The agreement will permanently protect 54.7 acres of open space near an ancient Palmer’s oak in Jurupa Valley and expand the buffer around the oak from 450 to 1,000 feet, allowing the residential, industrial and commercial development to move forward while adding necessary protections for the ancient plant.
“I’m relieved that we can steer development away from an oak that’s so special it can’t be found anywhere else in the world,” said Aruna Prabhala, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Our goal was to minimize risk to the Jurupa Oak and this agreement does exactly that while also making it easier for hillside animals in the region to roam and thrive. This ancient oak is an example of the rich natural heritage protected by California’s environmental laws, and how those laws help us protect our natural heritage for future generations.”
“Preserving the unique Palmer’s oak and the hillside that has allowed it to survive all these millennia was our primary goal,” said Len Nunney of Friends of Riverside’s Hills. “And by adding additional conserved natural open space previously slated for development and a wildlife corridor linking the area to more than 350 additional acres of conserved land goes a long way to preserving habitat extensive enough to support a viable ecosystem.”…