We Saved 1000 Acres!

Because of the 718+ individual donations from wonderful people who contributed to help save wild lands for wildlife in North County as part of our 2015-2018 Save 1000 Acres campaign, the Conservancy and its partners saved 975 acres.  In 2020, we began a new land preservation campaign called Missing Lynx, to focus our acquisition efforts at connecting the missing links between preserved lands, so crucial to make certain wildland is protected in perpetuity.

The Conservancy is now pursuing Missing Lynx acquisitions throughout the watershed, and will be reporting in on our progress. Your donations to the Missing Lynx campaign help us protect wildlands forever.

Because of your past support, the Conservancy now owns or manages 3,000 acres, preserved forever.

Help us connect the Missing Lynx!

 

 

Now Help Us Connect The Missing Lynx!

 

Connecting wildlands is crucial for wildlife, especially large mammals like mule deer (Odocoileus heminus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor), which typically have home ranges of more than 100 square miles. Successful wildlife corridors provide access to food and other resources, while also improving genetic variation. Connecting breeding populations of a species increases their ability to adapt to their changing environment, which is especially important as we begin to witness the effects of climate change. We developed the Save 1000 Acres campaign to protect important cornerstone properties. Now, we shift our focus to connecting those properties so animals can move freely between preserved areas.

With mountain lions struggling to find mates as their habitat diminishes, and the California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) now on the endangered species list, we are thrilled to welcome them on our preserves—along with bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans), barn owls (Tyto alba), great blue herons (Ardea herodias), and more! Conservation of these animals is possible, but it requires protecting more land by creating safe passageways between preserved lands, so animals can live without conflict with humans.

For The Missing Lynx campaign, the Conservancy has prioritized land acquisitions in areas that are contiguous to other preserved lands in the Escondido Creek watershed. With your help, we can protect and preserve these “missing lynx” that are vital to the success of our native species so they can live, and live wild.