New wildlife conservation area to be celebrated

| Monday, January 13, 2003 10:00 PM PST ∞

TIM MAYER
Staff Writer

CARLSBAD ---- Local and state officials and environmentalists will flock together Thursday to celebrate the preservation of almost 100 acres of wilderness in a drive to keep North County birds singing.

Bill Tippets, environmental program manager for the state's Department of Fish and Game, said the 11 a.m. event will mark the acquisition last year of 94 acres of undeveloped coastal sage scrub and grasslands in the northeast sector of Carlsbad near the Oceanside border.

Tippets said the land, once known as the Holly Springs Ranch, was purchased with $2.1 million from the state's Wildlife Conservation Board and is part of an ongoing effort to conserve significant habitat in North County.

The parcel provides nesting and feeding grounds for the endangered California gnatcatcher bird and is a haven of other native plants and wildlife.

"Everything in this coastal area is very important for conservation," Tippets said.

The site is adjacent to what will eventually be the 180-acre Calavera Highlands reserve and the 110-acre Calavera Heights preserve, all three near Lake Calavera.

Both existing sites were acquired through agreements with developers. Calavera Highlands as well as the new reserve are managed by the state wildlife agency. Calavera Heights is being managed by the nonprofit Environmental Trust.

Don Rideout, a Carlsbad planner, said the three sites together are a significant addition to wildlife habitat and represent about half of the 800 acres in northeast Carlsbad targeted as a core area for protection under the city's wildlife habitat management plan.

Diane Nygaard of the local environmental group, Preserve Calavera, said the new lands are "a wonderfully significant addition" with importance not only for Carlsbad but for the region.

Thursday's event is expected to include brief comments from officials followed by a short hike around the property. In the event of rain, organizes said the celebration would be rescheduled to Jan. 30 at 11 a.m.

Those wishing to attend Thursday should take Melrose Drive south from Highway 78 and turn west on Cannon Road to its terminus at the Carlsbad-Oceanside city limits.

Contact staff writer Tim Mayer at (760) 901-4043 or tmayer@nctimes.com.

1/14/03

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