Facts About the Proposed LPC Quarry
A 148-Year Mining Proposal That Could Forever Change Lone Pine Canyon
Nestled within the San Gabriel Mountains near Wrightwood, California, Lone Pine Canyon is a remarkable natural landscape defined by beautiful mountains, native endangered wildlife, open space, and generations of local history. It is more than a scenic passage through the mountains—it is part of the identity of our community and an irreplaceable piece of Southern California's natural heritage.
Today, this canyon faces the prospect of a massive, long-term mining operation that could permanently alter its landscape and ecological character.
The Proposed Mining Project
The Lone Pine Canyon Road Quarry, formerly known as the El Cajon Mine, is a proposed large-scale calcium carbonate mining operation located approximately four miles southeast of Wrightwood, along Lone Pine Canyon Road in San Bernardino County.
The project is proposed by Grand Lone Pine Canyon Enterprises, LLC, and involves the development of a surface mining operation on land the County has determined possesses vested mining rights.
The Project Facts
420 acres: Total property area
285 acres: Area covered by the proposed Reclamation Plan
148 years: Estimated duration of mining operations
2174: Anticipated final year of operation
Location: Lone Pine Canyon Road, near Wrightwood, California
Project Number: MRP-2025-00002
Mineral: Calcium Carbonate/Limestone
Vested: Land was Granted Vested Rights in 2019
Mining activities involve: excavation, drilling, blasting, processing, hauling, and transportation of extracted minerals.
The project's extraordinary duration means its effects could extend across multiple generations of Wrightwood residents.
Proposed Quarry Map
What is at Stake for our Community
Wildlife and Habitat
Lone Pine Canyon provides a diverse habitat and movement corridors for native wildlife, including birds of prey, reptiles, mammals, and other species that depend on this mountain ecosystem.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has raised concerns regarding biological resources, including desert bighorn sheep, coastal horned lizards, American badgers, nesting birds, wildlife connectivity, and cumulative impacts.
Large-scale mining has the potential to fragment habitat, disturb wildlife, and permanently transform portions of the natural landscape.
Public Health Safety and Air Quality
Mining operations can generate airborne dust through excavation, blasting, crushing, and heavy truck traffic.
Our community is concerned about how prolonged exposure to dust and particulate matter could affect nearby residents, children, and the surrounding environment.
Water Quality and Resources
Well Water is a precious resource in our mountain community.
Residents and state agencies have raised questions about groundwater contamination, surface drainage, stormwater runoff, and the potential effects of mining on local water resources and the surrounding communities that depend on it.
Wildfire Risk, Evacuation and Road Safety Danger
Lone Pine Canyon Road is an important access and evacuation route for Wrightwood and surrounding communities.
The prospect of additional heavy truck traffic raises serious concerns about roadway safety, emergency access, and evacuation during wildfires or other environmental emergencies.
Blasting, Noise, and San Andreas Seismic Concerns
The proposed quarry is ground zero, the San Andreas Fault sitting directly below.
Residents have expressed concerns about blasting, ground vibration, noise, slope stability, and the long-term effects of excavation in this mountainous terrain.
These concerns warrant careful technical evaluation rather than assumptions about the magnitude of risk.
Cultural and Historical Resources
Lone Pine Canyon is part of a landscape with deep Indigenous history and cultural significance.
Protecting cultural resources requires meaningful consultation, careful identification of sensitive areas, and respect for the communities whose histories are connected to this land.
Core issue the Vested Controversy
In 2019, San Bernardino County granted vested (grandfathered) mining rights. Wrightwood was mentioned 12 times by Land Uses Staff during their meetings and within there documents and yet, the community of Wrightwood was not notified about the looming project .
The County has treated the current approval process primarily as a review of the '“current” quarry's Reclamation Plan, rather than a new application for mining rights.
The County prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The Lone Pine Canyon Protection Alliance and concerned residents have called for a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), arguing that the potential environmental consequences deserve more comprehensive analysis and the vested does not eliminate environmental impact.
A central concern is whether the County's justification and reliance on vested mining rights has resulted in an environmental review that is too narrowly focused to address the full range of impacts associated with this long-term operation.
Vested mining rights do not eliminate the importance of environmental accountability.
Why our Community is Fighting
The Lone Pine Canyon Protection Alliance was formed by concerned residents committed to protecting the environmental integrity, safety, natural beauty, and cultural heritage of Lone Pine Canyon.
We believe decisions with severe consequences lasting generations deserve transparent government, meaningful public participation, scientifically sound environmental review, and accountability.
Our ultimate goal is to protect Lone Pine Canyon from irreversible industrial destruction and preserve its natural landscape for future generations.
This canyon is not simply a mineral resource. It is wildlife habitat, a mountain landscape, an important community corridor, and part of the place we call home.
Once a mountain is removed, it cannot simply be put back.
Help Protect Lone Pine Canyon
The future of Lone Pine Canyon is not just a local issue. It is a question of how we value and protect the natural landscapes that sustain our communities.
Stay informed. Attend public hearings. Submit comments. Volunteer. Support our efforts.
Our Canyon. Our Home. Our Future.
Stand with the Lone Pine Canyon Protection Alliance.