The City of Dana point has blocked reduced trail hours, jeopardizing this rare species.

Historically, the Pacific pocket mouse - the world’s smallest rodent - lived within a mile of the coast along the shores of Southern California. It was once thought to be extinct but rediscovered in the 1990s on the Dana Point Headlands in Orange County and on Camp Pendleton Marine Base, where it burrows in sandy soils. It survives in three small vulnerable populations.

In 2003, EHL worked with the City of Dana Point and a developer to put in place a 29-acre preserve for the mice and also California gnatcatchers. The preserve is owned and managed by the Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM). Despite various actions to improve habitat quality, the number of mice has fluctuated to precariously low levels and the overall extent of occupied habitat has decreased. Based on scientific studies of human impacts on the mice, CNLM, state and federal wildlife agencies, and the California Coastal Commission have all recommended reducing number of days a week the recreational trail is open.

The City, however, has not accepted this consensus, and has blocked reduced trail hours with litigation against CNLM. The trail remains fully open. Most recently, the City imposed costly delays on getting a permit application to the Coastal Commission which might have helped the mice. EHL organized a multi-organizational comment letter but to no avail. In February, 2026, we testified before the California Coastal Commission supporting an intervention to ensure its Local Coastal Program is carried out. We then organized another multi-organization letter, with 23 signatories, directly asking the Commission to take action before it is too late.

All parties profess a desire that the mouse survive on the Headlands, but this means respecting the best scientific information. Ironically, if not for the rare mouse, the land would have been paved over and not even available for recreation. EHL appreciates CNLM’s diligent stewardship, and we will continue to support recreation that is compatible with the recovery of this endangered species.