Land Swap Would Only Add to Forest’s Allure : Nature: Those escaping urban ills flock to O.C. outback. Irvine Co.’s preserve would offer more room to meander.

This is the place where rattlesnakes roam. Mountain lions, too.

Not to mention deer, cattle, bobcats, golden eagles, spotted owls, California gnatcatchers . . . and the occasional urbanite seeking refuge from Southern California stress.

After a century as an Orange County landmark, the Cleveland National Forest was thrust into the spotlight this week in the contentious debate over the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Under a land-swap plan that local business and government leaders say has surprising support, the Irvine Co. would gain control of El Toro. The federal government, in turn, would get thousands of acres next to the forest in northern Orange County, including Gypsum, Blind, Fremont and Weir canyons.

The land-swap plan is part of a sweeping national program by the Clinton Administration to obtain dozens of military bases scheduled for closure and trade them for environmentally sensitive land that could otherwise be developed.

Local environmental groups have suggested that 10,000 acres next to the forest and owned by the Irvine Co. be traded for most of the base to preserve a mix of rare Tecate cypress, oak woodlands and coastal sage that is home to prairie falcons and golden eagles.

The canyons also house the habitat of the California gnatcatcher and the rare orange-throated whiptail lizard. Mountain lions, coyote and deer abound.

If the deal can be worked out, the acreage, stretching further along the Santa Ana Mountains, can become part of a natural local treasure that drew 3 million visitors last year.

With nearly half a million acres of mountainous chaparral dotted with 356 miles of hiking trails and 831 campsites, the federally run forest is a recreational haven situated less than two hour’s drive from downtown Santa Ana, Los Angeles or San Diego. There are large swaths of untouched primitive wilderness, a prehistoric archeological site recently closed because of graffiti vandalism, and one of the world’s premier telescope observatories.

“I get tired of the urban jungle, cement, phones, demands, whatever. It’s nice to lay down and look up at the sky and see that it’s really blue,” said Sue Zurawik, 48, a graphic designer who works in Anaheim Hills but spent Friday in the forest with her two burly dogs, Sheila and Pepper.

What’s the attraction?

“Just basically to get away from the world--and I can do it in just a weekend,” Zurawik said to explain why she has been camping regularly in the forest for the past five years. “It seems to be far enough away from the city life, you don’t hear the traffic or anything. It’s kind of hidden.”

Once inside the forest’s borders, it is the cities that seem far off and hidden.

On a clear day, visitors can view the ocean from its mountaintops, but most vistas overflow with tree-covered canyons and hills and the Cleveland National Forest stretches for what looks like forever.

In fact, the forest reaches to the Mexican border, with fingers in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. The southernmost of California’s 18 national forests, it has three distinct sections, each managed separately and with its own unique gems.

The Descanso and Palomar districts lie mainly within San Diego County. Descanso features Corral Canyon, filled with off-road trails for motorcycles and dune buggies, and Laguna Mountain Recreation Area.

Palomar takes its name from the forest’s highest peak, 6,140 feet above sea level, a mountain that gets 40 inches of rain each year. It is home to the California Institute of Technology’s 200-inch telescope, one of the first through which scientists recently saw a comet bombarding Jupiter.

But the largest portion--and the one that would grow with the land swap--is the Trabuco district, which sits mainly in Orange County.

Enter Trabuco off the Ortega Highway, 25 miles east of the Santa Ana Freeway exit in San Juan Capistrano. Stop by the El Cariso visitor center for information, walk the San Juan Creek loop, wind your way up to Blue Jay or Falcon campgrounds, or enter the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness, where no bikes or vehicles are allowed.

It’s hot in the summer, so peak months when the crowds come are October through May.

Tucked inside Trabuco, on parcels that do not belong to the forest but lie within its borders, are dozens of rustic homes; gold and silver mining prospects; a camp for juvenile delinquents, and Orange County’s only nudist colony.

“It’s the only undeveloped land that has full public access--without having to pay a fee or anything--in Orange County,” said Ernie Martinsen, resource and recreation officer for the Trabuco district.

“It’s just unique in that it’s open in this urban area, and that it’s basically wild,” he said. “It’s not like a city park and it’s not like a national park. Here it’s self-service . . . you’re on your own.”

