About 32,000 acres of oak-studded woodlands in South County, including land that is home to endangered species such as the gnatcatcher and the arroyo toad, will be set aside as a nature reserve, federal wildlife authorities announced Thursday. Environmental officials have worked for more than a dozen years to preserve the foothills east of Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, cities that have had high growth in recent years. The deal would allow several major construction projects to move forward on land adjacent to the reserve, including a controversial plan to build as many as 14,000 homes on...