Reynolds Acquisitions in
Three Phases - Lake Elsinore
Location: North of the City of Lake Elsinore, North of I-15, and in the I-15 Temescal Valley corridor.
RCA Area: Lake Elsinore Area Plan, Rough Step Area 8
Size:
Phase 1 Acquisition - 123.16 acres on December 18, 2008
Phase 2 Acquisition - 519.12 acres on July 2, 2009
Phase 3 Acquisition - 606.18 acres on November 29, 2010
Total of Acquisitions - 1,248.46 acres
Plant Communities:
Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Grassland, Riparian Scrub - Woodland - Forest, and Woodland and Forests.
Species for Conservation:
Species for conservation in this area plan subunit include: Bell's sage sparrow, coastal California
gnatcatcher, Cooper's hawk, least Bell's viero, loggerhead shrike, mountain quail, southwestern willow
flycatcher, white-tailed kite, yellow-breasted chat, yellow warbler, bobcat, mountain lion, Stephen's
kangaroo rat, many-stemmed dudleya and Munz's onion
Importance:
On November 29, 2010, the Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) acquired 606.18 acres
from the Reynolds Trust in the Lake Elsinore area completing the last phase of a multi-year acquisition
project to acquire a total of 1,248.46 from the Reynolds Trust over a three year period. The properties
are within the Lake Elsinore Area Plan, within Sub Unit 1, the Estelle Mountain/Indian Canyon Area.
Phase 3 of this acquisition is a collaborative effort between the RCA and Wildlife Conservation Board
(WCB). A combination of local MSHCP fees and Federal Section 6 Funds were used to acquire this acquisition
phase.
Both the Phase 1 acquisition in December of 2008 and the Phase 2 acquisition in
July of 2009 were acquired with MSHCP Fees acquired from Permittees of the Plan
through the development process within their jurisidictions. Both acquisitions
contributed to the MSHCP Reserve Assembly and were reported in each year's MSHCP Annual Report.
These acquisitions phased over three years, provided the RCA the opportunity to work with
a willing seller over the three year period, thereby allowing the RCA to budget and prioritize
financial resources to acquire these properties consisting of 1,248.46 acres over an extended
period of time. The RCA would like to thank the Reynolds Trust for their patience and willingness to
extend escrow for Phase 3 so that the RCA could obtain a Federal Section 6 Grant.
Critical vegetation communities acquired in these three phases of acquisitions contributed each year in meeting the Rough Step Formula requirements within Rough Step Unit 8. These vegetation communities include: 946.51 acres of Coastal Sage Scrub, 65.46 acres of Grassland, and 22.30 acres of Riparian Scrub - Woodland - Forest. Additional lands contributing to Reserve Assembly that are not part of the Rough Step calculations include; 213.18 acres of Chaparrel and 1.0 acres of Woodlands and Forests that were also acquired as part of the acquisition. While Grasslands remain out of Rough Step the grasslands that were acquired through this acquisiton reduced the amount of acres that need to be acquired to bring this vegetation category back into Rough Step.
Wildlife and Habitat Value:
The Reynolds - Lake Elsinore acquisitions contribute to conservation efforts that focus on the assembly of Proposed Core 1 in the northern area of Lake Elsinore providing connections between Santa Ana Mountains, Temescal Wash and the foothills north of Lake Elsinore (Estelle Mountain, Sedco Hills). This acquisition conserves foraging habitat for raptors with a sage scrub-grassland ecotone and maintains core area linkages for both bobcat and mountain lions.
Aerial Photo of Reynolds Properties acquired in three phases
View from the south center of the Phase 3 acquisition toward the north area of the Reynolds Phase 3 Acquisition.
View from the west side of the Phase 3 acquisition toward the east with a view of Sedco Hills and Mount San Jacinto in the far background.