Because of budget cuts, a thin staff patrols and maintains the forest, which is one of 155 national forests that cover 191 million acres in 40 states. Much of the personnel is devoted to fighting fires, which erupt often, while others study wildlife that live there.

“When you go in, there’s no sheriff. If you injure yourself, you can bet that rescue is going to be a long time away,” Martinsen said. “It’s basically observing nature. A lot of people go in just to experience the primitive-type environment. There’s no telephones, no fire hydrants, no houses. You have to go in self-contained--there’s no McDonald’s on the corner.”

The forest began more than a century ago, in 1893, when President Benjamin Harrison preserved 50,000 acres. President Grover Cleveland added 700,000 acres in 1897. A decade later, President Theodore Roosevelt combined the parcels and greatly expanded the area.

He named the forest for Cleveland in 1908.

Much of the land was later released, leaving the three-part forest with its current expanse of 422,340 acres.

Last year, the Cleveland National Forest had 3 million visitors. With a budget of $9.9 million, there are 213 full-time employees, 132 seasonal employees and nearly 600 volunteers.

One-quarter of the revenue collected by the forest is returned to the counties where it is located. Last year, Orange County earned $26,809 from forest use fees.

In the winter, water runs through San Juan Creek, which is shadowed by huge oak and sycamore trees. There is also spruce and pine, and some rare plants, such as the least Bell’s vireo. As an urban forest, the Cleveland has far more day users than long-term vacationers.

“They just want to hike a trail, maybe have a picnic, get away from it all--for a few hours, that’s it,” said Trabuco wildlife biologist Mary Thomas. “You can hear the hum, the urban hum, but other than that you can completely forget. It’s marvelous to know that you can drive just a few miles out of the city and the city will almost disappear.”

But with wildlife running free, visitors must be careful.

“Just this morning I saw a bobcat right here, ran across the road,” said Donald Wolff, Trabuco recreation technician, as his forest-ranger pickup lumbered up the mountain to Blue Jay campground Friday afternoon. “It was about a 35-pounder.

“About five years ago we had a dog on the loop trail that got bit (by a mountain lion). He died there,” said Wolff, who has worked at the Cleveland National Forest for a decade and with the National Forest Service for two. “Had to go clean him up the next day. That’s about all I can remember.”

But later, Wolff recalls another story, about a Boy Scout troop staying at the Falcon campground.

“They could hear the animals running around in the woods, it must have been a bobcat chasing a rabbit,” he said with a smile. “They could hear the last squeal, and they could hear him bringing it up in the tree. That’s one of the treats you get.”

Wolff said he is not afraid of bobcats or lions--or, for that matter, of the rattlesnakes that he sights regularly on the trails. Still, he hasn’t camped in the forest in years.

“I’m out here five, six days a week,” he chuckled. “Day off? I’ll go to the city.”

Times staff writer Doreen Carvajal contributed to this report.

Cleveland National Forest

The Cleveland National Forest includes three districts of mountainous land covering portions of Orange, San Diego, and Riverside counties. Under a land-swap proposal being discussed with the Irvine Co., 10,000 acres could be added to the forest, including Gypsum Weir and Blind canyons.

Trabuco Ranger District

Palomar Ranger District

DescansoRanger District

Founded: 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt, combining lands set aside over the previous decade

Named after: President Grover Cleveland, who set aside most of the land

Acreage: 422,340

Miles of trails: 356

Camping: 24 campgrounds, with 831 campsites accommodating 4,155 people

Cost: Entry is free, most campsites charge $7 plus $2 per additional vehicle

Recreational use: 3 million visitors in fiscal year 1993

Full-time employees: 213

Seasonal employees: 132

Cleveland National Forest (Trabuco Ranger District)

1) Blue Jay campground

2) Falcon campground

3) Upper San Juan picnic area

4) Tenaja campground, archeological site, recently closed because of vandalism

5) El Cariso campgrounds (north and south)

6) El Cariso campgrounds (north and south)

***

1) Los Pinos conservation camp, for juvenile offenders

2) McConville, a nudist colony near El Cariso

3) Lower San Juan picnic area

Source: Cleveland National Forest

Researched by JODI WILGOREN/Los Angeles Times