GROUP TO STAGE DAM PROTEST SUPERVISOR CITES CONTRACT, CALLS ACTION WASTE OF TIME.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Even as Ventura County officials announced this week that fewer oak trees might be cut down to make way for the Lang Ranch Dam, environmentalists remained committed to a rally Saturday to protest the trees' removal.

Save the Conejo 2000, a nonprofit organization opposed to the dam, has distributed nearly 2,000 fliers urging residents to attend the rally at noon Saturday at Westlake Boulevard and Lang Ranch Parkway.

``We are going to have a big hoo-ha,'' said Gerry Langer, a group board member and resident. ``We expect to be very successful.

``We are going to generate a slew of protests, not only by mail, phone and fax,'' Langer said. ``We want to get the message out to the supervisors and city they will be held accountable if they touch those trees.''

The trees must be removed because construction of the 66-foot-tall dam and debris basin is banned around nesting birds under an agreement between the Ventura County Flood Control District and the state Department of Fish and Game. Removing the trees removes nesting spots.

The district plans to remove the trees by February, with construction of the $3.8 million dam starting in early April.

``We are going to leave them up as long as we can without risking birds nesting in them,'' county Public Works Director Jeff Pratt said. ``But it can't go past February.''

Pratt also said fewer trees will be removed; instead of chopping down 47 oak trees, the department is now considering a number in the high 30s.

County officials wanted to transplant more trees to safer ground but because many are diseased or have roots embedded in rock, arborists have concluded that just 14 oak trees would survive a move. Meanwhile, negotiations with private parties interested in relocating the trees have fizzled, he said.

Before the department can remove any trees, it needs one more permit, from the state Division of Safety of Dams. County officials could travel to Sacramento as soon as next week to secure that permit.

Members of Save the Conejo 2000 have met with county officials twice recently to discuss the location of the dam off Westlake Boulevard, which is needed to protect downstream properties from runoff from the 2,257-home Lang Ranch development. The group opposes the project because it claims the dam would deflate property values and damage the environment.

Langer also said he remains unconvinced the dam's site is stable despite the findings of Geolabs, a Westlake Village engineering geology consulting firm. Pratt said the findings are accurate and have been reviewed by five independent engineering professionals.

County Supervisor Frank Schillo, whose district includes Thousand Oaks, said protesters are wasting their time lobbying the board because the county is under contract with the city to build the dam.

``You know, it's really too bad those people don't want to hear any of the facts about this,'' Schillo said. ``Quite a few oak trees are diseased and we can't get them transplanted, which means they will die.

``They don't want to hear anything that deters them from what they are doing,'' he said. ``If you want to keep this political, this is what you do.''

Residents are opposed to the dam because it would uproot the oak trees and block their view of the area. They also say the site is geologically unstable.