Thursday September 12, 2024
San Bernadino Sun —
Two environmental conservation groups have reached an agreement with three Southern California counties and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will establish 400 acres of habitat along the Santa Ana River for the federally protected Santa Ana sucker fish and the kangaroo rat.
The agreement, finalized Aug. 29, ends six years of negotiations between the Center for Biological Diversity, the Endangered Habitat League, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and three county flood control districts — San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange. Two San Bernardino County water districts also were involved in the negotiations.
“Finally, there’s good news for the San Bernardino kangaroo rat and the Santa Ana sucker, unique and imperiled species struggling because of habitat loss,” said John Buse, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement. “This agreement shows that with cooperation, we can achieve wildlife protection, water conservation and flood safeguards for Southern California’s largest watershed.”