A local real estate professional shared with the Crier an email conversation that spoke of a project “protecting” the section of Strawberry Creek from Idyology to Idyllwild Pines, making it a “public resource, formalizing in-perpetuity environmental protections [with] accommodations for low-impact public use.”
The Crier was unable to confirm the content with the purported sender, but did receive a response from CEO Ed Sauls of the California Land Conservancy (CLC), a nonprofit that describes its mission as to “encourage and facilitate the preservation, protection or enhancement of land in its natural, historical, agricultural, forested, or open space condition or use.”
According to Sauls, “Strawberry Creek is a treasure that is of historical importance to both the people and wildlife in Idyllwild. Its reliable flow supports rare natural resources, it provides unique recreational opportunities, and it is stunningly beautiful.
“The California Land Conservancy is looking into the feasibility of conserving Strawberry Creek for current hill residents and future generations. There is a lot to learn and understand about Strawberry Creek and we are still early in our process of evaluating the project including potential public and private grants to secure its preservation.
“We will be pleased to keep the Town Crier and hill residents apprised of our progress and we welcome input from you and others in this important adventure.”
The “ownership” of the creek is a legacy of the original subdivision of land within the valley into parcels. The Johnson family are often referred to as Idyllwild’s original developers, but Gerald Johnson “married into” a project begun by the family of his wife, Eleanor Potes Johnson. Those who own land abutting the creek, or have seen county parcel maps, know that the land on which the creek flows is not included in their parcels, but rather combined into a series of long thin lots that snake between the individual lots. A number of other thin plots connect the paved roads with the creek.
One of the original selling points of what was then called Idyllwild Mountain Park Co., or Idyllwild All Year Resort Co., was the presence of a pedestrian path along the creek, allowing residents and visitors alike to walk from Fern Valley to town (and further) without setting foot on paved roads. A number of access points are memorialized on the county maps. Many are continuations of named roads passing between private property to the creek. Oakwood Drive is the best marked of these and is still in use. Others have disappeared through neglect or been fenced in.
Property owners may build a fence along an easement but may not block it. Sometimes seen are “no trespassing” signs posted in such a manner as to imply that the road or path is private, when they should be turned so that a pedestrian or motorist knows they may travel a path but may not pass between the posts on either side of the path.
The ownership of the lots on which the creek flows has remained with the Johnson family. It was one of several assets, central to Idyllwild’s identity, and thought of as public, but held privately. Town Hall was another of these properties, and when the Chamber of Commerce was dissolved, the deed reverted to the Johnsons, who were relieved to find a community-minded buyer, aware of its practical and historic importance, in Dave and Lois Butterfield.
But the creek has remained in private hands, although we have known for many years that Jay Johnson, grandson of Gerald, was seeking a way to maintain the integrity of the creek and make its public access permanent and legally protected. Johnson told the Crier he is not ready to make a public statement about this, but confirmed that negotiations are well underway.
