AFC announced on May 14 that it was $20,000 short of the funds needed to acquire the land and secure it in perpetuity as open space. Since then, community members have given or pledged a total of $42,500. The excess funds will help provide for the long-term stewardship of the land and will allow AFC to begin planning programs for the local community immediately. From the beginning of the drive the community has generously contributed a total of $97,500.

“We let the community know we needed help and we got it in spades,” said John Howell, AFC’s executive director and general counsel. “We’re very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of conservationists in the Crescenta Valley, and delighted to have them as partners.”

A generous donation of $12,000 by La Crescenta resident Henry Fliegel brought AFC within striking distance of its fundraising goal, and a $10,000 grant by the Wells Fargo Foundation pushed the conservancy over the top. Then Scarlett Hibner of Flintridge donated $14,000 in order get the conservancy’s planned projects and programs on the property up and running.

Along the way, AFC received strong support from other members of the community. La Crescenta residents Desiree and Paul Rabinov pledged $15,000, and the Crescenta Valley Group of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and its members committed $5,000. The office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich was responsible for securing $350,000 in county funding.

La Crescenta residents Steve Pierce and Paul Rabinov were invaluable in getting the community involved in the project. AFC is grateful for so many others who helped in a myriad of ways.

AFC extends a special thank-you to Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, both of whom were instrumental in securing the grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. Portantino is an AFC advisor.

AFC will continue to work with the community to develop programs to restore habitat and create educational opportunities at the Rosemont Preserve.

The following people and businesses have given at least $500 to the project: Tracey Alsobrook, Desdy and Charles Baggott, Sharon and Scott Bateman, Tom Brady, Diana and Jeff Busta, John Campbell, Tony Chahine, Doug Farr, First Pacific Advisors, Henry Fliegel, Jackie Genofile, Dino Gioia, Barbara and Roy Goto, Rona and Ian Harris, Scarlett Hibner, Judith and Frederick Hoeptner, Kevin Kroeker, Daniel Limonadi, Deborah and Bob Marlowe, Neil Mottinger, Nick and Mike of Keller Williams Realty, Barbara Nielsen and Bill Bell, Karen and Steve Pierce, Anthony Portantino, Desiree and Paul Rabinov, Pamela Rogers, Robert Ruby, Susie and Clarke Scherff, Allison and Lake Setzler, Gloria Surtees, Lyn and Quentin Swan, Mary and Michael Veselich, the Wells Fargo Foundation, Linda and Bob Winters, Roobik Yaghoubi.

The habitat is top notch; the stream runs year-round; trees cover the whole route.

Docents expert in biology, geology, history or hydrology will guide us. Learn how the Altadena Crest Trail will be extended through the ‘La Vina gap’.

Directions:

Meet at the Altadena Community Garden. Take the 210 north to the Lincoln Avenue turnoff and go north to the corner of Lincoln and Palm (3330 N. Lincoln Ave. Altadena). We’ll be shuttled to the Millard campground parking lot and then we’ll hike down the canyon to Canyon Crest Road. The route is less than a mile and a half long, but somewhat rugged. The hike itself will take 1-1/2 to 2 hours. We’ll be shuttled back to the Community Garden for refreshments and to learn about this opportunity to save this remarkable place.

Suggestions: 

Wear a long sleeve shirt and pants because there’s poison oak along parts of the route.

Wear sturdy hiking shoes because much of the route is with faint or no trail and there’s boulder hopping at several stream crossings.

Consider hiking poles for those crossings.

Rattlesnakes are beginning to come out – be alert.

This is not a hike for dogs.

Bring garden gloves if you’d like to remove a few invasive plants along the way.

Click here for more information.

Please park at Two Strike Park, off Rosemont Avenue between Orange Avenue and Harmony Place -- we'll walk to the entrance to the preserve from there. Hope you can join us!

Preserving the land would ensure low-elevation habitat for the wildlife that roams the local foothills, preventing it from being developed. AFC has raised $380,000 of the $450,000 needed for the project, and is seeking donations to close the gap.

Click here for more information on the project.

[+] 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.