RCA: 2024 annual report shows steady land acquisition but flags rough‑step shortfalls
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Summary
RCA reported new land acquisitions and significant monitoring work in its 2024 MSHCP annual report, while flagging shortfalls in specific 'rough step' units that require targeted acquisitions to restore balance.
The Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority received and filed its 2024 Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) annual report, which staff said shows continued land acquisition and active habitat management but also identifies shortfalls in some monitoring units.
Aaron Gabbie, RCA director, told the board the agency incorporated 2,409 acres into its additional reserve system in 2024 and that the program has acquired a total of roughly 70,502 acres through 2024; he said the current total now sits at 71,418 acres. "One of the RCA's primary responsibilities is creating a half‑million acre reserve system by acquiring 153,000 acres of additional reserve lands," Gabbie said.
Staff reported that acquisitions through 2024 amount to about 46% of the 153,000‑acre goal and that more than $692 million has been spent on acquisitions to date, of which staff reported roughly $485 million (70%) came from local funding, about $134 million (19.5%) from state funds, and about $72 million (10.5%) from federal funds.
Gabbie noted that 2,361 acres of development were approved for loss within the MSHCP plan area in 2024 (2,040 acres outside criteria cells and 321 acres inside criteria cells) and that cumulative reporting shows about 81% of development impacts have occurred outside the plan's criteria cells.
On performance measures, staff said permittees are out of "rough step" in one unit (Rough Step Unit 8) by vegetation type: roughly 18 acres in one vegetation type and about 105 acres in grassland. Gabbie said RCA is pursuing targeted land acquisitions to address those shortfalls and is working with wildlife agencies to quantify and respond to gaps.
The report also summarized management and monitoring activity: park staff and contractors monitor species, perform habitat enhancement (including post‑fire rehabilitation and invasive‑species control), removed roughly 33.4 tons of refuse from reserve lands in 2024 and installed miles of fencing and gates to limit unauthorized access. Gabbie described ongoing monitoring for burrowing owl, California gnatcatcher, arroyo toad and western pond turtle and noted collaborative monitoring with the Santa Ana Watershed Association.
Why it matters: The MSHCP is the regional framework guiding conservation actions across jurisdictions in western Riverside County; the board's receipt of the annual report acknowledges progress while signaling areas requiring additional attention, particularly where acquisition pace has not kept up with permitted impacts.
What happens next: Staff will continue pursuing land acquisitions, pursue plan amendments and studies (including a nexus study and an economic/social benefits analysis), and continue coordination with wildlife agencies about species additions and reserve assembly shortfalls.
