Millard Canyon
In 2012, AFC preserved 13 acres of rarely visited wilderness in Altadena’s Millard Canyon, above Hahamongna Watershed Park. Millard Canyon is surrounded by development and the land is contiguous with a large area of wilderness that was preserved by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in 2012.
The canyon serves as a wildlife corridor from the Angeles National Forest to Hahamongna Watershed Park. Running through the canyon is Millard Creek, which is spring fed and flows year round, supporting rich aquatic life and acting as an invaluable resource for wildlife. The canyon’s thick, mature canopy of at least nine native tree species provides ideal bird habitat.
Due to the sensitivity of the ecosystem at Millard, we minimize public access as much as possible. We only perform restoration when fire fuel reduction is necessary and hold no events at this Preserve. The area serves as a wildlife sanctuary and we have cameras in place to study wildlife behavior.Â
Habitat & Wildlife
For those who have spent some time in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, a visit to the rarely seen lower Millard Canyon may come as a pleasant surprise. It’s close to the city but feels like it could be miles away. The canyon features dense woods and a lush riparian habitat, unlike most foothill canyons. Millard is “high in ecological integrity,” said Thomas Juhasz, AFC’s endangered species biologist. “There are few unprotected places like Millard Canyon left in Los Angeles County.”
The canyon’s tightly knit and varied tree canopy provides plenty of shade, as well as shelter for the wildlife that roam the canyon. Mule deer, bobcats, and coyotes are known to frequent it, and there have also been sightings of black bears and mountain lions. We’ve also had 2 separate sightings of a rare, spotted skunk! The canyon serves as a narrow but crucial corridor for these and other creatures, allowing them to pass between the Angeles National Forest and lowland habitat within the Devils Gate Dam Flood Control Basin.
The canyon’s canopy also serves as a perch for birds. The yellow warbler and Cooper’s hawk, designated as California Species of Special Concern, have been identified in the canyon, as have Swanson’s thrush and the great blue heron.Â
Millard Creek, meanwhile, is one of the Arroyo Seco’s most important tributaries. It supports a rich array of aquatic life that includes tree frogs and the threatened coast range newt. During an AFC biological survey our Biologist found a population of the Two-striped Garter Snake, a State Sensitive Species, and several amphibians.
