At first, the gift was anonymous, but Jack Nicholson was later reported to be the mystery donor. In 1994, someone donated about 60 acres of wild land in Coldwater Canyon to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, reports the Los Angeles Times . More than 30 years later, the story still raises an important question: why is a patch of open land so important to wildlife?
Jack Nicholson might run around with an axe on screen, but in real life he has been quietly working to help protect wildlife. The Conservancy is a California state agency that protects open space around Los Angeles. The land was described as part of a wildland link between two major parks.
The land was more than unused space. The owner could have sold it on the open market for a substantial sum. Instead, the land was given to the Conservancy. The Conservancy also had been buying other parcels of land elsewhere in the area to keep protected land linked across the Santa Monica Mountains, from Griffith Park in the east toward Topanga State Park in the west. This gift was one piece of that larger effort. Wild places are most effective when animals can travel between them. The study found very low genetic diversity and close inbreeding. The researchers documented a few cases in which lions killed other lions, including their own mates and offspring, and in some cases fed on them. Researchers believe this would be less likely if the animals were able to move more freely. It’s important to be clear about what one gift can show. But it does explain why land that links protected areas can be more important than its size would suggest. Open land between parks provides a corridor for animals to follow, and can prevent new homes and roads from cutting that corridor off.
The above study did not measure this 60-acre parcel and does not say that the donation solved any problem. Because wildlife habitat works best when it is connected, that mattered. Because of roads and developments in the area, a 2014 study in Current Biology found that mountain lions of the Santa Monica Mountains were isolated from other mountain lion groups.
The same reports said the city had already approved a subdivision of the property into four luxury home sites. At the time, reports said the city had approved four home sites on the property , which shows how close this habitat tract came to a very different fate.
