BACKBONE TRAIL GETS SOME HELP : NATIONAL LAND TRUST WILL BUY 4 PARCELS.Byline: Marni McEntee Daily News Staff Writer A national land conservation group will bail out 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 by spending $1.4 million to help buy parcels along the Backbone Trail - land the conservancy promised to buy but can't afford. The Trust For Public Land will buy four parcels along the trail in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, then hold it in hopes of being reimbursed with federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve , spokeswoman Mary Menees said. The deal is the latest development in the conservancy's troubled attempts to secure funding for 11 pieces of land along the Backbone Trail, which runs from Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). to Point Mugu. The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which buys land for the conservancy, made 10 percent down payments in 1992 to owners of about four miles of property along the 70-mile hiking hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. trail. The MRCA MRCA Most Recent Common Ancestor MRCA Midwest Roofing Contractors Association MRCA Multi-Role Combat Aircraft MRCA Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (California) MRCA Malaysian Retailer-Chains Association had promised to pay off the notes this year, then turn the land over to the National Park Service. But the MRCA notified the owners in February that it would be unable to make the final payments - leaving several elderly note holders and retirees worrying that they wouldn't get the nest eggs Nest Egg A special sum of money saved or invested for one specific future purpose. Notes: Examples of the purposes for which nest eggs are usually intended include retirement, education, and even entertainment (vacations and cruises). they had been promised. The trust's funding is the final piece of the puzzle. ``We're very appreciative that they stepped up to the plate,'' said Joseph Edmiston, the conservancy's executive director. Last month, congressional panels approved $1.5 million in federal funding to be funneled to the National Park Service. That money will buy property on the Ventura County side of the trail. Nevertheless, one property owner says he has been waiting since March to be paid for his parcel and would simply like to see the bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu process come to an end. ``Why do we have to wait? I don't think it's very fair,'' said Gus Hasselquist. He plans to attend a conservancy meeting Monday to try to get a date certain for the payment of more than $300,000 he is owed. Representatives of the Trust for Public Land are hoping that another federal appropriation The designation by the government or an individual of the use to which a fund of money is to be applied. The selection and setting apart of privately owned land by the government for public use, such as a military reservation or public building. will be made next year to pay back their $1.4 million purchase. ``To hold it is a significant risk to us until the National Park Service has the money,'' Menees said. The conservancy also hopes it has another ace in the hole, just in case the federal appropriation doesn't come through, Edmiston said. That would be using a portion of funds in a $319 million bond issue for park improvements that would be put before Los Angeles County voters in November. The trust is one of the architects of that measure. The conservancy also has agreed to pay the trust's additional costs associated with buying the property, including staff time and title costs, Menees said. That will amount to approximately $200,000, Menees said. The trust's board of directors will meet Wednesday to confirm the arrangement, but Menees said approval is expected. The conservancy and the MRCA boards will consider the agreement in a joint meeting Monday in Agoura Hills, Edmiston said. |
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