Outcry Halts Cattle Grazing on Orange Site

In another twist in the controversial Santiago Hills development in East Orange, the Irvine Co. on Tuesday sent cowboys to remove cattle from the site after criticism from residents and environmentalists.

Critics charge the Irvine Co. deliberately put a herd of cattle on the site to graze, breaking an agreement with the city of Orange to preserve wetlands until environmental studies are completed next year. Environmentalists say the cattle may have destroyed habitat for endangered species such as the least Bell’s vireo and the Southwestern willow flycatcher.

“Cattle have become a major environmental issue. This is the sort of thing that 20 years ago one might have expected but today is frankly shocking,” said Eric Noble of the Friends of County Ridges Parks and Wildlife. “This kind of terrain won’t support cattle, and if it does, it takes an incredible toll.”

An Irvine Co. spokesman said cattle have grazed on the site near Santiago Canyon Road for a century, and that the company has not broken its environmental agreement with the city.

“There was no expectation that cattle would damage the environment,” said Mike Stockstill, the spokesman. “It’s a natural use of the land.”

But critics say cattle’s harmful effect on habitat is well-known. The company’s own Web site boasts about restoration work being done to other land to repair damage from cattle grazing.

“Moving dozens of heads of cattle onto a piece of property with major roads on three sides isn’t a casual mistake. . . . Frankly, we don’t buy it,” Noble said.

He said he believes the cattle were used to destroy critical habitat to ease development of Santiago Hills Phase II--a 494-acre triangular site roughly bounded by Jamboree Road, Irvine Regional Park and the Eastern Transportation Corridor, where the Irvine Co. plans to build up to 1,746 homes. Santiago Canyon road runs through the middle of the site.

This spring, independent biologists will do a mandatory survey of the property. If vegetation has changed, for example as a result of cattle grazing, there will be less wildlife to record, Noble said.

City officials said they are looking into the issue but said it was too early to tell if the mitigation agreement has been broken. Tara Finnegan, a city spokeswoman, said she did not want to comment on a possible course of action if the city determines the agreement has been broken.

After executives at the Irvine Co. received calls from residents, the company decided to have the 30-plus cattle moved.

“Even though it’s appropriate for the cattle to be there, we started the operation to move them out,” Stockstill said.

Stockstill said the company ceased its cattle operation in 1985 but still leases land for grazing. The cattle grazed on the site beginning Friday, and the company began moving them out over the weekend, he said. Monday’s nearby brush fire temporarily stopped the move, Stockstill said, adding: “When the fire came, the fire department wouldn’t let them continue.”

Paul Hunter, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority, which handled the brush fire, said they had not been told to stop moving cattle. Hunter said the fire department was asked by Irvine Co. representatives if they had to evacuate them.

“We didn’t tell them they couldn’t,” Hunter said.

Critics also charge a contractor for the company improperly graded the property in July.

“We’re upset about what they’re claiming are a series of mistakes,” Noble said.

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Cattle Country?

Endangered species habitat may have been destroyed by cattle that were improperly allowed to graze on Irvine Co. land, according to environmentalists.