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Audubon Society joins Sierra Club in opposing quarry

The Palomar Audubon Society has just announced their opposition to locating a rock quarry mine in the Temecula Foothills. Dick Barber, Conservation Chairman for the local Audubon Society chapter, said they are concerned about what a nearby quarry operation would do to the “integrity of the Santa Margarita River.”

One of the last free-flowing rivers in Southern California, the Santa Margarita River passes within a mile of the proposed quarry site. The United States Bureau of Reclamation describes the Santa Margarita River as “one of the most biologically important rivers in the state.”

The Palomar Audubon Society is a chapter of the National Audubon Society, well known for their wildlife conservation work. The local chapter’s announced opposition follows the recent announcement by the local chapter of the Sierra Club that they are opposed to a quarry mine in the Temecula Foothills.

The local Sierra Club has indicated they are also worried that a quarry mine will harm important research and educational activities underway at the adjacent San Diego State University Ecological Reserve. The Sierra Club is also concerned about the possible disruption of the last remaining wildlife corridor that ties the Coastal Range with the Mount Palomar Mountain Range.

Save Our Southwest Hills President Kathleen Hamilton says it is great news that the highly respected Audubon Society, as well as the Sierra Club, have joined local opposition to the mine. “This is another clear indication that a quarry mine in the Temecula Foothills has become much more than a local issue,” she said. “It has become a Southern California issue.”

For more information, see http://www.sos-hills.org.

 

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