Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy

A trail in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, overlooking Coastal sage scrub and the Pacific Ocean.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) is a non-profit organization that is based on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.

Its mission is "Preserving land and restoring habitat for the education and enjoyment of all".

The Conservancy is a land trust and environmental organization to protect natural areas in the Palos Verdes Hills and adjacent coastal Palos Verdes Peninsula areas. Habitats protected include those of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion and its Coastal sage scrub and Southern coastal grasslands subregions.

Preserves

Founded in 1988, the Conservancy has protected 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) of open space as nature preserves on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

White Point Nature Preserve

The White Point Nature Preserve is located in San Pedro and features 102 acres (0.41 km²) of restored coastal sage scrub habitat, hiking and handicap access trails, and a Nature Education Center overlooking the ocean and Santa Catalina Island.

According to the Land Conservancy, White Point Nature Preserve was formerly owned and operated by the US military as a Nike missile site. When the City of Los Angeles purchased the land back, it was designated to the Conservancy in 2000. A 25-year agreement was made with the Conservancy and the City to help restore the native plant species and habitat for both native flora and fauna. The White Point Nature Preserve was established and opened for the public to enjoy its scenery, trails, and education program in 2003.

The White Point Nature Education Center has been constructed from an old missile assembly building and provides visitors with exhibits showcasing the Preserve's rich cultural and ecological history. The site once belonged to the Tongva, an indigenous tribe from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands. The Education Center highlights the history of the Tongvan people and their importance to the land, and is surrounded by native plant demonstration gardens.

Defense Fuel Supply Point

The rare Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly.

The Defense Fuel Supply Point in San Pedro provides storage for military fuel reserves and is also home to the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis), the “rarest butterfly on earth”. The DFSP mission is a restricted facility which receives, stores, and distributes diesel and jet fuels for military use in California, Arizona and Nevada. Coastal sage scrub is juxtaposed within pipelines and storage tanks, providing habitat for the Palos Verdes blue butterfly as well as the threatened California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica), a small gray bird that is listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Linden H. Chandler Preserve

The Linden H. Chandler Preserve is a 28.5-acre (115,000 m²) property located in Rolling Hills Estates. Owned jointly by the City of Rolling Hills Estates and the Land Conservancy, intensive habitat restoration efforts have added native wildflowers and shrubs to the hillsides. Trails traverse its slopes and grasslands, passing by a recently restored wetland area. The Linden H. Chandler Preserve was created in 1993 through a sale and donation of property by the Chandler heirs, who wanted to see the land preserved in their father's name, who was the founder of Chandler's Palos Verdes Sand and Gravel in Rolling Hills Estates.

Palos Verdes Nature Preserve

Aerial view of preserved land on the coast

The Palos Verdes Nature Preserve is the largest of the Conservancy's preserves consisting of approximately 1,400 acres (5.7 km²) of rolling hills, steep canyons and rock outcrops, with natural habitat and views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Catalina Island. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes owns most of the land and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy manages the preserve. The preserve is made up of 10 reserves: Abalone Cove Ecological Reserve, Agua Amarga Reserve, Alta Vicente Reserve, Portuguese Bend Reserve, Filiorum Reserve, Forrestal Reserve, Three Sisters Reserve, San Ramon Reserve, Vicente Bluffs Reserve, and Vista Del Norte Reserve.

Lunada Canyon Reserve

The Lunada Canyon Reserve is a 20-acre (81,000 m²) canyon that was given to the Conservancy by the E.K Zuckerman family in 1992. It makes up part of the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve.

George F Canyon Preserve

The 51-acre (21 ha) George F Canyon Preserve and Nature Center is owned by the City of Rolling Hills Estates, and operated by the Conservancy. A nature trail passes through one of the largest canyons on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Visitors walk or ride on horseback through willow-riparian and coastal sage scrub habitats, culminating in a view of the Los Angeles Basin.

The George F Canyon Nature Center provides educational and recreational programs. Exhibits focus on themes such as butterflies, birds of the canyon, insects, plant habitats, animals and wildflowers.

Science and education

The Conservancy works to save the landscape from past degradation from urbanization, agriculture uses, and the introduction of invasive foreign species. The goals of the Conservancy's science program are to increase the scientific knowledge base of the Palos Verdes Peninsula through collaborative research. The scientific program focuses on understanding the basic ecosystem functions that define the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Research is conducted both by Conservancy staff and through partnerships with universities, colleges and local agencies.

Research projects inform restoration, conservation, education, and stewardship programs and address the interface between the natural and urban environments. The Conservancy's research program was developed to involve collaborative researchers with the overall goal of increasing the scientific knowledge of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

See also

• South Coast Botanic Garden
• Palos Verdes Peninsula topics
• Natural history of Los Angeles County, California
• Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands