LA HABRA : Park Will Become Animal Sanctuary

A wildlife sanctuary is being built at a sinking park, once a landfill, that has been deemed useless for any other purpose.

Vista Grande Park will be converted into a bird and wildlife refuge, city officials said.

The park’s ground is too unstable to serve as a foundation for buildings, and it failed as a recreational site and athletic field, according to Community Services Director Gregory J. Kind.

“It really isn’t useful for anything other than what we are proposing now,” Kind said.

The park served as a landfill until 1950, but the contents were not compacted to today’s standards, causing it to sink, he said.

“So we’re taking the land and turning it into a sanctuary for wildlife and birds, and once the project is complete, we plan to have schoolchildren visit for educational purposes,” Kind said.

Environmentalists expect opossums, raccoons, foxes, a variety of birds and other wildlife to make the sanctuary their home.

“It’ll be a reserve to observe,” Kind said. “Once it’s built, (the animals) will come.”

Five acres of the park are ready for use, Kind said, adding that people passing through the open area have spotted hawks, sea gulls, rabbits and squirrels.

The first five acres of the park, located on the corner of Idaho Street and Lambert Road, were completed last week after three months of work.

That phase was funded with county and state grants and donations of materials and labor, totaling about $55,000.

A water-saving drip irrigation system was installed, more than 400 different trees and shrubs were planted and a stream was riprapped.

Dozens of different types of plants will be planted on the rest of the park--close to 20 acres in total--but work has ceased until money, labor and more materials are donated, Kind said.

“We’re looking to raise funds,” he said. “We’ll take any donations, including trees and manpower, to get it done soon, but it all depends on how quickly we can find the resources.”