Puente Hills Preserve News

Puente Hills Preserve News, April 2024

A Message from our Executive Director Andrea Gullo:

30 Years of Service, 1994-2024

This year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary of preserving the Puente Hills as a public agency. Since 1994, the Habitat Authority has been honored to play our role for nature and the public good. We hope to continue to do so for future generations to come as we explore future funding options to address a budget structural deficit that threatens the continuation of essential services.

For three decades, the Habitat Authority is proud to have served by:

Protecting and managing the 3,880+ acre Puente Hills Preserve, implementing habitat restoration of over 312 acres, and partnering in building Los Angeles County’s first wildlife underpass.
Providing a 23-mile trail system (via six trailheads: Sycamore Canyon, Powder Canyon, Hellman Park, Arroyo Pescadero, Hacienda Hills, and Turnbull Canyon) for thousands of people to enjoy daily.
Providing rangers that provide law enforcement and are trained in wildfire fighting, which contributes to the local communities’ quality of life and property values by keeping the hills clean and safe.
Contributing to our social fabric by providing a venue for our amazing volunteers to host public hikes each week for all to enjoy.
Providing preventative brush clearance to protect local communities from wildfires.
Having provided outreach to over 33,000 youth and adults as a result of our educational efforts.

Join Us!

To sign up for our newsletter or a hike, and for more information about our history, list of achievements and funding challenges and options please visit our newly redesigned website, which supports multiple languages and is made accessible for many users.

Hopefully, you had a chance to meet with us in person over the last year at one of our three open houses where we provided information about our activities and funding challenges. If not, we look forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming events mentioned below.

Habitat Authority's Upcoming Events:

Tabling at the Sanitation Districts Earth Day event, April 13, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. Location:1955 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601.

Click image for more details.

Habitat Authority's Earth Day celebration event, April 20 from 9:00 am -11:30 am. Location: Hacienda Hills Trailhead, 14600 Orange Grove Ave, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745.

Click image for more details.

The Habitat Authority will give a presentation to Friends of the Whittier Hills for their annual meeting on April 28 at 7 pm. Location: 8035 Painter Ave. Whittier, CA

All are welcome!

Trail Repair

The winter season brought a lot of rain, which the thirsty plants loved, but it also resulted in the need to repair many trails throughout the Preserve. We and our contractors have been hard at work clearing trails and making improvements especially along the Bob Henderson Loop Trail at the Arroyo Pescadero Trailhead, and along several trails in Powder Canyon. The repairs in Powder Canyon are ongoing through April.

Protect Open Space

The Habitat Authority is exploring ways to preserve and enhance the beauty of the Puente Hills. Additional funding would assist first responders, maintain natural habitats, prevent homeless encampments, and support the work of park rangers. Click here to view social post.

California Bush Sunflower

Most people associate sunflowers with the large annual plants grown in gardens that produce delicious sunflower seeds. But Southern California is also home to other types of sunflowers, including the California bush sunflower (Encelia californica). This attractive shrub blooms cheerfully in the spring before going dormant by mid-summer. These sunflowers can be enjoyed along many trails in the Preserve at this time of year including at the Hacienda Hills Trailhead and Arroyo Pescadero Trailhead. Click here to view social post.

Some interesting facts about this species include:

Like garden sunflowers, California bush sunflower heads track the sun.
Each “sunflower” is actually made up of many individual flowers. The “petals” are ray flowers and the brownish center is made up of many disk flowers. This is a characteristic of the sunflower family: a cluster of flowers mimics a single flower.

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

Lady Bird Johnson

Former First Lady of the U.S.

What is one trail you have not explored but you've been hoping to on the Puente Hills Preserve?

Answer to last month's newsletter poll question: We asked if you have ever spotted a gray fox on the Preserve. 48.6% said they had not seen one. 18.9% said they had seen one in Powder Canyon, followed by 13.5% at Turnbull Canyon, 8.1% at Sycamore Canyon, 5.4% at Hacienda Hills, 2.7% at Arroyo Pescadero, and 2.7% at Hellman Park.

The Habitat Authority is a local government agency, and is qualified to accept tax-deductible charitable donations including monetary and real property. Donations such as these contribute to the purpose of the agency and provide tax benefits for the giver.