San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust 166 Acres In Big Bear City
Courtesy of Education Trust Board member Ed Wallace
May 1, 2014 ____ The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust (Land Trust) in partnership with the Big Bear Valley Education Trust (Ed Trust) is proud to announce the purchase of 166 acres located adjacent to 300 acres of Forest Service property at the top of Moonridge in Big Bear City.
The site contains a protected area of rare Pebble Plain plants and miniature butterflies. The Pebble Plain is a geologic mix of quartzite pebbles and clay soils that is dense and gradually churns with the frost and thaw cycles so that no large root system can get established. As a result, the endemic plants that grow there are tiny- only 2 to 4 inches tall. Pebble Plain habitat occurs in only Big Bear and Holcomb Valleys and nowhere else in the world. These unusual plants and the geologic formation associated with them are remnants of the last ice age.
This site also provides non-motorized public access to a major pristine Pebble Plain located on Forest Service property. This new partnership will allow the Land Trust and Ed Trust along with the Inland Empire Resources Conservation District and the Forest Service to conserve, protect and maintain this very special land for the public benefit.
The Education Trust has been successful in obtaining a $23,900 planning grant from the National Forest Foundation to work with the local community to identify appropriate uses for the newly envisioned Big Bear Valley Wildland Park and Pebble Plain Preserve. Community meetings will be held during the next few months to help implement plans for recreational trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. In addition, educational opportunities will be explored for students, residents and visitors alike.
Kevin Kellems, the Projects Manager for the Land Trust, said, “The Moonridge Pebble Plain region of Big Bear Valley features some of the most unique forest habitat in all of the San Bernardino Mountains; it is an area of natural beauty, which the surrounding community can easily access and enjoy.”
Kellems and Education Trust Board member Ed Wallace have taken the lead in mending the fencing that protects the Pebble Plain area and restoring areas impacted by unauthorized vehicle trespass for illegal dumping and wood cutting.
Linda Ricchiuti, Ed Trust Board Member, says, “Acquisition of this property allows the Ed Trust to continue it’s focus on place-based education in the Big Bear Valley. The Academy of Environmental and Sustainable Sciences, one of the educational programs of the Ed Trust, features the very special educational opportunities located in Big Bear Valley such as the forest, lake, wetlands and the Pebble Plains. Our students tell us that they “feel like real scientists” after doing their research on the Pebble Plains.”