Hundreds Of Acres Of Land In Murrieta's French Valley To Be Protected

MURRIETA, CA — Federal officials announced Thursday that more than $40.6 million in grants will be used for conservation planning projects across the nation — with nearly a quarter of the money coming to Southwest Riverside County.

An $8,971,625 grant through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be used to acquire and protect hundreds of acres of land within unincorporated Murrieta's French Valley, according to Thursday's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement.

The land will support areas identified in the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, with the goal of maintaining biological and ecological diversity amid the region's rapid urbanization.

The acquired properties will provide habitat "for a suite of covered species," including the federally endangered Riverside fairy shrimp, Quino checkerspot butterfly, least Bell’s vireo, and Munz’s onion; and federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher and Stephens’ kangaroo rat; and the at-risk western spadefoot toad and western pond turtle, the USFWS reported.

"The land proposed for acquisition is a key linkage between conserved habitat and complements the existing and future preserve areas within the Western Riverside County MSHCP," according to the USFWS announcement.

The nearly $9 million grant makes up the largest of the more than $40.6 million awarded across 10 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In total, the grants will support land acquisition and conservation planning projects on over 7,200 acres of habitat for 65 listed and at-risk species, according to the USFWS.

Read more about the additional awards here.