Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor threatened by Big Oil and Diamond Bar City Council

Many might not be aware that the hills the 57 freeway cuts through towards the 60 freeway, bordered by Brea Canyon and Tonner Canyon, are currently threatened to be developed by an oil company of all things. Aera Energy, owned by Shell and ExxonMobil has approached Diamond Bar City Council with a plan to plow over the hills and replace one of the last large vital natural open spaces in the area with 3,600 houses, an 18-hole golf course, local community commercial uses, and park space. The oil company owns the land and has had oil wells on it for years. They have come to realize that the land would be much more profitable if developed, rather than letting it sit there. If one recalls, oil companies have posted record earnings in the most recent past towering the earnings of most other industries. This is illustrated from an article in The Washington Post dated April 29, 2005: "As consumers struggle with record high gasoline prices, Exxon Mobil Corp. announced Thursday that its revenue totaled more than $82 billion in the first three months of the year.

The world’s largest publicly traded oil company boosted its profit by 44 percent, to $7.86 billion, from the same quarter a year ago. That left Exxon with a cash hoard of $30 billion."

What need they have for more revenue is beyond me. They have had far too much play in the way we live our lives. They have no ties to the area and its future. They do not care if our children's children will grow up to not know of the natural beauty that once existed in the area. They do not care if the wildlife corrior, a hotspot of biodiversity, will be ruined, ensuring no chance of survival for species who already have very little space to live.

The city of Diamond Bar is playing a big part in enabling Aera Energy to achieve their goals. It will surely mean more money for the city as well. But, may I ask you, is the city suffering so that it should be willing to sacrifice part of the future for its ends? If you've driven through Diamond Bar, you know that it does not face such suffering. In fact, more cities in the area face what one might define as "prosperity." There is a fine line, however, that one must draw. A city is healthily prosperous when all positive entities are in balance. What happens when you overbuild, so that the city becomes congested, it's inhabitants unhappy, it's natural heritage witheld from it's children? Is that then a greater prosperity?

Please visit the link posted for a more information on what you can do. http://www.hillsforeveryone.org/get-involved/you-can-help.htm

For the whole story, visit: http://www.hillsforeveryone.org/lands-at-risk/shell-aera.htm

Be sure to inform your neighbors and be a voice in your community. For the future's sake, we cannot allow this to happen.