Our Clean Air Day Event under the Pico Canyon Oak was a big success!

Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE) and SCV Citizen’s Climate Lobby hosted a Clean Air event on Oct. 5th. We had a great time listening to music and hearing from local candidates about how their offices would help our local environment.  

The Clean Air Teach-In was aimed at getting students and others to think about how we can improve our air quality through the choices we make as well as the health impacts we may all suffer if we don’t clean up the air. It was funded by a grant from the California Coalition of Clean Air, and included information tables from different environmental groups across the valley. Local singer Michael Singletary kicked off the event by singing a song written by Pete Singer many years ago called “Solartopia”, which still rings true today. We celebrated under the 400-year-old “Old Glory” Pico Oak Tree in Pico Canyon Park. Oak trees are incredibly important in cleaning our air and sequestering carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

Even if you missed the event,
it’s not too late to help change the world
by taking the
CLEAN AIR PLEDGE HERE.

Our petition to name our magnificent Old Glory Oak as a County Landmark was unanimously approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this September 2024!

Our petition to recognize Old Glory as a County landmark was successful thanks in part to your signatures!

“We are so pleased that our magnificent Old Glory Pico Oak has become become a county landmark,” Plambeck said in the statement. “SCOPE and other community members began working on this idea around two years ago as a way to bring attention to this incredible tree. We believe it is a great way to honor its survival and all the people who helped to save it as well as bringing attention to the importance of oaks and the part they play in cleaning our air and protecting us against climate change.” 

Read more in the Signal: Old Glory set to be recognized as a historic landmark

Here are SCOPE’s 2024 Goals:

SCOPE Goals for 2024 with action items

• Chiquita Canyon Landfill
  • Reduce Trash Campaign
  • Bring your own bags to eliminate plastic
  • Increase compostable bag use
• Preserve Heritage Oaks
  • Map our oaks in the Santa Clarita Valley
  • Create contest to name oaks
• Wildlife Corridors
  • Work with a wildlife biologist to determine the best new focus areas:
    • Newhall Pass
    • Castaic Area
    • Mountain Lions
• Flood Plains Protection
• Track CEMEX Mine Developments
• Continue work to protect the Santa Clara River

If you are interested in getting involved in any of these issues, please contact SCOPE at: exec-scope@earthlink.net

Highlights of our Work in 2023

Oaks 

  Settlement with Los Angeles County to protect oaks, including heritage oaks, preserve public notice and continue to require replacement oaks if removals are approved. The County will also develop and provide a brochure on the importance of preserving our oaks in an effort to educate residents about the importance of these amazing native trees. Many thanks to California Oaks, a project of the CA Wildlife Foundation and other donors for making this work possible.

   We celebrated twenty years of survival of the Pico Canyon Old Glory Oak since the great urban tree sit ended in 2003 and the oak was saved in 2003. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has proposed this oak for landmark status – to be considered in 2024.

Protecting the Santa Clara River Floodplain

   Flood plains provide an overflow area for rushing water and a place where that water can sink into the ground to re-charge thirsty aquifers. They provide an escape route for animals when floods occur. A new State Flood Plan found that CA could save billions of dollars by working with nature and giving our rivers some “elbow room.”  However, this year County Public Works Dept. narrowed the flood map designation in a crucial part of the Santa Clara River next to the huge Newhall Ranch project, a change seemingly made to accommodate FivePoint/Newhall’s development plans and leave the added emergency costs to the public. We will continue to oppose this change in 2024.

Protecting Mountain Lion Habitat 

   Our challenge to a housing project that failed to disclose the presence of mountain lions and their access to a permanent water supply continues. This project, located in a in a very high fire severity zone also presents potential danger to future and existing residents due to increased fire evacuation times. The Southern mountain lion is now being considered for endangered species status due to high mortality from auto deaths and poison, along with loss of habitat.

Chiquita Canyon Landfill

This is not a pretty picture, but it is an issue that we spent a lot of time on this year and for many years in the past. We attended hearings, wrote letters, made phone calls. We worked to ensure that air monitors were installed and supported the local community in their efforts to demand clean air for their neighborhoods from this multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation headquartered in Texas. For many years we have demanded water quality monitoring wells over concerns that toxic leachate will reach our water supply. Just recently the US EPA has finally stated it will investigate.

Thank you everyone!

You made our 35th Anniversary Fundraiser Celebration a success!

The SCOPE Board received acknowledgements for our work from Senator Scott Wilk, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, Supervisor Barger and the City of Santa Clarita. To see more pictures of this event, go to our face book page by clicking the icon above.