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• The Project implements the Santa Clara River Enhancement and Management Plan (May 2005),
completed by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District and the Los Angeles Department of
Public Works, by ensuring the preservation of a continuous riparian corridor on the Santa Clara
River through the protection of 0.5 miles of the river and enhancing the connections to adjacent
native habitats, restoration of degraded resources, and management of the river to maintain the
existing and restored resource values.
• The property is identified as a high priority acquisition in the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife's San Gabriel-Castaic Connection Conceptual Area Protection Plan (CAPP) (2004).
The CAPP was developed through an extensive partnership effort including partners including
CDFW, US FWS, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Southern California
Wetlands Recovery Project, Caltrans, Los Angeles RWQCB, RMC, Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Friends of the Santa Clara River,
South Coast Wildlands, and others. The Project implements the primary goal of the CAPP to protect
essential open space and viable connections for wildlife movement between two core habitat areas,
the San Gabriel Mountains and the Castaic Ranges (including the Sierra Pelona), both part of the
Angeles National Forest. A main feature of the proposed CAPP is the Santa Clara River as it acts as a
natural linkage. The CAPP is intended to secure a functional landscape level connection between the
San Gabriel and Castaic core areas and help to ensure the ecological integrity of areas already
protected in the linkage. This Project will implement the CAPP and add to a linkage of protected
land along San Gabriel Mountains and Castaic Ranges.
• Protecting the Robin's Nest property will implement the Watershed Management strategy (7.2.5.8)
outlined in the Upper Santa Clara River Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (Los
Angeles Department of Public Works, 2014) The Project will also implement the Los Angeles
County General Plan (2015) by protecting natural resources within the Santa Clara River Significant
Ecological Area within the Antelope Valley Planning Area, preserving open space in one of the
fastest growing areas in Los Angeles County and preserving biological resources through the
acquisition of a conservation area (pp.52 and 136). It will implement strategies outlined in the
California State Wildlife Action Plan (CDFW 2015) to conserve high-functioning riparian areas in
the Santa Clara watershed and protect and restore unarmored threespine stickleback habitat within
the Santa Clara River mainstem and Soledad Canyon. Finally, it will implement the Statewide
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2015)
and its related study entitled California Recreational Trails System which describes the PCTA's
goal of expanding the permanently protected corridor and improve trail tread in identified trouble
spots. 14
• Project would be consistent with the Recovery Plan for the Arroyo Southwestern Toad (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1999) which outlines a recovery strategy to protect arroyo toads and
their habitats through land acquisition.

XI Project Readiness/Feasibility
Indicate whether the Project will have matching funds from private, local, or federal sources, and if so, to what extent. Projects
that secure matching funds of at least 25% of the total Project cost will get extra points. Describe how the Project will be
implemented (will get points for proving that the Project is feasible). Describe how the applicant has the financial capacity to
complete Project on a reimbursement basis.

The following table illustrates TPL and MRCA’s commitment to the Project and due diligence. As noted
below, TPL intends to acquire the property by December 2017, immediately conveying title to the MRCA as
part of their significant open space reserve.

14 2013 California Recreational Trails System (CRTS): Collaborative lessons from the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, California
Coastal Trail, and Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, p.5 available at
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/1008/files/california_recreational_trails_system_collaborative_lessons_3.27.15_redu.pdf.

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