Land Buy Includes Herd of New Costs : Jordan Ranch: The National Park Service paid $16.7 million for Bob Hope’s property. It will pay up to $30,000 more to move 200 head of cattle from the site.

The price tag paid recently by the National Park Service for Bob Hope’s 2,300-acre Jordan Ranch property near Thousand Oaks was $16.7 million. But that didn’t include the cows.

For years, the sprawling ranch has been home to about 200 head of cattle, overseen by caretaker Terry Boardman.

After the ranch was purchased June 3, both the owner of the cattle and Boardman were given 90 days’ notice to vacate the property.

The upshot is that the Park Service will have to pick up the moving tab, which could run $20,000 to $30,000, said David Gackenbach, superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Federal law requires the Park Service to provide relocation assistance to Boardman and rancher Hank Heeber, Boardman’s boss, even though they have no financial interest in the property, Gackenbach said.

“You would think that is something the landowner would be responsible for,” Gackenbach said. “But apparently not.”

If Hope had terminated his agreement with Boardman and Heeber before the Park Service made its formal offer in October for the ranch, the park agency would not be liable for the moving costs, Gackenbach said.

“But I guess at that time Bob Hope did not know if he was going to sell the land and didn’t want to leave the property unattended,” he said.

Heeber, who has raised cattle on the property since 1973, said he has already begun selling off his livestock.

Once a full-time rancher who owned land next to the Jordan Ranch, Heeber now operates a tire store in Chatsworth and says he plans to get out of the cattle business altogether.

Heeber refused to discuss what arrangement he had with Hope over the years--whether he paid the entertainer for use of his property.

“That’s my business,” Heeber said.

Boardman, who lives in an old trailer parked on the ranch, declined to talk about his six years as caretaker of the property, or what he planned to do next.

“I don’t much care for all this garbage, thank you,” Boardman said of the ensuing publicity over the sale of the Jordan Ranch.

Gackenbach said the Park Service will probably have to pay fair market value for Boardman’s trailer, which may not be movable, and a year’s rent wherever he moves. In addition, he said the park agency will have to pay for moving any cows left on the property.

Meanwhile, a ceremony planned to mark the formal dedication of the Jordan Ranch into the Santa Monica National Recreation area is expected to take place in early October, Gackenbach said.

The rugged, oak-studded ranch was purchased by the Park Service in June for $16.7 million and represents the single largest acquisition within the recreation area.

Once the date of the dedication ceremony is announced, which is expected within the next few weeks, invitations will be sent to a number of dignitaries, including Gov. Pete Wilson, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Hope.

Former U. S. Sen. Alan Cranston has already informed the Park Service that he will attend.