FPUD, Wildlands celebrate transfer of San Margarita River property

If the Fallbrook Public Utilities District had their way back in the late 1940s, the 70 or so guests and dignitaries that were in attendance at the Santa Margarita River celebration Sept. 12 would have been in trouble.

You see, the plan back then was to dam the watershed.

“Right now, if that project had gone through we’d be sitting in a high amount of water,” FPUD general manager Jack Bebee said. “If you can imagine what sort of trails would be left with that project, it wouldn’t have been very extensive.”

Instead, the Santa Margarita River Trail today includes approximately 18 miles of multi-...