California oil field preservation fight is $20m short of $95m land purchase
A community-led conservation group in California is seeking $20 million to complete the $95 million purchase of West Coyote Hills. The project aims to preserve 582 acres of former oil field land as a nature preserve and public parkland.
Why it matters
It represents a significant long-term effort to protect urban open spaces from commercial development and expand public access to nature.
For 50 years, West Coyote Hills in Fullerton, California, has faced the threat of development. The 510-acre open space is a former oil field owned by Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes and surrounded by parts three cities- La Mirada, Buena Park and La Habra.Now, after 25 years of community efforts to preserve the land, the campaign to protect the remaining portion has entered its final stage. Friends of Coyote Hills says more than 75% of the funding needed to buy the property has been secured, but $20 million is still required to complete the $95 million purchase.The conservation group is seeking the remaining funding to permanently protect the west side of Coyote Hills as parkland and a nature preserve.
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