THOUSAND OAKS : Cranston to Preside Over Park Dedication

Former U. S. Sen. Alan Cranston, a champion of environmental issues, will preside over ceremonies marking the formal dedication of Jordan Ranch near Thousand Oaks into the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in early October.

“He has verified that he will be there,” Jean Bray, spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said of the retired California senator, a Democrat.

Once the actual date of the dedication ceremonies is announced later this month, Bray said, invitations will be sent to other dignitaries, including Gov. Pete Wilson, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and entertainer Bob Hope.

The National Park Service last month bought the 2,308-acre, oak-dotted Jordan Ranch from Hope for $16.7 million. The purchase represents the single largest acquisition within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service that is stitching together a network of mountain parks and trails in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

The acquisition pushes National Park Service holdings within the national recreation area to about 20,400 acres--well on its way to the eventual goal of 35,000 acres in federal ownership.

Bray said the park service recently organized a five-member committee to begin planning the dedication, but has yet to nail down a final date for the ceremonies. However, she said it would be in the first two weeks of October.

She said the park service is required by law to give the caretaker who lives on the property 90 days to vacate. Bray said time is also needed to move cattle off the land.