Protecting Connectivity in Shadow Hills

In our region, the Verdugo Mountains are an isolated area of habitat – a biological island, cut off from other areas of open space by human development. Ensuring safe passage for wildlife means building a viable wildlife corridor, connecting stepping stones of habitat to one another and to the biodiverse San Gabriel Mountains. That work is at the heart of our urban conservation mission.

In August 2024, we kicked off a rigorous research project and community outreach campaign in Shadow Hills. We know through our preliminary research, including camera data dating back to 2018, that Shadow Hills in the western Verdugo Mountains has porous development with good species diversity. It is essential for wildlife to move through the area. But how and where?

The optimal habitat is on private residential land. Our team of AFC staff supported by Cal Poly Pomona students, developed a plan to go door to door to gather observations about local wildlife and talk about their need to travel between the Verdugos and Tujunga Wash for direct access to the San Gabriels. We developed relationships with 38 different homeowners interested in hosting cameras in their yards, generating a new transect of camera traps. Photos are providing us essential data about wildlife presence and movement patterns.

This kind of direct community canvassing allowed us to take our research to the next level and begin reestablishing connectivity for the western Verdugos.