Author: David Hogan

Can you spare a few minutes to support protection of San Diego County’s special nature?

Next Wednesday, November 16^th 2022, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will consider a Biodiversity Resolution to enshrine a vision and goals for the protection of our important local native habitats and ecosystems and we need to demonstrate to the entire Board popular support for this issue. Our goal is to show overwhelming support by getting 100 people to submit e-comments in support of the resolution. Make an e-comment here (on Item 6). Or sign up to speak during public comment here. 

San Diego County is a globally important biodiversity hotspot, with more animal and plant species than almost any other county in the continental United States. Climate change, wildfires, and habitat fragmentation from development are threatening San Diego’s ecosystems. It is imperative we protect our habitats and ecosystems for future generations to come.

America’s next national monument? Avi Kwa Ame in Southern NV is a wildlife and Joshua tree-rich landscape, sacred to a dozen Tribes.

@LouisSahagun explores #HonorAviKwaAme #MonumentsForAll 

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-08-28/desert-tribes-seek-monument-status-for-sacred-mountain

Come spend a beautiful summer day in the San Diego mountains and visit The Chaparral Lands Conservancy’s booth at the Julian Natural Wonderfest tomorrow, Saturday August 20 from 4 – 11pm

We’ll be sharing information on the proposed Mutt Kupshuw – ‘Éexil Kwáavichush National Monument  to better protect the mountains and desert of San Diego County, southern Riverside County, and western Imperial County. And there will be lots of other fun stuff like music, art, animal ambassadors, telescopes to see the night sky, and more. See you there!

Good news though decades late: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed federal Endangered Species Act legal protections for San Diego County’s special Hermes copper butterfly. The Chaparral Lands Conservancy Director David Hogan submitted the first formal documents requesting Endangered Species Act protection for this wonderful little butterfly about 29 years ago in 1991 and wrote a second and much more though petition on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity [link] in 2004. Sprawl development, climate change and related unnaturally frequent wildfire, and chaparral-shredding programs by Calfire and the U.S. Forest Service are the greatest threats to the species.

“This butterfly is one among dozens of endangered species in San Diego that are extremely specialized to our unique environment,” Hogan said. “San Diego County has an extraordinarily high concentration of endangered species.”

For the full article: Hermes copper butterfly lives almost exclusively in San Diego County, where its habitat has been burned or built over

By DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN

JAN. 12, 2020 – 4:18 AM