Hill Canyon Golf Course

* Re proposed golf course in Hill Canyon.

At the risk of offending a few friends who, despite their attraction for the game of golf, are fine people, I offer these comments.

Golfers are an arrogant lot. They request--no, they insist--that their lives and indeed all our lives would be enhanced were there more golf courses. I find mind-boggling their ability to claim hundreds of acres of land (in the case of Hill Canyon, sensitive and pristine land) for this small but vocal group to denude and reconfigure so they can belt little white balls into little holes.

I don’t begrudge anyone engaging in what I consider a silly pastime. However, when it entails the destruction of the last environmentally critical corridor between Thousand Oaks and the Santa Rosa Valley, I strongly object.

An artificially imposed golf course can in no way replace the natural beauty and tranquillity offered by Hill Canyon. The loss of natural habitat can never be replaced or “reassigned,” as some course designers claim.

At a recent Thousand Oaks City Council meeting, a golf course proponent stated that there are some 3,500 card-carrying golfers in Thousand Oaks. This comparatively small group seems to expect its entertainment to be subsidized by the city’s roughly 120,000 non-golfing residents. Certainly the city can find a better, more productive and less destructive use for its natural and financial resources.

Only a Pollyanna would expect the City Council to permanently resist the golf lobby. Nonetheless, I would hope that when it does succumb that it situate future golf courses on land that already has been compromised by development--flattened, stripped of its natural vegetation and indigenous wildlife--which would serve to pacify our golfing friends and allow them to stroll about, staring at the grass, the crows and those little white balls.

SYLVIA LEWIS GUNNING

Thousand Oaks

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* The Conejo chapter of the National Audubon Society has a membership of almost 800. We are concerned whenever wildlife habitat is in danger of being lost in the Conejo Valley.

The mission of the National Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. How does this mission relate to the Hill Canyon issue? Our late president, Elliott McClure, made a presentation on this issue some months ago, and I am here to reinforce the points he made:

* Grading would result in the loss of vegetation and trees, including oaks, to one of the last remaining riparian habitats in eastern Ventura County. This is home to many animals and birds. It has been stated that some of the oaks are dead. A healthy ecosystem includes dead trees. Many birds and animals rely on dead trees for food and homes.

* The argument is made that the construction of the golf course would be accompanied by the removal of nonnative plants. This removal project could be undertaken even if the golf course were not built, and Audubon would be happy to assist.

* Disturbing the environment with the use of fertilizers and pesticides would result in fewer insects that are a major source of food for birds and other wildlife.

* Flooding takes place in Hill Canyon whenever we have a wet year. If a golf course existed in Hill Canyon there would be ongoing efforts to control the flow of water, thus causing more and more degradation of the environment.

Thousand Oaks offers wonderful opportunities for recreation and outdoor experiences. We urge the Hill Canyon Recreational Resources Authority to move to a plan that would serve the public best by making Hill Canyon an extension of Wildwood Park. Make it a place where people can learn about the plants and animals that inhabit the area where we all live. Establish a nature center and provide trails for hiking, biking and equestrians. Future generations will thank you for preserving this unique area.

VIRGINIA ROGALSKY

Conejo Valley Audubon Society

Thousand Oaks