The new Palos Verdes Nature Preserve area consists of more than 1200 acres of rolling hills, steep canyons and rock outcrops, with significant habitat and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes owns most of the land, which has been acquired over the past twenty years but only now, with the acquisition of the Peacock Flats parcel, has the land been joined together as one Preserve. The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy is managing the Preserve and holds or will hold conservation easements over the property, guaranteeing that it will be preserved forever as open space.
The Preserve will be managed according to the Natural Communities Conservation Plan (see below).
WILDFIRE UPDATE
As of November 10th, the City of Rancho Palos has re-opened portions of the Portuguese Bend Reserve with limited trail access. The temporary trail closures are to help ensure recovery of sensitive habitat that was burned during the August wildfire. Please refer to the modified trails map attached for specific closures and alternative routes. When visiting the Reserve, please observe all signage, along with posted safety and trail etiquette.
To receive periodic PVPLC updates, please send us your email address to: info@pvplc.org
The Natural Communities Conservation Plan and the Preserve
In order to understand why we had state and federal assistance in preserving the remaining open space in Palos Verdes, a little background is necessary. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was legislated by the federal government to protect species in danger of extinction. In response to concerns that this Act was not entirely successful, in the early 1990s the federal government established the Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) process to encourage the creation of regional plans for specific areas. The goal of this planning process is to preserve the most important areas of open space for multi-species protection, while allowing development on less important areas. Governor Pete Wilson agreed to pilot this new type of regional planning in Southern California.
The state and federal governments made funding commitments to jurisdictions which would undertake and complete an NCCP. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes began its NCCP process for the Palos Verdes Preserve in 1996, involving local property owners, environmentalists and concerned residents. The final plan, approved on August 31, 2004, provides for preservation of almost all of the remaining open space in the City.
