MOORPARK : Happy Camp Plans to Open June 16

With most of the details settled and only paper work left to sign, officials from Ventura County and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy said they expect to open the 3,000-acre Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park near Moorpark on June 16.

“It sounds feasible to me,” said Blake Boyle, manager of county recreation services. “I’m not anticipating any problems in finalizing the contract.”

Members of the Eastern Ventura County Conservation Authority, which consists of representatives from both agencies, are scheduled to meet in early June to complete a work plan submitted by the conservancy. The joint-powers authority must agree on the plan and sign a contract before the park can open.

“We’ve got everything worked out with the county,” said Sonja Thompson, program manager for the conservancy.

The park’s originally scheduled Feb. 1 opening has been delayed by a debate over the park’s entrance. The conservancy pushed for access off Broadway, an east-west road that intersects the land midway through the bottom 700 acres.

But representatives of Quor Inc. of Encino, which has an option to build the park, wanted hikers and horseback riders to enter the parkland farther north, off Happy Camp Road, so they would not interfere with future construction.

The county, which had final say, decided on the Broadway entrance.

An alternative or expanded entrance will be considered once construction on the recreation center begins in about two years, Boyle said.

Meanwhile, the conservancy is recruiting volunteer docents for Happy Camp Park as well as for Rocky Peak Park near Simi Valley and Towsley Canyon Park in Newhall, Thompson said.

“Happy Camp is a particularly sensitive plant and wilderness area and is rich in cultural artifacts,” Thomspon said. “On the docent-led hikes, people will be able to learn a lot about the ecosystem.”

An orientation meeting for people interested in becoming docents for Happy Camp Park and Rocky Peak Park will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Berylwood Park, 1955 Bridget Ave., Simi Valley. Volunteers for Towsley Canyon Park will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. June 5 at the park, 24255 The Old Road.

Docents are asked to commit five hours per month for two years. Ten docents will be needed at each park to lead walks for school children, present programs and staff a nature center.

Training, which runs $25 per person, will begin at the orientation meeting and continue each Saturday through June. Experts in nature, botany, animal life, geology and archeology will lead the sessions, said Carolyn Greene, who is organizing training for the conservancy.

For information, call (805) 255-0640.