EHL appeared in the news media on several topics: restoration of the upper San Diego River, protection of the magnificent Rancho Guejito near Escondido, threats to coastal sage scrub in the Baja California portion of our shared ecoregion, and on an ill-advised potential sale of public lands.



The San Diego Union-Tribune (“Nature habitat study for Lakeside advances,” Feb. 2, 2006) reported that the Helix Water District entered into an agreement with the Endangered Habitats Conservancy to explore restoring hundreds of acres in the El Monte Valley currently planned for golf courses to riparian habitat. Monies were also authorized to advance the process.

In an in depth article, the North County Times (“Development plans for Guejito in the works,” Dec. 27, 2005) reported on threats to Rancho Guejito, a 20,000-acre original Mexican land grant. Noting that a public acquisition could avert large infrastructure costs, EHL Executive Director Dan Silver said, "The public good is not to build luxury houses that taxpayers would have to subsidize."

Reacting to a Congressional proposal to sell millions of acres of National Forests and Wildlife Refuges to pay for hurricane relief (“Push to sell federal land panned,” North County Times, Nov. 16, 2005), Silver discussed alternative funding sources. Also, noting that anti-public lands forces were using the Katrina disaster as an excuse, he said, "I think we would be squandering our future, really, if we were to rush to sell off lands in this manner.”

In a letter published in the San Diego Union-Tribune (“Baja development would threaten ecosystem,” May 6, 2006), EHL’s Silver expressed concern over the devastating effect of a planned new port along the coast south of Ensenada. “It is a treasure trove of rare species, some found no place else. The fragile marine and upland terrain would be decimated by the deep dredging, not to mention by a new city.”