San Gabriel Mountains and Watershed Special Resource Study
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Wildlife

 

  • Greater emphasis on wildlife, special status species, wildlife corridors.
  • Wildlife corridors should be saved/ improved for the health of wildlife.
  • Consider wildlife protection throughout the forest (not just in the San Gabriel River watershed).
  • Want increased wildlife.
  • Range of biodiversity in both San Gabriel Mountains and Puente/Chino Hills - should highlight rare and endangered species - important to layout plan to educate people on biodiversity and species. Increase profile of biodiversity.
  • NPS's role in Alternative C
    • Emphasis on lower portion of watershed
    • Recreate where we live
    • Conservation - how to connect Puente Hills
    • Wildlife connections, corridors
  • Wildlife corridors - need improved/protection.
  • Protect native species of fish. Assessment of native fish species.
  • Wildlife corridors connection to information centers and using them to educate.
  • Focus on preserves of native species and plants. Balance of recreation and habitat. E.g. looking at recreation - don't expand OHV areas. Watershed must be protected. Invasives and exotics taken out.
  • Wildlife corridors should be a part of other alternatives, not just in "A."
  • Preserve Big Horn Sheep habitat.
  • Emphasize protection of wildlife corridors between two parts of Angeles Forest.
  • Wildlife corridors are important.
  • Connectivity of wildlife - land-based and air.
  • Habitat corridor linkages: The plan should facilitate animal movement and genetic diversity; this is very important in any plan.
  • The study/report should include wildlife corridor opportunities such as Castaic Mountains connection and Puente Hills connection for habitat.
  • Would like new wilderness areas - areas to connect Sheep Mountains to Cucamonga Wilderness; benefit to endangered anima
  • Physical connectivity has been lost - for birds, it’s okay, but for other animals, it's needed.
  • Connecting the river communities to the mountains can serve to enhance habitat for the migration of native species. Resource agencies have a moral imperative to provide these connections.
  • An imperative is to protect wildlife in the San Gabriel Mountains.
  • A study should be done on the migration of mammals between the San Gabriel Mountains and Puente-Chino Hills so that ongoing construction and development proposals account for the impacts.
  • Consideration/planning for wildlife corridors; preservation of wildlife corridors as part of the function of the NRA.
  • There are 37 endangered and rare species in the Acton corridor - including threespine stickleback; need signage to explain what these resources are.
  • Concerned about wildlife management - will wildlife be protected under each alternative? Particularly concerned about bighorn sheep - this is their habitat, their numbers have plummeted.
  • Large area is important because people live on fringes - more opportunities for people to recreate on the edges, and middle for wildlife habitat.
  • Would like Big Rock Creek included:
    • Interesting wildlife corridor
    • Not enough picnic/camping areas in this area
  • The inclusion of the Puente-Chino Hills, as in Alternative B, will protect a nationally significant area identified in the NPS Survey and help in the continued development and protection of a wildlife corridor that could extend from the Montebello Hills to the Santa Ana Mountains. This corridor already includes over 4,000 acres of purchased open lands under management of the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority and over 14,000 acres preserved in Chino Hills State Park. The following element should also be included in the stated purposes of the NRA: Protecting wildlife corridors between public lands such as between the sections of the Angeles National Forest.
  • Please recommend to Congress to create a San Gabriel Watershed National Recreation Area and include: the use of federal funds to acquire lands for wildlife corridors.
  • The existing public open space and currently unprotected lands in the Study Area represent some of the most important natural habitat in an otherwise densely populated urban and suburban environment. This more inclusive approach would not only provide significant recreational opportunities to an even broader population, but also would allow for the preservation of invaluable wildlife corridors between pockets of habitat that are in danger of being permanently isolated. An alternative that formally includes the Puente-Chino Hills wildlife corridor that would connect the San Gabriel Mountains and River watershed with the Santa Ana Mountains and Cleveland National Forest would be a major unprecedented accomplishment in the second largest metropolitan area of the United States.
