ACTIVIST HOPES SHE LEFT BACK YARD A BIT BETTER OFF NATURE CENTER LAUDS PEARSON.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Special to the Daily News

SANTA CLARITA - The uphill trail that bears her name is the perfect metaphor for the 15-plus years Karen Pearson has spent as an environmental activist.

Pearson, who founded the local Sierra Club chapter in 1990, remembered trekking the nearly half-mile loop at the Placerita Canyon Natural Area with her son when he was little.

``It's like a soul home,'' she said. ``I love this place.''

Pearson returned to the trail days after it was named in her honor Tuesday, planted her feet in the dirt and talked about her efforts to expand this place she's loved for years. The memories are bittersweet for Pearson, who will soon be moving out of state.

She isn't leaving without knowing that $1 million from a state measure she co-authored and voters approved in 1992 is finally being spent at the park for expansion and renovation. County officials said Thursday the money will be spent on yearlong renovations that could get under way in November. Pearson said she is appreciative, but with her trademark directness asked what took so long.

``Thirteen years is a long time to be sitting on $1 million,'' she said.

Placerita Canyon Nature Center's director and park supervisor commended Pearson for rallying others to call for preservation of open space near the western end of the park and in surrounding canyons.

``She has been a big supporter of the nature center and the natural area, and a tremendous friend to the volunteers and staff,'' said Ian Swift. ``Her tenacity culminated in getting Whitney Canyon preserved as a park.'' Pearson's itch to keep natural spaces intact began with helping to prevent nearby Elsmere Canyon from becoming the world's largest trash dump. Her mantra was ``I will not have that happen on my watch,'' she said. Pearson founded the Sierra Club chapter, which served as a base for galvanizing opposition to the dump in California and Washington, D.C.

``I had never been to a Sierra Club meeting before I started it,'' she said.

Pearson credits a cadre of Sierra Club volunteers - plus former Placerita supervisor Frank Hovore's expertise identifying dozens of endangered species, actress Tippi Hedren's support, a trio of earthquake experts, Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean's efforts and 10,000 signatures inked on a petition - with contributing to the dump's eventual defeat.

Amid the hush of rustling oak leaves swaying on long branches in a gust of wind, Pearson's blondish hair nearly eclipsed her clear gray-blue eyes. Traipsing among the groves' long shadows and into bright light, she recalled time spent away from this place, caring for it from afar.

Pearson lobbied and contributed passages to three state measures in the 1990s that helped preserve Whitney Canyon as a park. She campaigned for the Wild Heritage Bill of 2002, which would confer wilderness designations on local U.S. Forest Service lands.

Earlier in the week, as Pearson cleaned out her garage, sifting through mountains of paperwork used to mount her campaigns, she tossed out more than 50 file boxes of stuff. Her thoughts detoured to the 1990s.

``Who is this lady who did all this stuff?'' she wondered aloud.

Supporters and foes commend Pearson's deftness at getting things done, her ability to buttress her passions with an armload of facts.

``One of the problems any (environmental) organization has when they're up against something, frequently what comes to the fore is emotion,'' said Hovore, a former Los Angeles County natural areas administrator.

``Karen would show up with a list of reasons carefully thought out, she would back it up with good solid data. It made her much more of a factor than if she walked on the street with a sign.''

The genteel battleground recently encroached on her own back yard - literally - as the 1,100-home Riverpark project threatened to shave a nearby ridgeline and intrude on her Saugus neighborhood's tranquillity. Pearson hammered out a compromise with developer Newhall Land and Farming Co.

``She certainly has very strong opinions, but she is very willing to roll up her sleeves and sit down at the table and come to find common ground and more importantly, solutions,'' said Marlee Lauffer, Newhall Land's spokeswoman. ``We ended up with a win-win for everyone.''

City Planning Commissioner Diane Trautman lamented Pearson's planned move to Boulder, Colo., saying the city is in her debt.

``She's been a dedicated activist and stalwart protector of the environment. She has done so with grace and dignity,'' Trautman said. ``We're all going to miss her.''

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Environmental activist Karen Pearson, founder of the local Sierra Club chapter, and Placerita Canyon Nature Center associate Jim Southwell walk the trail named in her honor.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer