The Roadrunner Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley www.northfriends.org February 2010 Since 1991, the Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley FRIENDS NEWS & PROJECTS: have been working to preserve and protect the northern San LAWSUIT FILED OVER VILLAGES OF LAKEVIEW Jacinto Valley, the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, and Mystic SPECIFIC PLAN AND GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT Lake. We do this by sponsoring nature walks at the wildlife APPROVAL by Sue Nash: The Riverside County Board of area, writing comment letters, and attending multiple Supervisors approved the 11,350 unit Villages of Lakeview meetings on the many land use and transportation issues (VOL) Specific Plan 342 at their March 23, 2010 board that affect this beautiful valley. In March the Riverside meeting. At the February 23 board meeting, where the board County Board of Supervisors (with one no vote) approved an gave its tentative approval, Supervisor Bob Buster made 11,350 unit housing project on the southern boundary of the extensive comments about the project wondering how such a San Jacinto Wildlife Area. The project, if built, will have large project could possibly benefit the county when there are devastating impacts on the SJWA, its plants and animals. 30,000 homes already approved by the county and cities The project will also destroy valuable prime agricultural within the county and they are not yet built. He also sharply lands. Please take time to read our newsletter and consider criticized placing so many homes next to the San Jacinto the many urban pressures that have the ability to change the Wildlife Area. Supervisor Marion Ashley was strong wildlife values of the SJWA for generations to come. Join us supporter of the project and read a long statement touting its as we speak out and ask, if not demand, that our elected benefits. (Supervisor Ashley is running unopposed for officials make better land use and planning decisions. reelection in June.) On April 22, the San Francisco environmental law SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA News: firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger filed a complaint SAN JACINTO LAKE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT, challenging the project on behalf of the Friends and the December 22, 2009 by Tom Benson, Compiler, San Sierra Club. On the same day, the Center for Biological Bernardino Valley Audubon Society: Seventeen intrepid Diversity filed a complaint representing themselves and the volunteers braved some early morning rain to participate in San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society. The city of the San Jacinto Lake Christmas Bird Count on December 22, Riverside also filed a lawsuit opposing the Village of 2009. The rain quickly cleared giving way to a cold and Lakeview. This project, which is projected to be the core of breezy but mostly nice day. Highlights from the day’s count the ‘new city’ of Lakeview with a population of over 100,000 included: Snow/Ross’s Goose (flying over the Sanderson people, will destroy the San Jacinto Wildlife Area (SJWA). sewage ponds), Bald Eagle (Lake Perris and San Jacinto The placement of high density dwelling units on the southern Wildlife Area), Ferruginous Hawk ( SJWA), 2 Golden Eagles boundary of the SJWA will have devastating impacts to the (Sanderson sewage ponds), all four expected falcons. wildlife area and destroy prime agricultural lands. Glaucous-winged Gull (first winter, Ramona Expressway and The 19,000 acre San Jacinto Wildlife Area is a state Lake Perris), 2 gray Flycatchers (SWJA), Vermilion Department of Fish and Game facility; its lands are partial Flycatcher (Sanderson sewage ponds), Yellow Warbler mitigation for the State Water Project; it is a Stephens’ (SJWA), Brewer’s Sparrow (Lakeview Mountains?), and a Kangaroo Rat reserve for the Riverside County Habitat possible Purple Finch (SJWA). We did not find Mountain Conservation Agency (RCHCA); it is a cornerstone reserve in Plover, Long-eared Owls (second consecutive year we’ve the Riverside County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation missed it), or Short-eared Owl. Thanks to everyone who Plan (MSHCP), the reserve system which, in theory, is came out and counted birds! supposed to protect and preserve the county’s endangered animals and plants. Light pollution, air pollution, damage to STATE FURLOUGH DAYS at the SJWA: Please be aware wildlife area lands which would harm rare and endangered that the San Jacinto Wildlife Headquarter Offices are closed plant and animal species, building next to the flood plain of the first, second and third Friday of the month due to the the San Jacinto River, collapsible soils, loss of prime state budget crisis. All of the closings are subject to agricultural lands, availability of water, feral animals, and change. The usual office hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If illegal entry by