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Photo Courtesy Of Pacific Crest Trail Association

Agua Dulce Officials Urge Residents To Contact Federal Representatives About Funding Program

Officials with the Agua Dulce Town Council are urging residents to contact federal legislators in an effort to reauthorize funding for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a funding program that is being used to help reroute the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT).


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The PCT is a 2,650-mile trail stretching from the southern border of California through Oregon and Washington, until it reaches the Canadian border. The trail passes just north of Santa Clarita for four miles on Agua Dulce Canyon Road.

“Agua Dulce borders many public lands, and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail runs right through town,” said Don Henry, president of the Agua Dulce Town Council. “Many local residents enjoy hiking and horseback riding on the PCT in the nearby Angeles National Forest and through Vasquez Rocks Natural Area.”

However, the four-mile stretch of the trail in Agua Dulce is dangerous for both hikers and equestrians because they run along public roads, including Agua Dulce Canyon Road and Sierra Highway, according to Henry.

“As our community continues to grow, so does the danger,” Henry said.

In an effort to address these public safety concerns, officials with the U.S. Forest Service have begun a land acquisition project to reroute the PCT from Agua Dulce Canyon Road to a safer trail corridor nearby.

“We want to get people off of the main roads so we don’t have to worry about people getting run over,” Henry said.

In order to purchase the land necessary, officials have used funds from the LWCF, a federal conservation funding program that does not use taxpayer money, according to Henry.

“This money all comes from the oil companies,” Henry said. “This doesn’t come from peoples’ taxes or bonds. The money that is acquired all comes from the oil companies.”

Since its inception in 1964, the LWCF has been used to purchase land across the country. In 2001 alone, the program used almost $36 million to purchase 23,000 acres of land along the PCT, according to Henry.

“So far, the Forest Service has purchased 112 acres for the Agua Dulce reroute using just over $4.7 million from the LWCF,” Henry said.

In order to complete the PCT reroute, 229 more acres will need to be purchased, according to officials with the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA).

“There’s multiple owners, and those owners have different desires with their land,” said Mark Larabee, associate director of advocacy and government relations for the PCTA. “It’s a long-term project.”

However, the LWCF expired at the end of September and has yet to be reauthorized by Congress in spite of two bills pending in both the House of Representatives and Senate, according to officials.

“There is a majority support for it,” Larabee said. “But it’s all caught up in this last-minute budget battle you’ve been hearing so much about.”

The two bills, H.R. 502 and S. 569, have reportedly gathered bipartisan support, and would both reauthorize the program and help move the Agua Dulce project along, according to officials.

“We believe there is enough support for this,” Larabee said. “This money and this fund is so important to making sure we can provide for public land projects like this one in Agua Dulce.”

The Agua Dulce Town Council recently voted in support of the project, and have contacted local representatives in Congress to urge them to pass the bills before the end of 2018.

“We ask community residents to call their congress members as well,” Henry said. “Voice your support for the Pacific Crest Trail and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and ask them to renew this important program.”

Representative-elect Katie Hill, D-Santa Clarita, has promised help support efforts to reauthorize the LWCF.

“I fully support a permanent reauthorization and robust federal funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund,” Hill said. “As one of America’s oldest conservation programs, I know how critical it is to our communities. I welcome feedback from the Agua Dulce Town Counsel and I will take that feedback straight to Washington to aid in this fight.”

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Agua Dulce Officials Urge Residents To Contact Federal Representatives About Funding Program

One comment

  1. Is there a map showing the proposed route?

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.