Dear Friends of Buena Vista Creek We need your help more than ever in stopping dense development of this priceless valley. Help us raise the money to preserve 134 acres- forever! The city of Carlsbad has proposed changing the zoning in the valley to allow dense development- and name this one of 200 "Smart Growth" sites in San Diego County. There is nothing "smart" about destroying priceless resources, increasing traffic congestion, effecting a sacred waterfall, and damaging the watershed that feeds the Buena Vista lagoon and our coast. Come to the meeting and tell the city we want to see this valley preserved- there are many other places in the county where increased density can work- this just isn't one of them. Sherman Acquisition After 14 years of hoping and praying- the Sherman parcel is now under contract for acquisition! We are hereby formally initiating a $ 1m capital acquisition campaign to raise the last money needed to acquire this priceless land. The Buena Vista Creek Valley is a special place with a priceless combination of natural resources, cultural resources and historical significance. From early Luiseno encampments of 10,000 years ago to the historic adobe school tours of today, it has always been a place of reverence, respite, and abundance. And now this valley that connects generations of local residents of the past can be preserved for the generations of the future. The Sherman parcel is in the heart of this valley... This 134 acre parcel is in the core of this valley. It includes a key reach of the creek, the pond fed by artesian springs, and high quality natural land that supports a rich diversity of plants and animals. Upstream is the sacred waterfall and an old mine site. Downstream the creek meanders through constrained development to the Buena Vista Lagoon. The Sherman parcel presents a unique opportunity to connect this area to east/west hiking and biking trails to the coast, and to the south through the core area at Calavera. The Buena Vista Creek Valley is a place of historical significance from the days of early California ..... This area has been recorded in history from the time of the original Portola expedition to California in 1769. The land was part of the original Rancho Agua Hedionda land grant from Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Juan Maria Romualdo Marron in 1842. It was the home of Felipa Marron and her husband John Chauncey Hayes, a founder and developer of the City of Oceanside. This is the family that donated one mile of beach property to the City of Oceanside. Part of the valley has already been designated as a Historic District and is eligible for the national registry of historic sites. A place sacred to Native Americans ..... As the El Salto waterfall stirs our imagination today, it has been a focus for the spiritual life of native people for generations. The Native American Heritage Commission recently registered the El Salto Falls as a sacred site - testimony to the long term use of this area by Native Americans. The area is part of a cultural corridor of the Luiseno people extending from the falls on the east through the valley to the Agua Hedionda lagoon. This is a very special place where the people of the First Community lived, hunted, worked, laughed and cried for over 9,000 years. The grandmother of Louise Foussat, the recently deceased matriarch of the local San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, was born under a pepper tree that still stands on this land today. And still the water of Buena Vista Creek gives life and spirit to the plants and animals that survive there today.... A place of natural beauty from the banks of the creek to the bluffs of the coastal sage scrub hillsides.... The line of willows along the creek provide shelter to the endangered Least Bell's vireo. The artesian pond supports lush vegetation and migrating birds. The area serves as the primary regional wildlife corridor connection between the core habitat at Calavera through the stepping stones in Oceanside to Camp Pendleton. Because of its importance to regional wildlife movement the area has been designated by the state and federal wildlife agencies as the highest priority land acquisition in the entire North County conservation plan. The riparian corridor helps protect the watershed from this valley all the way to the impaired Agua Hedionda Lagoon and our precious coast. This is a very old and new place of life - plant life, animal life and the life of the people of this community. Preservation link

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