“Our environmental record speaks for itself.” “Even when people said we couldn’t do something, we always succeeded,” said Macie Cleary-Milan, the toll-road agencies’ deputy director for environmental planning. Two existing toll roads, the San Joaquin (73) and the Foothill (241), also had their swaths of sensitive habitat and species, as well as formidable opponents seeking to block construction.īut in the end, the agencies overcame the opposition and grew or preserved enough habitat to satisfy federal wildlife officials. Orange County has been down this road before. The agencies’ latest environmental impact report includes detailed accounts of the species, the land they live on and the possible negative effects of a four-lane tollway through their home turf. The big question is whether the corridor agencies’ plans to make up the loss by preserving or growing other habitat – and attendant species – will work. The mice are cocooned in their burrows, sleeping away the cold months and saving their energy for their burst of summer activity.Īrroyo toads, another endangered species, are also underground, awaiting the patter of raindrops that will signal the start of their late-winter breeding season. Many of the drought-adapted native plants are dormant, looking like clusters of brown and gray weeds.Įven the hilltop home of a highly endangered rodent – the Pacific pocket mouse – shows no activity. The furor over the agencies’ plans to cut a toll road through this remnant slice of wilderness has many flash points: For supporters, future growth that, without the road, could paralyze Interstate 5 for opponents, the possible loss of a big piece of a state park.īut biologists are most concerned about the subdued, yet highly diverse, palette of animals and plants that could be displaced by the road.Ī trip early in winter, soon after the plans for the road were announced, doesn’t shed much light on what the controversy is about. The agencies’ board will consider approving the route Thursday then the builders must obtain a variety of permits and approval from the state Coastal Commission before construction can begin. Last month, Orange County’s Transportation Corridor Agencies proposed a wilderness route for the 16-mile Foothill South to complete their regional network of toll roads. That’s why we have more and more rare ones.” “There are more people than critters anymore. “We’re dealing with ever-smaller pieces of high-quality habitat,” said state parks ecologist David Pryor on a recent visit to the park’s backcountry. Wilderness in crossfire in toll road debate – Orange County Register