The Army Corps of Engineers released a draft master plan for the Prado Basin in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. EHL has commented.

The Prado Basin is a relatively little known but important expanse of wildlife habitat upstream from the Prado flood control dam on the Santa Ana River north of Corona. It connects on the west to the Chino Hills. The Corps’ owns about 6,000 acres which it last planned for in 1976. 

Consistent with the legislation enabling the dam, there has been on emphasis on recreation. For decades, most of the land has leased to San Bernardino County Parks as Prado Regional Park, which includes high intensity recreation like golf courses, a shooting range, camping, and waterfowl hunting. However, there is also much open space used for low impact recreation like trails. The Orange County Water District owns about 2,000 acres, which has been the site of very successful recovery for the least Bell’s vireo, a migratory songbird that nests in riparian habitat.  

EHL commented on first draft back in 2006, and found insufficient attention to biological resources, particularly uplands lands adjacent to wetlands. The current draft would roughly maintain the current balance of uses, but does improve on the 1976 plan, with less high impact recreation and a new “environmentally sensitive” classification of over 1000 acres. Mitigation is a growing land use, which leads to higher levels of resource protection. Substantial amounts of “multiple use” land remain for wildlife and vegetation management and trails.  

EHL has called for phasing out of high impact commercial leases by San Bernardino Parks, increased designation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas, and for analysis and mitigation of the adverse impacts of recreation. The Prado Basin remains a place of tremendous potential for restoration of wetland and riparian habitat, and a place where low-impact recreation can best serve the vast surrounding populations who need a nature-based experience.

A big threat to the current ambiance of Prado Regional Park is an effort, initiated in 2019 but without recent activity, by San Bernardino County to install a vast array of investor-backed and out-of-place amphitheaters, sports fields, aquatic parks, and other facilities that, rather, should be accommodated on urban land.