Researchers to do biodiversity survey in Azusa foothills

Researchers are set to do a biological survey of the Rosedale Open Space in Azusa that will begin Monday ahead of brush clearing to reduce the risk of wildfires, city officials announced Friday.

The Watershed Conservation Authority has hired HANA Resources to conduct the survey that officials said “will inform WCA’s work to balance fire resilience and biodiversity.” The HANA team will also develop a plan for sustainable land management, including procedures for reducing invasive species in the Rosedale Open Space.

This week Azusa residents or visitors may see the survey team accessing land through the Beatty Canyon service road at the end of East Viewcrest Drive beginning Monday at 8 a.m., according to the WCA.

WCA contractors are slated to remove invasive species in the Azusa area this summer.

The WCA is a coalition of municipal governments that manages open-space areas that include the Southern California mountains, valleys, rivers, coastal plain wetlands and coastline, plus the Puente Hills, Montebello Hills, San Gabriel Foothills, Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

According to the agency, it “has acquired six properties along three urban rivers, totaling more than 376 acres, ranging from wilderness open space to urban river parkways in various stages of planning and development for future public use.”

More information about the Azusa Foothills Open Space is at wca.ca.gov/azusa_foothills.

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