Taking Care of the Santa Monica Mountains

While many may have heard of the Santa Monica Mountains and appreciate their uniqueness, few probably know about the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM). The mission of the RCDSMM is to promote land stewardship and resource conservation through ecological research, conservation planning and design, habitat restoration and environmental education. The RCDSMM encompasses the Santa Monica Mountains from Point Mugu to Topanga State Park and includes the Simi Hills, Santa Catalina Island, Pierce College, Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area, and Chatsworth Reservoir. 

As explained in this article by Jimy Tallal, even the COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed down the work of the RCDSMM. Highlights of RCDSMM's work in 2020 include (but are not limited to):

• Adding new distance-learning content to their environmental education offerings;
• Engaging community stakeholders in shaping the future of Topanga Lagoon;
• Completing the website on wildfire resilience and design phases for the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing Project;
• Working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to analyze areas of the Santa Monica Mountains that would be best for oak tree survival as the climate changes;
• Conducting ongoing monitoring to track the health of mature oak trees;
• Enlisting volunteer hikers to “adopt” and water newly planted oak seedlings on public lands until they become established;
• Starting an innovative program to use volunteers to teach community members how to recognize and report evidence of the beetles in native trees in neighborhoods, parks and wild areas;
• Continuing to conduct amphibian and turtle surveys throughout the Santa Monica Mountains; and
• Completing the architectural design and construction of a demonstration “house” that allows homeowners to see best management practices for hardening their structures against wildfire. 

To learn more, please read the source article and visit RCDSMM's website.