Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) is one of the largest urban parks in the United States and home to hundreds of native species, including rare, threatened, and endangered animals like the California gnatcatcher and San Diego fairy shrimp. Expanding the park and protecting what’s left of San Diego’s natural landscape is imperative to conserving habitat for wildlife to thrive in perpetuity. Both the City of San Diego and the nonprofit MTRP Foundation are working to acquire privately-owned parcels within the park’s boundaries. These acquisition efforts support the park’s 2019 Master Plan Update and the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), a regional initiative to preserve land essential to local plants and animals.
The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, founded in 1988, has been awarded two grants for land acquisition by the San Diego River Conservancy (SDRC), an independent and non-regulatory state agency. In July 2024, the MTRP Foundation donated 55 acres of acquired land to the City of San Diego to add to Mission Trails and made its second land donation in March 2025, bringing the total acreage donated by the MTRP Foundation to date to 108 acres. The land is in the East Elliott Community Planning Area north of State Route 52 and west of Mast Boulevard.
“The San Diego River Conservancy is proud to support the MTRP Foundation’s land acquisition initiative as it will improve the San Diego River watershed, support wildlife, and preserve and protect the land for future generations.” shared SDRC’s Executive Officer, Julia Richards.
“The City of San Diego is grateful to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation for its generous land donation and ongoing commitment to conservation,” said City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum. “Through our partnership, we are expanding protected open spaces, preserving San Diego’s unique biodiversity and ensuring future generations can enjoy the natural beauty of Mission Trails Regional Park. Each addition to the park and the Multiple Species Conservation Program strengthens our efforts to conserve endangered plants and wildlife, and we look forward to continuing this important work together.”
The MTRP Foundation will continue to seek funding for land acquisition and welcomes support from the community to continue working on this and other important park initiatives.
For more information, please contact the MTRP Foundation at mtrp@mtrp.org.
Watch aerial footage of the East Elliott Community Planning Area (caution: loud helicopter noise)