91-Acre Parcel to Be Part of Regional Park : Wetlands: The river-bottom land near Del Mar is home to four endangered species. It will become the showcase entrance to a proposed 55-mile-long regional wildlife corridor.

A prized, 91-acre parcel of land alongside Interstate 5 near Del Mar was purchased Friday for inclusion in the ambitious San Dieguito River Valley Regional Park, a proposed wildlife corridor stretching 55 miles from the ocean to Julian.

The land purchase--for $4.9 million--was authorized by a joint powers authority representing San Diego County and the cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach, Escondido, Poway and San Diego. The purchase is funded through Proposition 70 state park bonds authorized by California voters in 1988.

Park planners say the river bottom land, between I-5 and El Camino Real and south of Via de la Valle, will eventually be restored as salt-marsh wetlands and serve both wildlife and man.

The site already is host to four endangered species: the California least tern, the light-footed clapper rail, the California brown pelican and the belding Savannah sparrow, and serves also as a winter home for migrating Canada geese.

In addition to enhancing the birds’ habitat, the park project will also provide biking, hiking and equestrian trails, picnic areas, nature interpretive centers and overlooks for bird watching, according to design plans now under review by the park agency.

The purchase also is a symbolic success for the 3-year-old San Dieguito River Valley Regional Park because the long-coveted site, in full view of freeway motorists, is considered part of the showcase entrance to the park.

County Supervisor Susan Golding, co-chair of the joint owners authority that is working to assemble the ocean-to-mountain park, hailed the purchase because “it was in a river valley that until now was threatened by destruction and development.”

The property was owned by an investment group known as the San Dieguito Partnership.

In 1988, during the earliest stages of the park’s establishment, Revelle said he was willing to dedicate some of the investment group’s land to the park in exchange for increased development rights on the rest of the land.

The land is currently zoned as agricultural, allowing only one home for every 4 acres. Any increases in density would occur only with approval of San Diego city voters because the area is in the city’s future-urbanizing zone.

Even allowing only one home per 4 acres, “they could have carved up the area into little ranchettes,” said Dwight Worden, the agency’s attorney.

Negotiations for the purchase were difficult, he said, because “they wanted 10 times more money” than was ultimately offered, based on several appraisals of the land.

Various public agencies now own more than half of the park strip, and officials say the notion of complete public access along the swath from the Del Mar beach to Vulcan Mountain near Julian is within grasp.

Gateway for Park A piece of property considered critical for the development of the 55-mile-long San Dieguito River Valley Park was purchased Friday. It’s alongside I-5 at Via de la Valle, the park’s gateway.