Babbitt/Wheeler Join Community In Celebration of San Diego's New Refuge

“I’m thrilled to be here today to join the citizens of San Diego in celebrating this pioneering effort that will preserve the natural beauty of this community for generations to come,” said Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at a dedication ceremony celebrating San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Plan and newest addition to the national refuge system and a key component in local efforts to protect native ecosystems—San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.

Secretary Babbitt was joined by Secretary Wheeler and community leaders at the ceremony, held at the Rancho San Diego tract of the San Diego NWR on March 18, 1998. Secretary Babbitt applauded the commitment of the community. “ San Diego now offers a model to the nation for how to plan for and balance the needs of man and nature.”

In a meadow ablaze with wildflowers, on a site once mapped as a home subdivision, federal, state and community leaders came together to dedicate the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. Pictured left to right: Michael Beck of the Endangered Habitat League; San Diego Mayor Susan Golding; Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt; California Resources Agency Secretary Doug Wheeler; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Gail Kobetich and San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
San Diego is home to more threatened and endangered plants and animals than any other county in the nation. Realizing the necessity to address the needs of both species and the expanding community, an unprecedented coalition of federal, state, and local governments, private land owners, environmentalists, and interested citizens worked five years crafting an agreement that will save a significant portion of these ecologically sensitive lands and allow for smart development to continue.

The MSCP will guide environmental protection and appropriate economic development over a 900 square mile area —581,600 acres. The centerpiece of the plan is the creation of a 171,900 acre preserve located in southwestern San Diego County, which will secure key parcels of coastal sage scrub, vernal pools, and other native habitat for the long term biological needs of 85 rare plants and animals.

“ This is the latest and best example of a new era in American conservation,” Babbitt said. “ Voluntary conservation partnerships on private lands will be as important to Americašs natural heritage in our children’s lifetimes as President Teddy Roosevelt’s founding of the National Wildlife Refuge system was to my generation. Through this effort we are making a promise to our children that they will experience the same thrill we have of seeing a bald eagle fly over head, a brown pelican fishing off the coast, or a pond turtle sunning itself in a stream.”