  • The Department of Fish and Game is required to obtain information about wildlife and fish populations prior to allowing their consumptive use in order to insure sustainability of the resource. Also, the Department is required to assess sensitive resources to determine species status. The Department is concerned that National Park Policy, as part of a San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Recreation Area could limit our opportunities to freely access, monitor, and manage wildlife populations where mechanized travel is necessary to facilitate these conservation objectives.
  • Watershed protection is important, but maybe too wonky as a unifying theme, at least for public outreach purposes. The idea of wildlife corridors achieves the same goals in a way that more people can relate to. Only Alternative C gives the NPS a leading role in the coordination of the partnership, I think this needs to be the case no matter what plan becomes a reality. Someone has to be in charge, and the NPS is the best agency for this purpose. C makes no mention of connecting wildlife corridors, which will be vital for the long term viability of the ecosystems we are seeking to protect.
  • Please include the critical wildlife corridor from the Big Tujunga Dam in the Angeles National Forest along the Big Tujunga River Wash to the Hansen Dam habitat areas here in Sunland for preservation in the proposed new wilderness area. This open space is critical habitat for the Arroyo Toad, the Arroyo Chub, rare alluvial fan sage scrub habitat association, Dodecahema leptocerus, and much more. Though within the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles, this native habitat connects the Verdugo Mountains sections of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy park lands to the larger Angeles National Forest, and faces imminent development pressure.
  • The vision for a NRA is incomplete without including the entire San Gabriel River Watershed. Protecting the upper part of the watershed is without question extremely important. But ignoring the lower river gives the impression that the San Gabriel River system just becomes a drainage ditch after it leaves La Habra. This arbitrary cut off line leaves out the Coyote Creek Watershed, the San Gabriel River's largest tributary, as well as the protected Cerritos Wetlands and the 600 acres of Coastal Sage Scrub at West Coyote Hills. Coyote Hills is the last remaining lowland Coastal Sage Scrub in the region and is connected to Chino Hills by Brea Creek. Coyote Hills is a thriving ecosystem with four threatened plant communities, 60 pairs of California Gnatcatchers and a large population of nesting Coastal Cactus Wren. It is resting area on the pacific flyway, wintering ground for raptors, and a refugee for rare and endangered species endemic to Coastal Sage Scrub.
  • The NRA should address the preservation and restoration of wildlife corridors, although they lie outside the NRA area. Proposed alternatives should describe in detail how an NRA could protect such corridors between the two sections of Angeles National Forest, and between the forest and the Santa Monica Mountains or Puente-Chino Hills. It should also examine how expanding the NRA eastward to the Cajon Pass area would enhance and protect the important wildlife corridor between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriels.
  • One ecological need that should be addressed is the preservation and restoration of wildlife corridors. The proposal should address in detail how an SGMNRA could protect wildlife corridors between public lands such as between the two sections of the Angeles National Forest and on public private lands such as the National Forest and Santa Monica Mountains or to Puente-Chino Hills. Wildlife protection is a major public concern. The draft report should clearly recognize the importance of wilderness and wild & scenic river designations to the San Gabriel Mountains and how they would enhance a potential San Gabriel Mountains NRA. As the highest forms of protection on public lands these designations are essential for protecting the ecological habitat of species such as Nelson Bighorn Sheep and for offering recreation with peace and solitude. The Draft Report should also address opportunities to expand these resources. We have attached a list of potential wild & scenic rivers and wilderness areas in the 26th Congressional District.
  • Improving or increasing wildlife corridor connections must be undertaken with thoughtful planning and a clear understanding of the potential risks from increased human-wildlife interactions - to both human and animal health. Our district should be involved with such planning efforts within the urban matrix.
  • The NRA should include all of the San Gabriel Mountains as in A, with all the San Gabriel watershed areas as in B and the professional help of the National Park Service as described in C. We believe the NRA should also include the Puente-Chino Hills (Alternative B) and the addition of open space in the Montebello Hills. The latter includes a significant population of California gnatcatchers and other endangered species.
