California oil field faces $20 million funding gap in 25-year fight to stop development

Sign in West Coyote Hills advertising proposed trails. (Photos: Fullerton Observer) For 50 years, West Coyote Hills in Fullerton, California, has faced the threat of development. The 510-acre open space is a former oil field owned by Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes and surrounded by parts three cities- La Mirada, Buena Park and La Habra.Now, after 25 years of community efforts to preserve the land, the campaign to protect the remaining portion has entered its final stage. Friends of Coyote Hills says more than 75% of the funding needed to buy the property has been secured, but $20 million is still required to complete the $95 million purchase.The conservation group is seeking the remaining funding to permanently protect the west side of Coyote Hills as parkland and a nature preserve. If the purchase is completed, the total protected area will reach 582 acres, including the Robert E Ward Nature Preserve.The effort began in 2001, when a small group of local residents came together to protect one of the last large natural open spaces in the North Orange County–South Los Angeles region. Over the next 25 years, their campaign has led to the protection of more than 200 acres on the eastern s...