Victories for Nature

It was a good week for wildlife in the San Fernando Valley.

The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners voted--finally--to safeguard the entire 1,300-acre Chatsworth Reservoir as a nature preserve. And the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy acquired five acres north of the Ventura Freeway’s Liberty Canyon Road exit as a wildlife corridor.

Not used for water storage since the Sylmar earthquake put it out of commission, the Chatsworth Reservoir’s years in limbo have made it a de facto nature preserve, home to great horned owls, Canada geese, badgers and bobcats. City Councilman Hal Bernson’s campaign to keep it that way in perpetuity drew widespread support. But, not surprisingly, this swath of undeveloped land in the overdeveloped Valley was also coveted for housing and sports fields.

Both are needed. But needed too is this increasingly rare reminder of the Valley’s natural heritage.

The five-acre parcel acquired by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is a less dramatic but equally important addition to the Valley’s public lands. It connects the Santa Monica Mountains with 10,000 acres of protected public land in the Simi Hills, making it a natural corridor for wildlife. Without such corridors, natural areas become isolated islands and animals become overcrowded and inbred.

More remains to be done to protect the Valley’s wild lands and wildlife. The DWP, for instance, must still choose a partner agency to help manage the reservoir. And Bernson, wisely, wants to see the land acquired by a conservancy group so that future boards, mayors and city councils can’t change their minds.

But as Bernson’s deputy Francine Oschin told supporters last week, the details will come. Now is the time to celebrate--preferably with a hike through some of the forests and fields that, thanks to efforts such as these, can still be found here.