The 2 1/2-year legal battle over a proposed 1,750-home Temecula development was settled Monday, Oct. 26, with conservationists satisfied that enough land will be preserved for locally endangered mountain lions.
The developer of the 270-acre Altair development just west of Interstate 15 has agreed to not build on 55 acres considered crucial for the lions’ future and will help acquire additional wildlife habitat for permanent preservation, according to the settlement.
The lions of the Santa Ana Mountains are surrounded by freeways and could die out in the next few decades because of inbreeding unless the population’s genetics are able to diversify with those of the far larger lion population east of Interstate 15, according to a 2019 study. Advocates for the animals want to save enough habitat to allow unfettered access to proposed wildlife crossings at the freeway in and near Temecula.
“This agreement gives Santa Ana’s imperiled mountain lions a pathway to recovery,” said J.P. Rose, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Poorly planned highways and development have hemmed this population in, and these beautiful big cats are being driven toward extinction. Now they have a better chance at survival.”
Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia ruled in April that the city of Temecula did not adequately address the habitat of mountain lions and other wildlife in the area when it approved the development proposed by Ambient Communities.
Rather than appeal the ruling, the city and developer worked out the settlement with a coalition of environmental groups consisting of the Sierra Club, the Mountain Lion Foundation, the Cougar Connection, the Endangered Habitats League, and the Center for Biological Diversity. Those groups have agreed not to pursue further legal action as long as Ambient Communities fulfills the terms of the settlement as it pursues a scaled-down project.
While mountain lions are the major focus of the environment groups, the settlement also addresses habitat used by the rare western pond turtle and the endangered San Diego ambrosia.
“I think the city is satisfied that the settlement has been finalized and the project is now free to move forward subject to the terms of the settlement agreement and the specific plan,” said Temecula Community Development Director Luke Watson. “The project includes the completion of the western bypass road improvement which is a very important addition to the city’s roadway network.”
A lawyer for developer did not respond Monday to a request for comment.
Lions’ crossing
With threats growing for mountain lion populations in Southern California and beyond, the state Fish and Game Commission in April took a key vote that gives the cats temporary protective status in six geographic areas — including the Santa Ana, Santa Monica, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.
The vote also launched a year-long study by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to assess the accuracy of data indicating that the lions in these mountain ranges are endangered or could become endangered in the near future. The commission will then determine whether permanent protective status is merited, with temporary protections continuing until then.
Mountain lions are regularly photographed by trail cameras in the area of the proposed Altair development and the project is adjacent to an existing Interstate 15 underpass that can allow the animals to travel between the Santa Ana Mountains to the west and the much larger Eastern Peninsular ranges to the east.
While it is unknown if lions have ever used the underpass, plans are being developed to make improvements to make it more inviting for the big cats, including fencing the area off to human traffic, thinning the vegetation, limiting urban lighting and dampening freeway noise. Preliminary engineering plans have also been drawn up for a second underpass and for a wildlife bridge, both south of Temecula.
Winston Vickers, a UC Davis veterinarian who researches mountain lions in the area, documented seven male lions crossing the freeway from 2001 to 2016, but six of those trips were verified by genetic analysis and it’s not known exactly where they crossed. The sole lion tracked crossing the freeway while wearing a GPS collar made the trip at the Gopher Canyon Road underpass nearly 20 miles to the south.
At least four more lions were killed from 2013 to 2018 trying to cross on the freeway itself.
Vickers’ cameras have caught lions approaching the Santa Margarita River underpass and sitting on the hillside nearby gazing at the other side of the freeway. But none so far have captured lions using the underpass.
Among those applauding Monday’s settlement was Debra Chase, CEO of the Mountain Lion Foundation.
“With our planet in the midst of an extinction crisis, we can no longer afford business as usual,” Chase said.
