EHL is working hard to get more funding for the ambitious Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP).

Almost twenty years ago, all the local governments in the western County, along with key participation by the Riverside County Transportation Commission, adopted a plan to protect 146 species on 500,000 acres of existing and newly conserved land. However, less than half of the private land needed has been acquired, and new subdivisions constantly reduce opportunities. 

EHL traveled to Washington, DC in March to educate federal officials on the need to increase funding for endangered species. EHL is also working with other conservation groups and the Regional Conservation Authority, which implements the MSHCP, to create a new national wildlife refuge, which would help assembly the reserve. At the state level, EHL is part of the Power in Nature Coalition to advance the state’s “30X30” program to conserve land. We spent a day in Sacramento educating policy-makers on the many benefits of the program and on realistic funding levels.