CANYON PARK TO GET DAY IN SUN DEDICATION TO MARK 80 ACRES PRESERVED.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

TARZANA - Nearly a decade after 80 acres of walnut and oak tree-studded wilderness in Tarzana was purchased for park land, the area - known as the Big Wild - will be officially dedicated for public use in a morning ceremony today.

Situated at the southern end of Corbin Avenue, the area is home to bobcats, coyotes, rabbits and a variety of birds. A stream flows through the middle of the land, and it is filled with meadows, shrubs and century- old trees.

Louise Frankel, who founded the Tarzana Property Owners Association in 1962 and spearheaded the drive to buy the land, said the area had been ``under attack'' by housing developers since the 1960s.

``We always wanted to save Corbin Canyon because it's such a delightful little canyon and an important animal passage,'' she said. ``Of course, it's ringed by houses at the top, but it's such a beautiful and tranquil natural place, it would have been a shame to develop it.''

Spurred by the association's preservation efforts, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the city split the $2 million purchase price, using a combination of county grants and city developers' fees.

The acquisition paved the way for the conservancy to purchase an additional 324 acres of contiguous wild land for about $8 million last year, said Paul Edelman, deputy director for planning and natural resources for the conservancy.

The 400-acre preserve is part of a larger area known as the Big Wild, a planned 20,000-acre stretch of wilderness from the Santa Monica Mountains to the ocean.

The conservancy hopes to preserve all of the larger Big Wild for open space and wildlife habitat.

``There are still a lot of parcels in that area that we're eyeing to create this connected wildlife corridor,'' said Dash Stolarz, director of public affairs for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

``If it weren't for the efforts of the older residents of Tarzana, the land we're dedicating Saturday would have been prime housing development property.''

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski said preserving the area for open space provides San Fernando Valley residents with easier access to the Santa Monica Mountains.

She added that it was one of the first purchases of wilderness areas with city developer's fees, or Quimby funds.

``It's a tranquil place filled with meadows, canyons, vistas and ridgelines, and it's another access to the Santa Monica Mountains,'' Miscikowski said. ``Buying that land is a way to bring the mountains into the Valley's backyard.''

Those involved with the effort to save the land from being transformed into a housing development say organizing an official dedication ceremony simply didn't occur to anybody until now.

``Parks are dedicated all over the place, but in this case we just didn't do it,'' Frankel said. ``But I am thrilled we're doing it now because it will remind everyone of what we went through to get this land.''

IF YOU GO

The Big Wild will be dedicated at 11 a.m. today at the southern end of Corbin Avenue in Tarzana, just south of Wells Drive. For more information, contact the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo, box, 2 maps

Photo:

Wildflowers bloom in Corbin Canyon in Tarzana, where a new Los Angeles city wilderness park will be dedicated today.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

(1) 80 acres of parkland surrounding Corbin Canyon in Tarzana

(2) Parkland area