Parks Chief Takes First-Hand Look at Historic Pass

A group of environmentalists gave the head of the state Department of Parks and Recreation a tour of 100-year-old stage-coach trails around the Santa Susana Pass on Monday to bolster chances of acquiring land considered part of a critical wildlife corridor.

Members of the Santa Susana Mountain Park Assn., which has been trying for years to persuade the state to acquire more land in the mountains and dedicate a state park, pointed out the area’s historical significance on a tour with Henry Agonia, state parks director.

Agonia will be influential in deciding how funds to preserve historical sites and wildlife habitats are doled out if a $776-million bond initiative passes June 7.

Group members said they wanted Agonia to see the rocky terrain and some of the area’s historical landmarks in hopes that the department would make it a priority to acquire about 2,500 acres of privately owned land next to 450 acres already owned by the state.

The 450 acres are south of the Simi Valley Freeway and west of Chatsworth Peak, along the western edge of Los Angeles County. Association members said the 2,500 acres, some of which is coveted by developers, would help complete a wildlife corridor to the Santa Monica Mountains.

The association already calls the corridor the Santa Susana Mountain Park.

But, after the tour, Agonia warned that there is much competition for money to buy parkland.

“It’s one thing to say what the historical importance of an area is, and it’s another thing to establish that. Then, how important is that compared to statewide resources overall? There’s a lot still that has to happen here before a final determination is made,” he said.

First, Proposition 70--the California Wildlife, Coastal and Park Land Bond Act--must pass. If it does, $10 million would be set aside to purchase land for the Santa Susana Mountains State Park.

The Santa Susana park association hopes to tap into other funds that would become available if the proposition passes--about $67 million for the preservation of historical sites, wildlife habitats and trails.

“The property values have increased so much more in recent years that $10 million would not even begin to cover it,” John Otter, the association’s president, said, referring to funds necessary to buy the 2,500 acres, on both sides of the freeway in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. “I don’t think $100 million would cover . . . the wildlife corridor and make a continuous trail throughout the Valley.”

Entertainer Bob Hope owns about 2,300 acres of the land the group wants to buy.

One of the historical points Agonia saw was a stage-coach trail that linked Santa Barbara and Los Angeles between the 1860s and 1890s.

Association founder Jan Hinkston, who screened a 30-minute slide show before the trek began, said the area contains a 19th-Century rock quarry, three cisterns, Indian wall drawings and fossils. In addition, the pass’s Chico Formation is home to the Santa Susana Tarplant, an endangered species that only grows in red sandstone.