Conservancy Seeks Watershed Land

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy announced the largest expansion of its boundaries in 10 years Friday, saying it will start trying to acquire property and protect wildlife habitat in 57,000 acres of the Santa Clara River Watershed.

The new zone extends from Whitney Canyon in Newhall to Kentucky Springs Canyon at the edge of Palmdale. The conservancy’s main goal is to secure a wildlife habitat link between the two parts of the Angeles Forest that are divided by the Antelope Valley Freeway.

The expansion, already approved by the Legislature, gives the agency the ability to seek state funding and grants to buy property and preserve it as open space.

However, the change does not give the agency any veto power over development planned for the area, including a 636-home subdivision and a gravel mine. Under current state funding rules, the conservancy can buy property only from willing sellers.

The conservancy’s board voted Wednesday to extend the boundary to include the watershed area southeast of the Antelope Valley Freeway, said Paul Edelman, chief of planning and natural resources for the agency. The decision extends what is known as the agency’s Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor.

“It’s a really sweet area that fortunately has not undergone a lot of development,” Edelman said.

The first acquisition would probably be in Whitney Canyon, Edelman said. The conservancy is slated to receive $2.5 million from the state budget this year to acquire property in the canyon.

The area is targeted for preservation because of wildlife habitat, recreational trail linkages, scenic views and the protection of endangered species including the arroyo toad, the slender horned spine flower and three fish--the unarmored three-spine stickleback, the arroyo chub and the Santa Ana sucker.

There are several projects under consideration in the new conservancy zone. PacSun LLCp of Pasadena is seeking to build hundreds of homes along Golden Valley Road in Santa Clarita. Southdown Inc. is seeking county permission to operate a gravel mine. Edelman said the conservancy will seek to preserve as much land as possible, although it is not realistic to think it will be able to stop all development in the area.

John Jameson, executive vice president of PacSun, said he doubts the conservancy’s acquisition will affect the company’s building plan.

“We’re not too worried about it. They don’t have any zoning powers,” Jameson said. “We’ve already been working with them to set aside land that gives them connections to open space. I don’t think we’re at odds.”

Jeff Lambert, director of planning and building services for the city of Santa Clarita, said the city strongly supports conservancy efforts to preserve open space in and around the community.

In addition to the conservancy’s action, U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) announced this week that the House of Representatives has approved a $100,000 appropriation to remove nonnative weeds from the river, which runs from Acton through Santa Clarita and into Ventura County. The targeted weeds are known as arundo donax and tamarisk.

“The benefits of this investment would include added fire protection, added flood protection, protection of various endangered species within the Santa Clara River, improvement in the quality of water and a powerful water conservation program,” McKeon said.

The $100,000 appropriation was contained in the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, approved by the House on Tuesday.