AGENCIES PRESERVE CANYON CITY BUYS WILDERNESS LAND.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - The city is teaming up with the state to preserve wilderness outside its boundaries by purchasing scenic Whitney Canyon and by seeking federal money to protect wildlands that ring Santa Clarita. Acting as the Santa Clarita Watershed Recreation and Conservation Authority, the city and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open expect to close escrow escrow Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. Nov. 1 on Whitney Canyon, planned parkland just east of city limits. The joint agency has long sought ownership of the canyon, once proposed for development but treasured because its forests and seasonal waterfalls provide a rare urban habitat for wildlife and a corridor for animals traversing the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. . ``It's been a long-standing goal to preserve and protect that property,'' said Rorie Skei of the mountains conservancy. ``The real special thing about Whitney is that it's a beautiful canyon with a closed-canopy oak forest and a natural year-round spring.'' Public ownership of Whitney is a coup for hikers because it is easily accessible and provides an entry point to trails in the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los , Skei said. The details of the purchase from Watt Inc. will remain confidential until the deal closes, said Judi Tomasi, project analyst for the conservancy. In a companion effort to preserve outlying areas, the authority voted last week to join the California Wild Heritage Campaign. That group is lobbying for federal money to protect forest areas. Locally, the campaign would target Magic Mountain east of the city, the Rim of the Valley territory and the Castaic Mountains Wilderness, all in the Angeles National Forest. ``It's a general movement to put aside wilderness areas Broadly, a wilderness area is a region where the land is left in a state where human modifications are minimal; that is, as a wilderness. It might also be called a wild or natural area. (Very low or immaterial human impact or "footprint. in the state,'' said Rick Gould, Santa Clarita's parks director and a member of the authority board. ``In particular for the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , they are looking at the Angeles National Forest.'' The intent, Gould said, is to stop new roads from being built on protected lands. ``That can lead to erosion and clogging streams,'' he said. ``We're trying to set aside areas where we guard against that.'' The Wild Heritage Campaign found in a poll released last month that 72 percent of Californians support more protections for public land. |
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