CANYON CONSERVATION BILL ON WAY; RUNNER WRITING LEGISLATION TO ADD TRAILS TO REGIONAL CORRIDOR.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

Elsmere and Whitney canyons, scenic wilderness properties, once eyed as prime for landfills, would be added to a regional trail corridor under legislation being drafted by Assemblyman George Runner.

At the urging of the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Lancaster Republican is writing a bill to introduce in January to include the Newhall-area canyons in a recreation master plan.

The Santa Clarita Watershed Recreation and Conservation Authority, a joint agency of the city and the conservancy, unanimously approved a resolution Thursday night calling for action by the state Legislature.

``It's a go,'' said Rick Putnam, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department and chairman of the authority.

Adding Elsmere and Whitney to the Rim of the Valley corridor eventually could lead to acquiring the canyons as public parkland, Putnam said.

``The idea is to be able to put the two canyons into that corridor to make it easier for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to absorb it and eventually create recreation opportunities there,'' Runner said Friday.

The canyons originally were a part of the corridor, but were removed by the Legislature in 1990 at the request of the waste industry.

Runner said he has been meeting with a Sacramento representative of Browning-Ferris Industries, a waste company that owns much of Elsmere. BFI bought the property from competitor BKK Corp., and lost a bid to build a 100 million-ton landfill there because a key part of the canyon lies on protected federal forest land.

Plans for a smaller landfill on the privately held parcel have been suggested by BFI and BKK.

BFI has said it will oppose Runner's legislation, but the assemblyman said he will continue negotiations. A meeting is planned for next month in Los Angeles with Runner, BFI and officials with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

BFI representatives did not return telephone calls Friday.

Runner said that while the garbage industry was successful in having the two canyons removed from the trail corridor in 1990, the political climate has changed.

``That was 1990, this is now,'' Runner said. ``I think attitudes about landfills are different.''

At Thursday's meeting, several members of the public spoke in support of the plan, urging preservation of the wildlife and development of recreation opportunities, including trails and campgrounds.

``This area is rich in biology and geology. There are waterfalls and meadows,'' Putnam said. ``This would be a tremendous asset to Southern California.''