Palos Verdes Land Conservancy Launches $30 Million Fundraiser

PALOS VERDES, CA —The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and the city of Rancho Palos Verdes announced the "Go Wild for the Peninsula" fundraising campaign to create a 96-acre Wildlife Corridor in Portuguese Bend.

The $30 million campaign aims to raise funds for the restoration of wildlife habitats to stop the extinction of species like the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, which is the most endangered butterfly in the world.

Restoration also includes adding drought-tolerant and fire-resistant plants to support threatened species and meet California's 30x30 goal of conserving 30 percent of the land and coastal waters by 2030.

"[The land] has been pretty impacted over the past decade and it needs a lot of love," PVPLC Executive Director Adrienna Mohan said.

Mohan said work hasn't been done at the city-owned property yet, but they have plans to start efforts to remove non-native plants that have grown in the area. The PVPLC will start by bringing in goats early next year or sometime during spring to help take those critical first steps to reduce wildfire, Mohan said.

Toward the $30 million goal, PVPLC said it has raised $12.6 million from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Section 6 program — last year's largest award nationwide, which demonstrates the land's national importance.

California's Wildlife Conservation Board added $4.8 million in matching funds toward the wildlife corridor, and the city of Rancho Palos Verdes contributed $1.3 million. The L.A. County Regional Park and Open Space District has awarded PVPLC a competitive grant for $1 million from Measure A.

“We’re well on our way to our$30 million goal and we invite community members and businesses to Go Wild for the Peninsula and contribute to help us restore the natural environment of this iconic coastline,” President of the Board of the Land Conservancy Rob Kautz said in a statement.

Mohan said she is grateful the name "Go Wild" resonates with a lot of people and through that, they are able to help in the efforts with community support and donations.

For over 35 years the PVPLC has been dedicated to conserving natural land and protecting endangered species. With the wildlife corridor, the conservancy will help a variety of threatened species like the El Segundo blue butterfly and the Monarch butterfly as well as songbirds such as the Coastal California gnatcatcher and other local species like the cactus wren, raptors and owls and land mammals like the grey fox.

Mohan said she is excited for the future of the property and the ultimate goal is to beautify and bring color and life back to the slope.

"If I closed my eyes and envisioned my dream for the corridor it would be fluttering with butterflies and teeming with bird song," Mohan said.

City News Service contributed to this report