NO ORANGE HEIGHTS UPDATES:

NEW BOUNDARY FENCE INSTALLED AROUND THE PROPERTY: We are concerned about the extensive chain link boundary fence that was recently installed around most of the property, which obstructs wildlife movement between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon Regional Park.
 
CONSTRUCTION START DATE: According to Lauren Kershek (USFWS), "To answer your question about the construction start date, work is planned to get started after the breeding season this fall."
 
ENDANGERED CROTCH'S BUMBLEBEE: Thanks to the Xerces Society and iNaturalist.org, we confirmed the presence of the endangered Crotch's bumblebee on the Orange Heights proposed development site.  We alerted CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife.
 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/227411099
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/227406681
 
IRVINE CO TALKING TO PUBLIC WORKS: Leslie Manderschied (retired from Caltrans) saw surveyors on Santiago Canyon Road.  She inquired at city hall and this is what she reported, "Talking to Ryan at City Hall Planning & he has not received anything - but apparently Irvine Co has been talking to Public Works about a traffic plan.
 
SHORT DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Paul Sargeant, one of our NOH campaign volunteers, completed a beautiful and compelling short documentary titled "Irreplaceable" about the 400-acre wildlife corridor we are working to preserve.  Watch it here.
 
TWO TRAIL CAMERAS STOLEN: The camera that got the footage of M317 was stolen along with another borrowed camera.  We'll have to replace these cameras and place them in a different spot.  Donations would be appreciated.
 
USFS/IRVINE CO RESPONSE TO LEAST BELL'S VIREO FINDINGS: "Based on the survey data you submitted, the Irvine Company plans to apply for conditional coverage under the Orange County Central-Coastal NCCP/HCP to address impacts to the newly discovered occupied vireo habitat. As part of this process, they will need to identify a way to offset impacts to vireo in a plan approved by USFWS and CDFW. They are only starting this process so I don't have any further details on what they will be proposing as mitigation. I am not the normal staff person to work on this type of application for my office so I'm handing this project along to my colleague Will Miller (william_b_miller@fws.gov). If you have any questions about this project from here on out, he would be the best contact. Thank you very much for bringing the new vireo location to our attention, we greatly appreciate your dedication to conserving natural resources."  Lauren Kershek, USFWS
 
LEGAL EVALUATION: We received a legal evaluation from Advocates for the Environment, which lays out some potential legal pathways based on the changes in circumstances since the SEIR was approved in 2005.  We are now in the process of formally engaging the legal firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger to determine a case.

NEXT STEPS:

UNITE AGAINST DONALD BREN & THE IRVINE COMPANY: Since The Irvine Company's CEO Donald Bren makes all the final decisions for their development projects, our plan is to inundate him with thousands of messages to preserve the 400 acres and add it to Irvine Park and Peters Canyon.  Stay tuned for messaging templates.

CALLING ALL SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS: We need the help of influencers on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to share and create content that promotes our No Orange Heights campaign to preserve the 400 acre wildlife corridor between Irvine Park and Peters Cyn.

FINDING A NAME FOR THE LAND: We are interested in finding a name for the
threatened land between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon Regional
Park, so it is not referred to as the "threatened 400 acres" or "Orange
Heights proposed development site."  What do you think about the following ideas?

• White-tailed Kite Preserve
• Tokwishar (Tongva word for mortar stone in reference to CA-ORA-556, the prehistoric milling stone archaeological site.)
• Mountain Lion Corridor Preserve (M317 "Newport" a young male lion moves through the land frequently)
• Tukuurot (Tongva word for mountain lion)
• Raptor Hunting Ground Preserve (hawks, owls, falcons, harriers, white tailed kites and kestrels rely on the land for food)
• Eshaar (Tongva word for meadowlark -- a flock visits seasonally)
• Orange Hills Wildlife Sanctuary or Preserve
• Mamaahar (Tongva word for grass -- native perennial bunch grassland occurs on the land)
• Paa'or (Tongva word for sage -- the southwestern most stand of purple sage occurs on the land.  An abundance of white sage and black sage also occur)
• Horuuvar (Sagebrush supports coastal California gnatcatchers on the land)
• Irvine Peters Keystone Corridor Preserve
• Donald Bren Santa Ana Mountain Gateway Preserve
• Donald Bren Keystone Corridor Preserve
• Donald Bren Legacy Corridor Preserve
• Donald Bren Wildlife Corridor Preserve

Barefoot Joel
No Orange Heights
714-798-4392
jrobinson@naturalist-for-you.org