Escondido Creek group making waves

ESCONDIDO ---- The Escondido Creek Conservancy began with a hike along the water in 1989 and meandered its way into a 12-year-old organization of volunteers dedicated to protecting the 70-mile path of the Escondido Creek.

"During the hike, the neighbors in Elfin Forest felt development pressure was building along the creek," said Leonard Wittwer, a founder and president. "We wanted to see if there was something we could do about it."

DON BOOMER / Staff Photographer

Tim Costanzo, treasurer of the Escondido Creek Conservancy, Deborah LeLevier, assistant director and Leonard Wittwer, president, walk along the Escondido Creek on Monday.

They did.

Now, the conservancy has entered the big time of preservation groups, currently owning 360 acres toward its long-term goal of preserving 3,000 acres of open space along the creek from Lake Wohlford in Escondido west through Rancho Santa Fe to the ocean at San Elijo Lagoon in Encinitas. Most of that land ---- 253 acres ---- was purchased this month.

"Our main goal is the preservation of open space for wildlife and passive human use," said Wittwer, who lives along the creek in Elfin Forest.

The group, which has one part-time paid staff member, also performs creek clean-ups, educates schools and community groups and raises money toward preservation toward the creek which has been abused by sewage spills and illegal dumping for years.

Since the conservancy's origin, volunteers have given talks at local schools and sent out monthly newsletters. Their creek clean-ups have so far resulted in the removal of 150 tons of trash ---- including 35 car bodies and countless washing machines ---- from the area since the conservancy began, Wittwer said.

In the Monday morning mist, Wittwer pointed at a rock outcropping on a 11-acre parcel the conservancy owns along the creek and Harmony Grove Road.

"A lot of people recognize this place by the rock outcropping," he said. "It would have been a real shame to have changed that ridge line by building houses on it."

The conservancy, which boasts an eight-member board, 10 active volunteers, and 250 donors, saw its biggest land purchase yet when it joined with 3rd District county Supervisor Pam Slater earlier this month to preserve 345 acres of Del Dios property from development.

Slater and the Escondido Creek Conservancy bought land just southeast of Via Rancho Parkway and Del Dios Highway that was originally slated for an 84-home project. The county paid $1.2 million for 92 acres on the back side of the property. The Escondido Creek Conservancy took out a $3.3 million loan to buy the remaining 253-acre parcel. The county is expected to purchase that property from the conservancy within the next three years and maintain it for public use.

But preservation is only part of the conservancy's role. The group also works with developers and land owners to lobby for more open space in housing tracts and around the water's edge, Wittwer said.

Members also spend much of their time fund-raising, said Tim Constanzo, the group's treasurer. Along with raising an annual operating budget of $18,000 to $20,000 a year, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit group has built up a "war chest" of $200,000 toward securing property that comes up for sale.

"We have that fund so we can act fast when land comes on the line," Constanzo said. "As a group, we can move much faster than government. But we don't have nearly enough to buy the land we need to. We are always trying to raise more."

That is where the government agencies come in. The conservancy is working with both the county and the city to obtain at government funds and grants as well as to increase communications on the planning of the watershed area, said Deborah LeLevier, the group's assistant director and only paid, part-time employee.

"We started talking with the mayor ---- she really opened doors for us," LeLevier said. "Now when the city planning department is working on something along the creek, they call us."

Mayor Lori Pfeiler said she has seen a lot of progress since she began working with the group.

"Our ability to partner with the Escondido Creek Conservancy and control what goes into the creek at our end makes a big difference downstream," Pfeiler said. "We have been making sure (the group) has access so they do work in a partnership. We share information with them and they share it with us."

The conservancy also just formalized an agreement this month with the city of Escondido, the County of San Diego, and the cities of Solana Beach and Encinitas to meet quarterly on the fate of the stream.

Escondido Councilwoman June Rady worked as the informal representative from Escondido on the agreement for the past year.

"(The agreement) is so sorely needed, not just in San Diego County, but especially in North County," Rady said. "It is not about restricting development, but allowing development to go forward in appropriate areas."

Wittwer said the communication is necessary to continue pinpointing, purchasing and preserving parcels of land along the Escondido Creek.

"We are a private nonprofit organization so we are trying not be adversarial when protecting the land," Wittwer said. "We don't want to have a negative relationship with the landowners. We find we further our goal when we work together, and this is another way to do that."

Contact staff writer Erin Massey at (760) 740-5416 or emassey@nctimes.com.