By Colin Tudor | Special to the Courier

I’m writing on behalf of the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy to share some truly exciting news that we hope will inspire our community: we have successfully protected 80 acres of Claremont’s foothills from development and added them to the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park.

This would not have been possible without the generosity, passion, and swift action of the people of Claremont and our dedicated public partners.

The newly preserved Seaver and Jaffe parcels — named after their former owners — are located above the northwest edge of Claraboya, along the western boundary of Johnson’s Pasture. These parcels were at immediate risk of being developed into 11 luxury homes, despite being in a zone classified by Cal Fire as “very high fire hazard.” Their protection not only preserves critical wildlife habitat and scenic hillside terrain but also extends an ecological corridor connecting Claremont’s wilderness park to Marshall Canyon and a broader network of LA County open spaces. This linkage is vital for biodiversity, wildlife movement, and public access.

The acquisition of these lands is a major milestone in local conservation. The total purchase price was just over $3.8 million. With strong support from our community, CWC contributed nearly $400,000. We were also awarded $3 million in competitive state grant funding. The City of Claremont contributed $400,000, and LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office provided $25,000 through the LA County Regional Park and Open Space District.

This is the first time since its 2000 founding that CWC has taken on the full process of applying for state and county funding, raising community contributions, negotiating with landowners, and coordinating a land purchase with the City of Claremont. As an all-volunteer nonprofit that has worked to preserve our hillsides for the past 25 years, we’re proud of this accomplishment. It echoes our earlier success in 2006, when we spearheaded the community’s efforts to save the 180-acre Johnson’s Pasture above Claraboya through a local bond measure campaign.

With the addition of the Seaver and Jaffe parcels, the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park now encompasses over 2,600 acres, a dramatic increase from the 40 acres of public open space in the early 1990s. We are well on our way to ensuring that the 3,100 acres of foothill land within Claremont’s city limits remain wild and open to us all.

This success is a reminder of what we can accomplish when we act together with a shared vision of environmental stewardship, public access, and long-term resilience. We are incredibly grateful to every donor, every volunteer, every city, county and state official, and every neighbor who stood with us.

Thank you, Claremont, for continuing to protect what makes our community special.

Colin Tudor is the president of Claremont Wildlands Conservancy.