[+] The planned "Rosemont Preserve" is located at the top of Rosemont Ave. in La Crescenta.

AFC is working with the local community to save the 8-acre open-space parcel, located at the top of Rosemont Ave., and prevent it from ever being developed. The land provides habitat for wildlife including bears, bobcats, mountain lions and coyotes, and serves as a sanctuary for birds.

We welcome your input -- your thoughts and concerns matter.

Click here for more information about the project.

To read more about the project, click here.

For a press release on the county’s commitment, click here.

The council sent a letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich on Friday, Oct. 21, requesting that the Board of Supervisors help to fund the project to preserve 7.75 acres at the top of Rosemont Avenue.

“The AFC has made significant outreach into the community with regard to the purchase for the purpose of preserving this parcel as open space,” council President Cheryl Davis writes in the letter. “The proposal has received overwhelmingly positive responses within the community especially from neighbors surrounding the site.”

Thanks to all who have been involved so far in this process. If you'd like to add your support to the project, email seanhowell@arroyosfoothills.org with your letter, and we'll forward it to the supervisor's office.

The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy will make a presentation about an opportunity to preserve a parcel of open space land in La Crescenta to the Land Use Committee of the Crescenta Valley Town Council at the committee's meeting Thursday, Oct. 14.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the La Crescenta public library, at 2809 Foothill Boulevard. AFC's item is the third and final one on the committee's agenda.

AFC made an initial presentation about the opportunity to preserve eight acres at the top of Rosemont Avenue in La Crescenta to the Crescenta Valley Town Council on Sept. 22, asking the council for a letter of support that could help secure funding for the project from Los Angeles County. At that meeting, the council referred the matter to the land use committee.

Acquiring the property would secure the mouth of Goss Canyon, preventing the land from being developed and ensuring habitat for wildlife. AFC plans to work with property owners and other stakeholders, including the Crescenta Valley Town Council, to determine how best to provide public access to the land, which features a hiking trail.

AFC also made a presentation to interested community members and neighbors to the property on Oct. 2.

Click here to download the information packet presented at the Sept. 22 council meeting.

On Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., AFC will make a brief presentation to the Crescenta Valley Town Council and the La Crescenta community about a key piece of wilderness land the conservancy is seeking to save.

The 7.75-acre open space parcel is situated at the top of Rosemont Avenue, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Acquiring the land would secure the mouth of Goss Canyon, preventing the 7.75 acres from being developed and ensuring habitat for wildlife. AFC would also work with property owners and other stakeholders, including the Crescenta Valley Town Council, to determine how best to provide public access to the land, which features a hiking trail.

The 7.75-acre property in La Crescenta, at the top of Rosemont Ave. in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, is outlined in green.

We encourage members of the local community who are interested in this project to attend the council meeting. The meeting will be held in the community room of the La Crescenta library, located at the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and La Crescenta Ave. in La Crescenta.

To download an information packet about the property, click here.

REI volunteers clear a trail in Rubio Canyon on National Trails Day (June 4). Photo by Paul Ayers.

The Pasadena Audubon Society generated $4,713.72 in a fundraising campaign for trails in Rubio Canyon -- money that will go toward restoring the nearly five miles of trails in Rubio Canyon and opening those trails to the public. The Audubon grant will supplement a previous $20,000 grant from Southern California Edison for the trail restoration project.

The Pasadena Audubon Society and Audubon California both made significant contributions to preserve Rubio Canyon, as well.

REI awarded its grant of $5,000 on July 12 to enable AFC to set up and oversee a volunteer program to remove invasive plants along trails in Rubio Canyon. REI also co-hosted, with AFC, a volunteer day in the canyon in June.

If you're interested in helping with trail and habitat restoration in the canyon, click here to let us know.

Thanks to REI and Pasadena Audubon for their commitment to local land conservation!

Volunteers restore a trail in Rubio Canyon on National Trails Day, in a joint program sponsored by REI and AFC. Photo by Paul Ayers.

Volunteers helped clear a connecting path that will allow hikers on the Mount Lowe Railway right-of-way trail to reach the rest of the trails in the canyon. They stabilized sections of a trail that cuts across the canyon. They worked on a trail that leads to the top of AFC's property and will eventually connect with the 13-mile Altadena Crest Trail. And they removed invasive plants that have been making their way up the canyon.

Thanks to all the volunteers, and to REI for organizing the program. Check out REI's Facebook page for more photos.

David Ford of Southern California Edison presents a check to AFC President Tim Wendler to fund trail restoration in Rubio Canyon.

Through the project, the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy will restore approximately five miles of trails, allowing people to roam throughout the canyon (currently the only trail open to the public is the one that leads to waterfalls in the canyon). We also plan to create connections to the Altadena Crest Trail, allowing for a near-continuous hike between Eaton Canyon and Lake Avenue.

Thanks to the folks at Southern California Edison for their generosity, and to the trail volunteers who will make this project possible. If you're interested in working on the trails, click here and let us know.

After 11 years as the president of the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, Nancy Steele has stepped down from the position.

Steele co-founded the nonprofit (then known as the Altadena Foothills Conservancy) in 2000 with the goal of preserving open space in the foothills of Altadena and educating people about local open space and wilderness-related issues.

Under Steele’s watch, the conservancy developed a comprehensive overview of local land in need of protection, helped preserve 15 acres along the Chaney Trail Corridor in west Altadena, produced an educational film about early efforts to bring water to the San Gabriel Valley, created a demonstration water-wise park, created a plan for a 25-mile regional trails system, and, most recently, preserved 41 acres in Rubio Canyon, located in the Altadena foothills.

Steele will remain on AFC’s Board of Directors. Tim Wendler, who has served on the conservancy’s board for two years, is the new president.

"I couldn't be happier about Tim Wendler taking over as president of the conservancy," Steele said. "Tim brings a wealth of experience, a commitment to open space conservation, integrity, and a sense of humor to the board. I know the organization is in good hands."

For more information, read our news release.