Access to a clifftop hiking trail with magnificent views over the Pacific Ocean is being questioned as environmental activists seek to preserve endangered species living in the area.
The Dana Point Headlands Trail, halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles, is also home to the Pacific pocket mouse, the smallest species of mouse in North America, of which very few remain.
At last count in 2022, only 77 remained, prompting the San Diego Zoo to introduce a breeding conservation and reintroduction program.
Because mice thrive in the early afternoon and morning, activists want the trail’s opening hours to be reduced during peak mouse activity times.
The trail, inaugurated in 2009, had constant operating hours until the first days of the pandemic, when the CNLM temporarily closed it. Upon reopening, access was restricted until 2022
In May, the Dana Point Planning Commission approved a development permit that established operating hours allowing the public to access the Bluff Top Trail from dawn to dusk each day.
However, the Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) wants to see the number of days access allowed reduced along with shorter hours for trail use and has appealed the city’s permit to the Commission. California Coastal.
Hikers would only have access four days a week and only between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in the summer and 4:00 p.m. in the winter months.
The trail passes through a rocky outcrop covered in coastal sage and other plants native to the area, but it is also one of the few habitats for the Pacific pocket mouse and the also threatened California mosquito-hunting bird.
The CNLM is concerned about the potential negative impact on the pocket mouse, which is also found in only two other locations: Camp Pendleton and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.
In its appeal, CNLM argues that the city’s decision to grant the permit does not align with local coastal development and public access programs.
At last count in 2022, only 77 remained, prompting the San Diego Zoo to introduce a conservation and breeding reintroduction program.
The Dana Point Headlands Trail, halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles, is home to the Pacific pocket mouse, North America’s smallest mouse species, of which few remain.
The Coastal Commission will review the appeal next month and determine if changes are necessary to the city’s original permit, at which time a new one will be issued.
The dispute over trail use between Dana Point and CNLM has been going on for years.
A 2022 court order allowed daily use of the trail, which the Planning Commission recently made more formal.
Dana Point Mayor Jamey Federico believes it is important for the trail to remain open every day.
“We believe this is such an important coastal amenity for visitors that daily access should be maintained as a basis,” Mayor Federico told the Orange County Register.
‘We understand adaptive management and that the road needs to be closed from time to time based on the data. But we believe that the CNLM should take all possible measures to improve the pocket vole population before considering trail closures.’
The Center for Management of Natural Spaces (CNLM) wants to reduce the number of days of public access to the trail and reduce the daily schedule
The Headlands is home to one of only three known colonies of Pacific pocket mice.
CNLM purchased the land from developer Sanford Edward in 2005 for $11.9 million, funded by a grant from the Steel Foundation.
The money was invested to ensure the preservation of endangered species and plants. The group also received $800,000 from the Department of Defense to mitigate impacts to the mouse population at Camp Pendleton.
The trail, opened in 2009, had consistent hours until the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the CNLM temporarily closed it during “stay-at-home” orders.
Upon reopening, access was restricted between 9 a.m. and noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Initially, the CNLM refused to honor Dana Point’s wish to reopen daily from 7 a.m. to sunset.
Use of the trails has doubled since they opened, negatively affecting the reproduction and foraging of the mouse population.
Visitors walk to the tide pools in Dana Point, California
The endangered California mosquito-hunting bird also has a roadside home
The CNLM monitors the mouse population and the number of visitors to assess the impact of public use, which has doubled since its reopening.
The environmental group believes that the increase in the number of hikers is now having a negative effect on the mice.
Sarah Mueller, a lawyer for the CNLM, suggested a reduction in trail opening hours, which would help reduce the effect human activity could have on mice.
“The mere presence of people has an impact on the species and interferes with its reproduction and search for food,” Mueller told the OCRegistry.
Mayor Federico disagrees and believes the mouse population should try to be managed under the current configuration rather than causing the trail to be closed.