{"id":1288,"date":"2014-09-25T15:54:38","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T22:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:19:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T22:19:41","slug":"supporters-rally-for-wildlife-crossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/2014\/09\/25\/supporters-rally-for-wildlife-crossing\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporters rally for wildlife crossing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fundraising for new corridor in Agoura Hills begins in earnest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source of this article: The Thousand Oaks Acorn, September 25, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

Trying to give mountain lions more room to roam in the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> while bolstering their dwindling population, the National Wildlife Federation and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund launched a campaign on Sept. 19 to raise money for an improved wildlife crossing at the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The campaign, named Save L.A<\/span>. Cougars, kicked off with a rally in a field at Liberty Canyon<\/span> just north of the busy highway.<\/p>\n

Local and state officials, environmentalists, students and residents joined forces at the rally to learn more about what the cougars need in order to thrive in a mountain range lassoed by urban development.<\/p>\n

For starters, mountain lions need room to hunt and breed. While the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> as a whole appear to have the acreage that the large cats require, the hills are cut in half by the 101, which reduces the habitat\u2019s offering. Genetic diversity is a key to the mountain lions\u2019 longterm local survival, and because mating opportunities are limited, harmful inbreeding often occurs, officials said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS\u2014Linda Parks of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors speaks in favor of an improved wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon Road and the 101 Freeway at a rally on Sept. 19<\/p><\/div>\n

Beth Pratt, director of the National Wildlife Federation, said a better wildlife crossing is needed in Liberty Canyon<\/span> for the cougars to survive. She demonstrated a permanent commitment to the cause by showing off a tattoo of a mountain lion on her upper arm.<\/p>\n

Collin O\u2019Mara, Wildlife Federation president and chief executive, said the campaign is resonating with people across the country and that donations are coming in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to speak for wildlife because they can\u2019t speak for themselves,\u201d O\u2019Mara said.<\/p>\n

The crossing, when built, will be a model to be replicated in other urban areas nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just an L.A<\/span>. story,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve allowed wildlife issues to become secondary to other environmental issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Art Eck, executive director for the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> Fund, told the audience that everybody was there for the same reason: \u201cto take care of this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve abused it too long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, chair of the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> Conservancy, announced that a $250,000 grant from Caltrans will be used for a study on which corridor alternative is best.<\/p>\n

Caltrans is also seeking $10 million in federal aid for project.<\/p>\n

Connecting the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> with the Simi Hills<\/span> and the Santa Susana Mountains<\/span> would improve the lives of mountain lions, a Caltrans representative said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re willing to step up to the plate and have large animals in urban areas,\u201d said Parks. She wants the area to become known as a mountain lion reserve.<\/p>\n

Officials hope the existing underpass at Liberty Canyon<\/span> Road will be improved while plans are studied for a wider, more effective overpass for the wildlife.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Fran Pavley said wildlife conservation will require a commitment from local, state and national agencies, but the Liberty Canyon<\/span> crossing must also be supported by individuals. She called for donations from all.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s protect this land for generations to come,\u201d Pavley said.<\/p>\n

Seth Wiley, a scientist who has conducted extensive research on mountain lions, said cougars could disappear from the Santa Monica Mountains<\/span> within 10 to 30 years.<\/p>\n

Wiley said a 12-year study demonstrated that the range is not \u201cconnected enough\u201d to sustain a healthy mountain lion population.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are only 12 adult cougars in the mountains, and the genetic diversity is the lowest in the West,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wiley said if a large crossing at Liberty Canyon<\/span> were built, the mountain lion population could be preserved into perpetuity, a crowning achievement to his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

River Simard, a 10-year-old student, wowed the crowd with his commitment to the mountain lion cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people think L.A<\/span>. is a bunch of freeways,\u201d the boy said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the L.A. I know. I\u2019ve already seen too much buildings blocking animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

River said he had firsthand experience of what happens when habitat is taken away from animals. When developers built houses near his neighborhood in a Los Angeles<\/span> canyon, possums, skunks and raccoons settled under his home.<\/p>\n

River said he learned that mountain lions and bobcats are interbreeding because their habitat is being encroached upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t right,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want the animals for our children and our children\u2019s children.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the Save L.A<\/span>. Cougars campaign, visit http:\/\/www.savelacougars.org\/<\/a> or text WILDLIFE51555.<\/p>\n

Visit www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T2-WxJcrCn0<\/a> to see a video of the rally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fundraising for new corridor in Agoura Hills begins in earnest Source of this article: The Thousand Oaks Acorn, September 25, 2014 Trying to give mountain lions more room to roam in the Santa Monica Mountains while bolstering their dwindling population, the National Wildlife Federation and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,18,48,27,19,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-calabasas","category-conejo-valley","category-endangered-species","category-mountain-lions","category-santa-monica-mountains","category-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3566,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/3566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}