CITY WANTS CANYONS PROTECTED MAYOR LEADS EFFORT TO APPEAL FOREST SERVICE LAND REVAMP.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- The city has appealed a U.S. Forest Service plan that would revamp land uses in natural areas because it does not fully protect sensitive areas in Elsmere and Whitney canyons, officials said.

Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean, who championed saving Elsmere when it was envisioned as the perfect place for a massive dump, is spearheading the effort.

``This is one of the last pristine areas so close to an urban area,'' McLean said. ``In order for us to have more of a chance to get the privately owned portion of Elsmere into public ownership, we need to have the upper portion ... receive the `special interest area' designation. It deserves it, and it is hopeful the Forest Service agrees.''

A plan the Forest Service adopted in April incorporates most changes the city is seeking but fails to fully protect unspoiled areas in the two canyons.

The city's May 26 letter to the Forest Service urges the agency to better shield the untouched areas, which could help the city buy nearby acreage to preserve habitats and establish wildlife corridors.

The matter was discussed at a meeting in late November attended by several city staff members, representatives of the Forest Service, a conservancy group and a deputy for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

``We're definitely sympathetic to what the city is trying to achieve,'' said Rory Skei, chief deputy director for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The group has partnered with the city to save natural areas in and around Santa Clarita, and in 2005 the two joined to buy the 521-acre Whitney Canyon.

Elsmere Canyon is contiguous to Whitney and Placerita canyons, along the city's southern border. Three years ago, the Board of Supervisors voted to remove Elsmere from the list of potential landfill sites at McLean's urging.

Paul Novak, a senior planning deputy for the supervisor, said Antonovich supports the city's efforts to amend the plan.

The Forest Service should complete its review of the appeal by the end of the year, but a decision could be delayed, said Fred Follstad, a senior planner for the city.

The plan covers four forests, spanning more than 3.5million public acres from Big Sur to the Mexican border.

The city's appeal is being considered -- along with appeals others have lodged on plans for the Cleveland, San Bernardino and Los Padres national forests -- at the agency's headquarters.

``Because the decisions for the four forest plans were made by the regional forester of the Pacific region, the appeals were filed with the chief of the Forest Service in Washington, D.C.,'' said Kathy Peterson, a spokeswoman for Angeles Forest. The agency's representatives in Washington could not be reached late Wednesday afternoon for comment.

Hoping a chorus of voices will amplify its plea, the city has called on local lawmakers and environmental groups for support.

It has reached out to California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, newly elected state Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, and Antonovich.

Some environmental groups have questioned whether the Forest Service has made the most wise or visionary use of its power to regulate forest uses.

The Sierra Club's Southern California Forests Campaign has appealed the plan, seeking greater protection for areas in the four forests, and the group embraces the city's concerns.

``The Sierra Club has a long history of seeking full protection for both canyons,'' said Bill Corcoran, the club's senior regional representative.

``The governor has agreed to seek full protection for all inventoried roadless areas on California's forests, some of which are at least adjacent to the area.''

Corcoran said the final plan points the forest in the wrong direction.

``The (plan) finally adopted by the Forest Service failed to provide the leadership needed to ensure that our forests will remain great places to visit for future generations,'' he said. ``As the population continues to grow, there will be increasing demands to exploit our forests, and that's why it's important to have stronger protections in the management plan.''

The federal government is required to update its plans for managing forest lands every 10 to 15 years.

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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