residents, and the economic viability of the you need to contact the wildlife area manager and staff to project are some of the other concerns regarding this project. ask questions, please allow ample time for them to respond. And the project will have devastating impacts on the rural If you have to leave a message, they will contact you as soon communities of Lakeview and Nuevo. as they can. The gates to the wildlife area are usually open The Friends are working on a separate fundraising from 7:00 a.m. to sunset every day, furlough days, letter which will have more details. We and the attorneys feel weekends, state and federal holidays included. Please confident that this project can be stopped, but we need your remember that the SJWA staff is doing their best to help. accommodate visitors to the wildlife area and answer all of your questions. reduce the catastrophic impacts of global warming on the earth. The Friends, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, California Native Plant Society and several Native American tribes submitted written comments on the Notice of Preparation the project. The Riverside County planner for the is Matt Straite at 951-955-8631 or [email protected] RIVERSIDE COUNTY GENERAL PLAN UPDATE CONTINUES by George Hague: Riverside County approved their General Plan (GP) in 2003 and was required to begin a General Plan Update (GPU) five years later. They have been working on the update since 2008, but there has been little public input during the last six months. The county formed the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) a few years ago. While the majority of the GPAC members are related to either water or development interests, the environmental community has one vote. George Hague, a Southern Boundary, SJWA. VOL project site is on the right. Friends board member, represents the environmental community on the GPAC and Ann Turner-McKibben, also a Friends board member, is the alternate. The committee was FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN SAN JACINTO VALLEY V. meeting on a regular basis until last October. There has DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME by Sue Nash: On been no input from the GPAC committee since that time, and April 19, the Riverside County Superior Court (Judge Fisher) there are no meetings scheduled for April or May. It appears continued the hearing on the Friends objections to the return the County is having difficulty funding the experts which they on the writ of mandamus that we won in the Court of Appeal must hire to do important studies for the general plan update. until Friday April 30 at 1:30 p.m. Hopefully, the court will They are writing grants in hopes of acquiring the necessary read the Friends’ objections and order the Wildlife funds to move forward and get the GPU back on track. The Conservation Board and the Department of Fish and Game Friends are very concerned that the county is not doing a (DFG) to cease all activity on the Project Site which may Climate Action Plan (CAP) as part of the general plan update harm the environment until an Environmental Impact Report, process. They plan on doing some interim measures related a Negative Declaration or a Mitigated Negative Declaration is to Air Quality/Green House Gases and will hopefully adopt a prepared for the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Wetlands CAP within a couple of years. We are concerned that they Restoration Project. Our goal is to redesign the configuration did not require the 11,350 unit Villages of Lakeview Specific and the wetlands flooding management of the duck ponds Plan 342 to be part of the General Plan Update, but instead created by this project so that all of the species (rare plants, decided to approve the VOL project before the general plan burrowing owls, tri-colored blackbirds, and numerous update was completed. The Draft Environmental Impact shorebirds) can prosper. We are hoping that DFG will soon Report (DEIR) for the general plan update may come out in join us in complying with the California Environmental Quality late summer or early fall, and it is very important to have Act and improving the management of the SJWA. organizations like the Friends making comments at that time. There are many ways the General Plan Update's FRIENDS MAKE COMMENTS ON THE MOTTE LAKEVIEW environmental impact report (EIR) could have an impact on RANCH SPECIFIC PLAN 366, GENERAL PLAN the San Jacinto Wildlife Area and all of Riverside County. AMENDMENT, CHANGE OF ZONE by Sue Nash: This 628 Public hearings before the county Planning Commission will acre mixed-use development is proposed adjacent to the probably take place late this year or early 2011. Once southern boundary of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, north of approved by the county Planning Commission, the GPU will the Ramona Expressway and northeast of the Villages of then go before the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for Lakeview project site.