Fighting Fire With Habitat
Amid red flag warnings and some of the deadliest fires California has ever seen, The Escondido Creek Conservancy has taken on the responsibility of managing 693 more acres of land. Mountain Meadow Preserve is filled with rolling hills of beautiful native habitat, but 225 acres of this site contain an abandoned avocado and citrus grove with thousands of dead trees surrounded by dry invasive grasses.
To lower the risk of a fire and to restore this area to its fullest potential, we’ve begun the restoration with the help from San Diego County Parks and the California Conservation Corps (CCC). CCC crews have been on site one week, and will be back again after Thanksgiving. We will also be seeking other restoration funds to speed-up the process of dead tree removal.
With continued efforts, we will transition this land from non-native weeds to a native plant palette that will provide a healthy and safe place for threatened, endangered, and animals in perpetuity. The restoration will take months–possibly years to complete–which is why we haven’t wasted any time!
California Conservation Corps celebrating after a hard day of work!
What can you do to protect your family from fire?
- Plan out your evacuation ahead of time. Click Here To Learn More
- Please be mindful of any future red flag warnings that are in place and stay off the trails. If a person were to experience an emergency out on the trail, it would take away a large amount of rescue resources that could otherwise be on standby in case of a fire.
- If you’d like to learn more about fire and our native habitat, sign up for the Chaparral Naturalist Certification course held this spring at the Elfin Forest Interpretive Center.Click Here To Learn More
- Donate any dumpster coupons from EDCO to the Conservancy. Restoration often involves many trips to the dump, which can be costly. EDCO often sends out free dumping coupons and if you don’t have a use for them, we’d gladly take them off your hands. Contact us at [email protected].
We’d also like to extend a special thank you to EDCO for providing us with free dumpsters for last month’s crew!
