Last month, the San Diego River Conservancy (SDRC), an independent, non-regulatory state agency established to preserve, restore, and enhance the San Diego River area, awarded the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation a $2 million grant to acquire land that will become part of Mission Trails Regional Park.

In July, the City of San Diego purchased 25 acres to add to the park. Already one of the largest urban parks in the United States, these two acquisition efforts will total more than 100 new acres for Mission Trails.

The 83 acres to be purchased with the SDRC grant are in the East Elliott Community Planning Area, north of State Route 52.

Following the acquisition, the MTRP Foundation will donate the land to the City of San Diego. Both the City and Foundation’s land purchases support the park’s 2019 Master Plan Update and the City of San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), a regional initiative to preserve land essential to local plants and animals.

The grant award was announced at a press conference in late September, and the speakers included Council member Raul Campillo (D-7), MTRP task force chair and member of the SDRC Governing Board; Ben Clay, chair, SDRC; Lane MacKenzie, MTRP Foundation board president; Andy Field, director of City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department; and Jennifer Morrissey, MTRP Foundation executive director.

Julia Richards, executive officer of the San Diego River Conservancy shared, “The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation’s land acquisition supports the State of California’s and the Natural Resources Agency’s path to conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. This proposed land acquisition provides multiple benefits, which include habitat conservation, and protection of wildlife corridors and the San Diego River watershed.”

The acquisition process is expected to take up to two years, and the MTRP Foundation will be working closely with SDRC and the City of San Diego during the process. The Foundation will continue to search for funding sources to acquire more of the approximately 600 additional acres of land that could be added to Mission Trails.

Remarking on the grant award, Morrissey stated, “We’re deeply grateful to the San Diego River Conservancy for providing funding that will allow us to not only help expand the park, but also protect sensitive habitat. Access to public lands increases understanding of the natural world, and we look forward to the day when these acres also foster environmental stewardship among park users. We at the MTRP Foundation appreciate the community members and organizations that support the Foundation as their contributions allow us to do this important work.”

Photo credit: Mark Foreman

Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Taylor Crowley. Crowley is communications/operations assistant for Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.