by Timothy Rutt
The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy has announced that it has raised enough funds in the past two weeks to create the Rosemont Preserve in La Crescenta.
According to a release from AFC, after announcing on May 14 that they were $20,000 short of the funds they needed to acquire the eight acres of open space at the top of Rosemont Avenue, community members pledged or donated $42,500 in about two weeks. AFC says that "the excess funds will help provide for the long-term stewardship of the land and will allow AFC to begin planning programs for the local community immediately. From the beginning of the drive the community has generously contributed a total of $97,500."
Big donors included $12,000 by La Crescenta resident Henry Fliegel, a $10,000 grant by the Wells Fargo Foundation and Scarlett Hibner of Flintridge donating $14,000 "in order get the conservancy’s planned projects and programs on the property up and running," AFC said.
Previous major supporters included La Crescenta residents Desiree and Paul Rabinov, $15,000; the Crescenta Valley Group of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and its members, $5,000' and the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich was responsible for securing $350,000 in county funding.