SAN DIEGO — Nearly 1,300 acres of property in San Diego County is now being preserved for future generations.

Hiking through Proctor Valley in San Diego is more relaxing now that Cara Lacey knows the landscape will stay wild. Lacey works for The Nature Conservancy, one of the groups that fought to keep the nearly 1,300 acres of habitat from being turned into a housing development.

“It feels great. It’s been such a long and winding road to get here,” she said.

What You Need To Know

  • Conservation groups acquired approximately 1,291 acres of property in Proctor Valley in southwestern San Diego County

  • It is home to threatened and endangered species and rare and highly biodiverse habitat types

  • The land is valuable to critically endangered species like the Quino checkerspot butterfly, the coastal California gnatcatcher and essential foraging habitat for the golden eagle

  • The property will be owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

A court ruled the land was too valuable to critically endangered species such as the Quino checkerspot butterfly, the coastal California gnatcatcher and essential foraging habitat for the golden eagle, as well as too high a fire risk for housing. Several conservation groups came together to raise millions of dollars to purchase the land and will now ensure the biodiversity is protected.

“It would have been approximately 1,100 homes right here, so just being able to take this landscape in, it’s one of my favorite places in San Diego County, so I’m just so happy,” Lacey said.  

Paul Souza with U.S. Fish and Wildlife said this property sits at the heart of more than 60,000 already protected acres and it will now link the land, saving it from habitat fragmentation.

“What’s important about this location too is it’s one piece of a massive puzzle of wildlife habitat,” Souza said.  

He said state and federal plans have prioritized protecting properties needed to establish a network of habitat linkups essential to preserving biodiversity and enhancing resiliency in the face of global climate change.

“Local government boundaries or state boundaries, even national boundaries, species don’t follow these lines," Souza said. "What they need is the landscape in which they were adapted to survive and thrive. I’m just very grateful to be a part of the community where people work so hard to protect beautiful places.”

The property will be owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Lacey hopes their victory shows the power of collaboration to protect the natural world.

“If that housing development had gone in, it would have created an almost impenetrable barrier to movement," she said. "All of us came together to demonstrate how important this is for the state and the nation. Just ecstatic that we were able to save this place for wildlife, for people, just to keep it for future generations.”

The Nature Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Conservation Board and United States Fish and Wildlife Service all collaborated to make the acquisition happen.