  • The Station Fire, and the complete lack of acorns in the autumn of 2009, has impacted the wildlife populations. This is a temporary impact which will affect populations for one to three years. The immediate impact is a loss of forage, but the long-term impact is a great increase in grasses and food-producing shrubs and, in 2010 or 2011, an abundant acorn crop. Wildlife which survives the coming year will flourish over the next two to three. In future years, if the goals of a National Recreation Area and the management policies of a National Forest conflict over hunting, we may see one of two scenarios; more abundant wildlife in balance, or more abundant wildlife out of balance. The rhythms and natural fluctuations of nature's cycles, as well as our impact on them, will not be gleaned in one or two seasons. It will take years to understand the impacts of changes we make to the natural environment, whether or not they were made with all the right intentions. I support measures that will protect sensitive habitat areas throughout the mountains.
  • While the Coast Horned Lizard did not ever occur in most of the L.A. Orange County Basin, it did and still does occur along the L.S. and San Gabriel Rivers as well as San Gabriel Mtns. Of Puente-Chino Hills. Concerns about Ensatina salamanders, pond turtles in San Gabriel Mtns. and my research for coast horned lizards indicated that it does not qualify for R+E status. Its presence in San Gabriel and adjacent mountains shown be monitored and managed.
  • First, what is needed is a wild animal refuge. None of the presented alternatives protect and help native animals such as the big horn sheep. The sheep must migrate from the high country to the foothills in the fall to escape the snow. Old vegetation can and often does prevent many sheep to complete the migration. Fires, roads, trails that are maintained allow the sheep to migrate down the hills.
  • Designation of the SGM as a portion of a National Recreation Area will not change the ANF faulty-fire policy. While the SGM are adjacent to the second largest metropolitan area in the country, topography generally limits access to most of the SGM. An emphasis on passive recreation and increased access may disrupt habitat use by these species, particularly in sensitive areas (e.g. springs and mineral licks). The loss of consumptive uses of these species will result in a reduction in revenue from the sale of hunting licenses or special tags (e.g. national hunting groups have been interested in hunting bighorn sheep in the SGM). Indeed, data generated by consumptive uses of mule deer and mountain lions have been critical in the analyses of those populations. The loss of those data sources would preclude future analyses. Thus, caution in emphasizing recreation over resource management should be carefully considered and implemented.  
  • I believe that the NRA should include the largest possible area, as shown in Map A. However, I am concerned that this proposal does not include the management that is offered in proposal C, which would make a huge difference in the quality of life in my city, would improve our water quality, maintain the connectivity within the animal corridors, and the environment for our endangered species.
  • The West Coyote Hills is home to several federally and state threatened animal and plant species, and is of critical value to the San Gabriel River Watershed.
  • I would like to see the proposal include a detailed plan for protecting wildlife corridors between public lands such as between the two sections of the Angeles National Forest.
  • I would like to see trails taken away from creeks so that riparian areas can recover from trampling. The NPS is moving a lot of trails away from creeks and meadows and I would like to see that policy applied in the Angeles Forest. I see few frogs in Eaton Canyon and other busy canyons, whereas in canyons without trails, there are millions of frogs. This probably applies to fish who summer over under the creek beds.
  • What is left (510 + 72.5 acres) of Coyote Hills in Fullerton is just enough to maintain a healthy self-sustaining ecosystem of coastal sage scrub (CSS), which is a land-type going into extinction. There are about 100 plants and 75 animals, I'm estimating, that make up CSS which exists only at this given latitude, longitude, and elevation level. Only about 5 - 10% is left in the world, all of it existing in California. In truth, the CSS land is a great place to build houses, and the housing industry is destroying this ecosystem throughout California for their developments without thought for preservation of a small section of it for future generations to experience first hand –hence the NPS needs to step in here to preserve some of it. Once gone; always gone –the plants, the animals, the whole unique ecosystem. This 510 + 72.5 acres, in fact, is maintaining itself extremely well right now. NPS would probably only need to manage visitors hiking the trails. In itself, it is really a very self-sufficient piece of land. INCLUDE Fullerton's 510 + 72.5 acres in the Coyote Hills on the San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains map outlining the area of this resource study. There is an urgent need to preserve this ecosystem in the Coyote Hills, and I believe the NPS is the one to do it.