San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy
Mission
The Conservancy works as a catalyst for the establishment of a permanent
open space corridor in the San Dieguito River Valley, which will maintain
the natural and rural character of the valley, preserve and enhance
the natural and historical resources, locate and establish recreational
activities appropriately, and provide a river-long system of trails
to connect recreational and educational opportunities.
History
The Conservancy was formed by citizens in 1986 to protect the River
Valley and work for the creation of a formal River Park agency. A River
Park Joint Powers Authority, consisting of the 6 governments with jurisdiction
in the River Valley was created in 1989. Conservancy participated in
protection of property on Volcan Mountain in 1998 and the Santa Ysabel
Ranch in 2000. Professional management was established in 2001 with
the hiring of an Executive Director. The Conservancy purchased the 232-acre
Bernardo Mountain in 2003.
Who is involved?
The Conservancy is a membership organization; presently there are about
1200 members. Members are from throughout San Diego County but primarily
from the mid-North County area, with concentrations of members from
Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Escondido and Rancho Bernardo.
We have a regular program of volunteer habitat management in Crest Canyon,
upland of the San Dieguito Lagoon, which we conduct with the Kids Korps
and Ashley Falls Middle School in Carmel Valley.
Projects
Conservancy members participate in wide range of volunteer activities
conducted by the River Park including serving as docents in leading
hikes, conducting habitat management, constructing trails and building
and repairing River Park facilities. Conservancy members serve as the
“Park Partners.”
The Conservancy’s main activity is land acquisition to protect
the natural resource and open space character of the San Dieguito River
Valley. Our most recent acquisition was the $4.1 purchase, in conjunction
with the River Park, of Bernardo Mountain, just west of I-15 on the
north shore of Lake Hodges. We are currently involved in acquisition
activity involving: a property in the San Dieguito Lagoon; two properties
in San Pasqual Valley; a property in Highland Valley; a property in
Pamo Valley; and, in cooperation with the Volcan Mountain Preserve Foundation,
properties on Volcan Mountain.
Goals
Primary goals of the organization are: 1) to protect the resources of
the San Dieguito River Valley and preserve its dominant open space character;
2) implement a River Park primarily by the purchase of lands in an 80,000
acre River Park Planning area; and 3) implement a 55-mile Coast-to-Crest
Trail that runs from Del Mar to the crest of Volcan Mountain and extends
to connect with trail systems in the Anza Borrego Desert. Increasingly,
as most of the land in the River Park planning area is coming under
public control, we are redirecting our focus to assisting in the restoration
and management of these lands and to the protection, in open space,
of properties within the watershed but outside the River Park planning
area. In this later respect, we are concentrating on the potential of
conservation easements.
Why we joined the Conservation Resources Network
Believe that joint action is necessary to protect resource systems in
San Diego County. The natural integrity of the San Dieguito River Valley
depends on protections in other areas of the County and connection to
them – for habitat and in terms of outdoor recreation
See CRN as an opportunity to share our resources and experiences and
to take advantage of the capabilities and lessons-learned of others
Engage in a lot of partnership projects with other groups; believe
that the CRN can facilitate these types of joint arrangements
Believe that some services can be best and most efficiently provided
on a shared basis. Expect to contribute cooperatively to the development
of these joint services and to take advantage of these services, such
as the development and ongoing maintenance of Geographic Information
System capabilities
Believe that the conservancy community needs a shared point of visibility
within the San Diego community and a collaborative mechanism to participate
in the public dialogue and decision making that significantly impacts
our mission of resource protection
How are we unique?
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy is one of the older conservancies
in San Diego County and have been a model in a number of respects –
such as the development of a Geographic Information System
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy is one of the few conservancies
whose mission and scope extend throughout a major watershed
The Conservancy has probably the largest membership base – about
1200 regular dues paying members
The Conservancy has been involved in some of the largest land purchase
transactions in the County, such as Santa Ysabel Ranch and Bernardo
Mountain
Business Partnerships?
We have a “Business Relations Committee
We have been involved with programs with corporations that involve events
such as Conservancy-led hikes. We have made presentations to businesses and participated in business-sponsored
environmental fairs Education Partnerships?
See above concerning programs with the San Pasqual Academy.
See above concerning ongoing relationship with Ashley Falls Middle School
Conservancy led multi-agency development of a “San Diego Wetlands”
Teachers Guide and Learning Package
Conservancy has for about 10 years a program of mini-grants (up to $200)
that go to schools to support environmentally related projects Internship Opportunities: (show only if that group has any)
We are registered with the USCD Urban Studies program but have not yet
had an intern. We have been involved in supporting a number of student projects
Wish List
Technical assistance with planned giving
Biological services associated with habitat restoration
Advanced GIS applications
Legal assistance associated with acquisition of rights, such as conservation
easements
Contact for more information:
Executive Director, Craig Adams
Phone: 858-755-6956
Fax: 858-356-4222
Email: craig@sdrvc.org
Webpage www.sdrvc.org
|
