potential donors who could help us by making
large contributions to our Open Space Campaign.
c) We need help with printing costs of educational native plant, fire ecology, ïedgeÍ effects
and other outreach brochures and handouts.
d) We would like help with public relations and assistance building a more
positive public image.
e) We need help educating residents on our governments planning and land use
procedures and policies and ways residents can affect planning and land use
decisions.
f) We need help with organizational development topics such as board development,
strategic planning, membership recruitment, and financial planning.
Contact for more information:
Rick Landavazo, President
Friends of Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve
PO Box 221
Valley Center, CA 92082
760 751-1443
mobile 760 415-7701
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