TRABUCO CANYON – A dozen years ago, as the Orange County Transportation Authority sought to renew a half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, conservation groups pledged support – provided an environmental mitigation program was incorporated into the measure.

In November 2006, Orange County voters approved Measure M2 – with the promise that 5 percent of freeway project budgets would go toward conservation efforts – for another 30 years of the half-cent sales tax. OCTA’s Measure M Freeway Environmental Mitigation Program allocates funds from the tax to acquire land and pay for habitat restoration projects in exchange for streamlined approvals for 13 freeway improvement projects countywide.

A four-wheel drive vehicle passes by a wilderness preserve sign on a remote road in the 399 acres of land purchased in Trabuco Canyon by the Orange County Transportation Authority. (Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG file)

Hikers make their way down a single track trail in 2013 enjoying a rare treat, a guided hike by the OCTA through 399 acres of pristine wilderness it owns in Trabuco Canyon called the Ferber Ranch. (Chat Metivier, Orange County Register/SCNG file)

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A hiker stops to say high to a horse ridden by the Orange County Sheriff’s Mounted patrol in 2013 who were along for the OCTA guided hike through 399 acres it owns in Trabuco Canyon called Ferber Ranch. (Chat Metivier, Orange County Register/SCNG file)

There were views of Trabuco Canyon along the trail for those that attended the Orange County Transportation Authority celebration ceremony in 2011. The area is in the 84 acre Saddle Creek South property, which bridges the gap between the OÕNeill Regional Park and the Cleveland National Forest. (Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG file)

Folks enjoy a rare treat, a guided hike in 2013 by the OCTA through 399 acres of pristine wilderness it owns in Trabuco Canyon called the Ferber Ranch. The property is being maintained as a wildlife and habitat preserve that will someday be open to the public. The hike begins through this canopy of oaks. (Chas Metivier, Orange County Register/SCNG file)



Fawns wander along a remote road in 2015 in the 399 acres of land purchased in Trabuco Canyon by the Orange County Transportation Authority. The land purchase ensures protection of wildlife and habitat for generations. (Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG file)

It was an uphill hike with beautiful views for those that attended the Orange County Transportation Authority celebration ceremony in 2011. The area is in the 84 acre Saddle Creek South property, which bridges the gap between the OÕNeill Regional Park and the Cleveland National Forest. (Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG file) openspace.0513 – 05/13/11 – Photo by MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A milestone in this arrangement was reached last week, as OCTA joined federal and state wildlife agencies and local environmental groups at O’Neill Regional Park to announce completion of plans to protect 1,300 acres of open space in Brea, Laguna Beach, Silverado Canyon and Trabuco Canyon. The plan ensures the areas remain development-free.

“Conservation groups supported the sales tax because the measure had this programmatic conservation component in it,” said Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks Green Vision Coordinator Melanie Schlotterbeck, representing 30 conservation groups. “The biggest success is that this was the first time in Orange County history that conservation groups supported a transportation measure.”

Through the mitigation program, OCTA has, to date, acquired seven parcels of land previously slated for development at a cost of about $30 million. About $10 million in funding has also been set aside for 11 habitat restoration projects totaling close to 400 acres.

By the time the measure expires in 2041, it is expected to yield about $280 million for conservation projects. The program also provides funding to cities for initiatives to protect water quality.

Conservation efforts are being handled in a comprehensive manner, rather than a piecemeal approach, to offset environmental impacts of the 13 freeway projects in Measure M2. They include the Interstate 405 Improvement Project; the Interstate 5 project adding a new carpool lane in each direction in San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano; the State Route 57 widening between Orangethorpe Avenue and Lambert Road; and the State Route 91 widening between State Route 55 and Weir Canyon Road.

“We were able to buy larger parcels because we could combine funding from several highway projects that may not have even been built, to build large swaths of valuable habitat,” said OCTA board member Lori Donchak, chairwoman of the authority’s Environmental Oversight Committee.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife issued the permits for the conservation efforts, known as the Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan.

“The plan really builds off of the previous regional planning that we’ve done in Orange County,” said Jonathan Snyder, division chief of Los Angeles and Orange County for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Those efforts created large reserve systems in central, southern and coastal Orange County and the Measure M plan was able to provide for conservation that connects up those existing reserve systems.”

Since the parcels are open space and not recreational space, they are only accessible to the public through OCTA-hosted hikes and equestrian rides. Trails in parts of Aliso Canyon are open to the public, due to a prior designation.

OCTA staff will continue to work on completing resource management plans for each of the seven preserves, outlining potential public access that won’t compromise preservation requirements.

“This was kind of the first real go at the conservation activities,” said Schlotterbeck, who is also vice chairwoman of OCTA’s Environmental Oversight Committee. “There’s more to come.”