Plants isolated from access to cross-pollination by insects also lose genetic diversity. Vernal pools, those dish-shaped seasonal wetlands that dry up in summer, are especially vulnerable if isolated. Linking Habitat Blocks To protect California's biodiversity, local, state and federal agencies that manage wildlife and oversee land-use planning are working with landowners and developers to maintain habitat linkage for animal access. In San Diego County, habitat linkages, as shown on the map, are part of Natural Community Conservation Planning. Fish and Game, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Forestry and Fire Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management all work to protect biodiversity through preserving habitat linkages.
Corridors can be narrow as a culvert or wider than an eight-lane freeway.
They may be short or extend for miles, perhaps crossing over or under roads. Saving Coal Canyon Establishing and protecting wildlife corridors can be lengthy, difficult, and costly. One such effort underway in Orange County would protect access to Coal Canyon, the only links between two biologically significant areas of wildlife habit totaling 512,000 acres in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. This vital corridor is accessible only from two privately owned pieces of land on either side of the freeway. The Puente-Chino Hills are too small to support many of the species that are there now.