The Escondido Creek Concervancy

ESCONDIDO — The county is acquiring 179 acres in Harmony Grove in one of the last large purchases to complete a wildlife corridor for the threatened gnatcatcher bird and disappearing coastal sage scrub.

The land consists of 60 acres between Del Dios Highway and Harmony Grove Road, and 119 acres north of Harmony Grove Road just outside the city of Escondido.

The parcels cost $1.7 million and $3.2 million, respectively. The county Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of the 60 acres last week and the purchase of the 119 acres Wednesday.

The county is paying for the purchases with capital project funds set aside for habitat acquisition.

The acquisitions are part of an ongoing effort to preserve land along Escondido Creek, home to the threatened California gnatcatcher and the red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, reptiles and mammals, said Trish Boaz, chief of the county Department of Parks and Recreation's resource management division.

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