| Tonner Canyon: The Key to the Corridor
We’ve seen that the Puente/Chino Hills contain both core habitat areas and a system of connecting corridors that link these all together to form a collective Corridor that allows the plants and animals to survive even though they are in the midst of a huge metropolitan region. We’ve seen that the State of California, Los Angeles County, several new public agencies, and many cities that border the hills have all contributed time and money to see that the Corridor remains functional for the wildlife and for the people of Southern California. Several times an area designated as a “last link” was successfully saved and added to the Corridor. Now we will examine the issues surrounding a large and very important piece of real estate that, if not successfully added to the Corridor, can potentially sever it and short circuit and entire idea of a connected system of reserves in these hills, undermining decades of effort and millions of dollars spent pursuing the Corridor vision. Coming so close to being part of the Corridor before slipping away, Tonner Canyon remains the elusive prize that holds the key to the Corridor being a really nice collection of open spaces, or the biologically diverse wildlife refuge that so many have dreamed of. A property once the domain of the Boy Scouts now takes center stage in the ongoing battle between preservation and development. To clarify a somewhat confusing nomenclature, “Tonner Canyon” can actually refer to any of three separate sections of the canyon: upper Tonner Canyon (aka Tres Hermanos Ranch), middle Tonner Canyon (aka Firestone Scout Reservation), and lower Tonner Canyon. Upper Tonner Canyon was purchased by the City of Industry over 20 years ago, middle Tonner Canyon was owned by the Boy Scouts until 2000, and lower Tonner Canyon was a part of Brea Oil, LLC until this year. This paper will focus on middle Tonner Canyon (prime habitat section), and to a lesser degree lower Tonner Canyon (location of the vital underpass at the 57 Freeway), since they are most important in terms of the wildlife Corridor and keeping it intact. Unless otherwise specified, Tonner Canyon will refer to the middle portion. Why is Tonner Canyon so crucial to the success of the Corridor? The answer lies both in its location and in the ecological quality of the property itself. Located adjacent to Chino Hills State Park, the 2,500 acre parcel contains the last wildlife crossing between lands north and south of the 57 Freeway, with that crossing being the Tonner Bridge where Tonner Canyon Road travels beneath the 57. Large and open, this crossing is ideal for wildlife to commute back and forth, as stated earlier. Tonner Canyon is also a collection of excellent habitats, and is large enough to be a prime area of feeding, breeding, and shelter for the multitude of unique native plants and animals that cling to life in these hills. In fact, a Symposium of the Southern California Botanists described five of the most endangered plant ecosystems in Southern California (Schoenner, Allen. 1990. 3,24,42,80). Tonner canyon is home to four of these: California Valley Grassland, Coastal Sage Scrub, Riparian, and Walnut Woodlands. All of these plant ecosystems have been severely reduced in size and quality, and a location that has most of them within its boundaries certainly should be considered crucial biological real estate. Tonner Canyon is located within Los Angeles County Significant Ecological Area #15, which gives it especially high conservation value. Areas with these designations are "ecologically important or fragile land and water areas, valuable as plant and animal communities. These areas are classified as one or more of the following: 1) habitats for rare and endangered species of plants and animals; 2) restricted natural communities - ecological areas which are scarce on a regional basis; 3) habitat restricted in distribution in the county; 4) breeding or nesting grounds; 5) unusual biotic communities; 6) sites with critical wildlife and fish value; and 7) relatively undisturbed habitat." (State of California). This classification further highlights the biodiversity of Tonner Canyon even apart from being a key section of the Corridor. All of these factors demonstrate the high ecological health and value of this canyon and of its importance not only to the corridor system but to the overall ecology of Southern California in general. 1. The Sale of Tonner Canyon Efforts were underway for some time to add this land to the Corridor system, especially since the Scouts stated their desire to sell the bulk of the property, known as the Firestone Scout Reservation, to raise capitol. Negotiations were ongoing and painfully slow, and each time a deal was thought to have been reached individuals on the Scout Board or from Diamond Bar apparently hampered its completion (Hills for Everyone, /PDF_Files/spring_2001.pdf). In fact, in December 1999 the Scout Council unanimously voted to sell to the Wildlands Conservancy, which is a non-profit group dedicated to educating children about the environment in a natural setting (Wildlands Conservancy, home page). They were acting in concert with WCCA in the attempt to secure the land for preservation, but this deal also fell through (Repository, tonnernews/newsletter3.htm). The Wildlands Conservancy is California’s largest land preservation group not using public funds, and donated $4.5 million dollars for the Coal Canyon purchases, but even this addition to the effort to buy the property was unsuccessful (Wildlands Conservancy, projects_wildlife.html). Under pressure from Diamond Bar and a Scout Council member, the deal was cancelled before it could be concluded. A Vice-president of Majestic Realty, based in and with very close ties to the City of Industry, is also a member of the Scout Board and is thought to have played a part in influencing the Scout decision not to sell to the Conservancy, as well as helping to set up the deal that followed thereafter (Repository, tonnernews/newsletter7.htm). He acknowledged that he “acted as a go-between for the Scouts and Industry, because of Majestic’s close relationship with the City (Industry)”, although he abstained from the actual vote by the Council (Hills for Everyone, PDF_Files/spring_2001.pdf). |
| Tonner Canyon and its Significance to the Puente/Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor |