Capping a multi-decade effort by EHL, in January 2024, the 1,291-acre Otay Ranch Village 14 site became part of the state Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve.

Proctor Valley sits strategically between the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. Shown in red on the above map, these parcels fill “holes in the donut” within already-conserved lands (shown in green), and secure east-west connectivity for wildlife movement between the Jamul Mountains and Mt. San Miguel. It is also a “core area” for the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly and its coastal sage scrub shelters the California gnatcatcher. Other rare habitats include vernal pools, with San Diego fairy shrimp and spadefoot toads, and native bunch grasses. The floor of the valley is important foraging habitat for golden eagles. 

EHL first testified about the problems in the Otay Ranch development back in 1992. Nearly 30 years later, when the “Village 14” component, placing 1100 units in fire-prone Proctor Valley, came forward for final approval, we organized opposition. We pointed out that the project was inconsistent with the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) and that its proposed mitigation for the Quino checkerspot butterfly would not work. We commissioned comprehensive legal, biological, greenhouse gas, water quality, fire hazard, and fire evacuation comments. A majority of the Supervisors then on the Board did not listen, even to public safety concerns.

Shortly thereafter, state and federal agencies agreed to a land exchange that involved property which was protected state ecological reserve. It modified the project but didn’t solve its many problems. EHL and our partners took the case against the exchange to the state Wildlife Conservation Board. After building a large coalition of land trusts and conservation groups concerned about the precedent that would have been set, and against long odds, the Wildlife Conservation Board turned the land swap down.  

We then had to go to court against the original project. Along with other conservation groups and the Attorney General of California, we prevailed on several grounds under CEQA. As a result of settlement negotiations, we were given a brief window to raise the agreed-upon purchase amount of $60 million – otherwise, the project would go forward. It was make or break.

The Nature Conservancy diligently took on the acquisition, and with the essential help of the state and federal wildlife agencies, a funding package was successfully assembled from state Wildlife Conservation Board, federal sources, and private donors. With perfect but near-miraculous timing, the missing federal share came from a legal settlement with the Dept. of Homeland Security over its environmentally damaging border wall.

The promise of the MSCP to create a landscape-level preserve for the vanishing coastal sage scrub ecosystem has taken an enormous step forward and indeed, is now mostly in place. A vision of what Southern California used to look like will be preserved forever. Butterflies and eagles will live their lives unimpeded.

This was a long struggle but we sincerely appreciate the purchase opportunity provided by the landowners and their cooperation in implementing the settlement agreement. We note partnership with Sierra Club and California Native Plant Society, the expertise of our consultants, and the important intervention in the legal case by the Attorney General. And we particularly thank the attorneys at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger who were there with us at every step.