Jeopardy's Alex Trebek donated 74 acres in 1998; his $2 million gift helped protect wildlife and open space
Los Angeles is a city of traffic, freeways, and nonstop noise. Despite all of this, bobcats and coyotes still call the area home. According to a 2003 study in Conservation Biology, researchers radio-collared 50 bobcats and 86 coyotes between 1996 and 2000. The authors note that for bobcats, protecting enough good open space for adult females is necessary to keep the population viable. That idea might help explain a gift from 1998, when "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek bought land in the Hollywood Hills and donated it for public use.
Alex Trebek's 1998 gift of 74 acres in the Hollywood Hills to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy created a vital wildlife corridor for bobcats and coyotes. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)A $2 million gift for the hillsThe Los Angeles Times reported on January 14, 1998, that Trebek purchased 74 acres of open land for 2 million dollars and donated it to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. John Diaz, the conservancy's acquisitions director, said the gift would nearly double the public parkland north of Hollywood Boulevard and east of Nichols Canyon Road. The conservancy wanted to protect this land as a wildlife corridor for coyotes and deer, as well as develop hiking and cycling trails for people and wildlife. Buying the land kept it from being developed.
The team measured how much of each animalβs home range had been developed or altered. Both bobcats and coyotes lived mostly in natural areas. Adult female bobcats had the least developed land in their home ranges, significantly less than coyotes. For coyotes and for adult male and young female bobcats, home ranges grew larger as developed land increased. That pattern suggests developed areas are less suitable than natural habitat.
Roads create another problem. According to a 2006 study in Molecular Ecology, researchers examined bobcats and coyotes along the Ventura Freeway, one of the busiest highways in the country. Using radio telemetry and DNA analysis to identify which animals had crossed the freeway, researchers found that between 5% and 32% of sampled animals crossed it over a seven-year period. Even so, crossers rarely reproduced on the other side, so the freeway still limited how much DNA moved from one side to the other. The authors suggest this may also apply to animals that migrate long distances.
Today, the site is called Trebek Open Space. It is located between Runyon and Nichols canyons and borders Runyon Canyon Park. The place is currently managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which is a public agency. The authority lists the open space at 62 acres, compared with the 74 acres reported in 1998. The area can be used for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
One donation alone probably wonβt help with all of the problems wildlife is facing. They still need to deal with roads, buildings, and noise pollution. However, protected lands give animals the chance to hunt, roam, and rest. For humans, it can be a peaceful spot to walk, think, and unwind. Trebekβs donation can be a good way to show us that protected areas do not appear out of thin air. Someone has to decide to protect it. So the next time you go hiking on a trail near a big city, look around a bit. Wild neighbors might be nearby, just out of sight.
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