Endangered Habitats League Inc

Regional Habitat Reserves

As the core of our mission, EHL seeks the adoption and implementation of Natural Community Conservation Plans and Habitat Conservation Plans.  These plans originated to protect endangered species and to resolve economic conflicts.  We served on the original steering committees and working groups for both Orange County plans (Central Coastal and Southern) and are deeply knowledgeable about the endangered species therein.  We are currently working to adopt an additional plan for Northern San Diego.  Plans are in place in Riverside and Southern San Diego, which we help implement.  In San Bernardino, we will begin to implement the Regional Conservation Strategy we helped develop and to carry out restoration of the Upper Santa Ana River. In Orange County, we serve on the Environmental Oversight Committee to manage lands protected under the OCTA NCCP/HCP.  We are now beginning to expend the $28 million Conservation Fund created by our settlement agreement with the toll road agency and EHL will serve as liaison to other conservation groups. An ongoing project is to connect the Palomar and Santa Ana and San Jacinto Mountains for wildlife movement, particularly by acquiring land in Riverside County. We are also adding land to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. Through its sister land trust, Endangered Habitats Conservancy, we acquire and manage land to help assembly regional preserve systems. Focused actions to protect endangered species like the Quino checkerspot butterfly, San Bernardino kangaroo rat, and arroyo toad are integral to our efforts. Off the coast of Orange County, we are training fishers and helping make a transition from fishing gear that traps and kills whale to "pop-up" gear that does not.

Improved land use planning

Reduce sprawl into wildlands by following compact, "smart growth" patterns of development. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobile use and reduce fire hazard.