Lake Elsinore resident urges different approach to brush abatement in floodplain near Skylark Airport

Christian Connolly, a Lake Elsinore resident who said he has lived in the city for 20 years, used the meeting’s public-comment period to criticize recent brush abatement work on a section of floodplain adjacent to Skylark Airport and to urge a different approach to vegetation management.

Connolly said he regularly walks the small stretch of land between the airport and the lake and described habitat he has observed over time, including ponds used by herons and other waterbirds, three generations of great horned owls, coyotes and other wildlife. He said recent plowing and weed abatement intended for fire safety has instead favored invasive plants such as black mustard, which he said chokes native meadows and young scrub oaks and eventually creates dense, flammable thickets.

"What was once a biodiverse sanctuary is now impassable, degraded land," Connolly said. He said the degraded condition encourages trash and disrespect of the site and urged the city to "care for it, steward it, interrupt this cycle, invest in restoration and community and in education and in policies that are shaped by ecology and not just liability." Connolly asked the commission and staff to consider restoring the area and creating a wilderness park so residents and children can experience the habitat long term.

Chair Gray referred Connolly to city staff to have the matter considered; staff did not offer a response during the meeting. The remarks occurred during the non-agendized public-comment period and were recorded for the commission’s consideration.