OTHERWORLDLY ROCKS MAY BET LEARNING CENTER PLANS MOVE FORWARD FOR VASQUEZ SITE.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE - Vasquez Rocks, the landmark formations jutting out along the Antelope Valley Freeway that inspired cave paintings some 9,000 years ago and provide alien planet backdrops for present-day Hollywood, may finally see an on-site interpretative center.

After more than three decades of inaction and false starts, the county Department of Parks and Recreation has proposed constructing a 2,700-square-foot Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park Interpretive Center.

``What we've been lacking at the site is any kind of structure, a place where people can learn about flora and fauna and the history and archaeology,'' said Mickey Long, natural areas administrator for the county parks department. ``It's the most archaeologically rich park in our natural areas, with the Native American past.''

Conservationists have urged the county for more than three decades to build an education facility at the popular park to better protect the petroglyphs and other artifacts left by the Tataviam people. The indigenous tribe inhabited the area until 1797, when the Spanish established Mission San Fernando.

According to the initial study conducted by Pasadena-based Sapphos Environmental, the building will be the centerpiece of a 4.15-acre visitors' facility, complete with a 30,000-square-foot parking lot, lecture benches and trail heads.

The $4.2 million project is proposed near Agua Dulce Canyon Road and Escondido Canyon Road, replacing the existing ranger's residence and office trailer at the 950-acre park, the April 17 study said.

The property passed through several owners through the 1900s and has served as a Hollywood backlot - it was the site of William Shatner's battle against an alien lizard-man in a classic 1967 ``Star Trek'' episode. The county acquired enough land for a park in 1970, though it remains a popular film location.

Yet county officials and experts were of two minds about preserving the area's archaeological heritage. Studies since the 1970s have called for an interpretive museum and the sealing off of a cluster of archaeological sites, and a 1991 report warned that a legacy of weathering and vandalism has erased much of the rock art and other remnants.

The county opted for a low-key approach, coupling regular patrols while keeping mum about where some of the most sensitive sites are located. Long said the center could serve as a museum for artifacts gathered over the years.

``We have a few in our possession, and there are others available to us at the county museum, which are waiting for a site to display them,'' he said.

John Moreno, a Sapphos analyst working on the full environmental impact report required by state as part of the center's planning process, said they are well aware of the cultural burden behind the project.

``It's a park that has some historical resources as well as archeological resources,'' he said. ``That's something we will be keeping in mind and we'll be analyzing in the EIR.''

A public meeting on the center is scheduled Wednesday at Agua Dulce Women's Club in Agua Dulce, a town of some 4,000 situated next to the park.

The draft environmental impact report is slated for review by the Board of Supervisors in November, said Sussy Nemer, parks deputy for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th district covers Vasquez Rocks. If all goes smoothly, the center is scheduled to be completed in December 2008, she said. Construction could take at least a year.

The current push for the center began in 2001, when the county purchased a 2.1-acre property eyed as a potential site, Long said.

``But there was some concerns that it was going to be too close to the residents,'' he said. They fell back to the existing ranger facility - an option believed to be the least disruptive to the natural area.

``We have been trying to locate the proper location and scope of the interpretative center, working with the public and surrounding area to determine the best course of action,'' said Tony Bell, an Antonovich spokesman. ``The interpretative center would be an education and recreational resource for Los Angeles County.''

Named after the bandit Tiburcio Vasquez, who eluded capture there in the 1870s, the rocks receive about 105,000 visitors a year. Though officials are leery of overdeveloping the park, the center was expected to add another 5,000 per year, the study said.

``It's still a bit out of the way from the population center, so we don't anticipate it will be a big impact,'' Long said. ``The average visitors are picnickers. Some climb on the rocks - they like to see the formations - and hikers of course. But mostly, it's just a big, open space for people to enjoy.''

Long said the center will be modeled after similar county facilities in Eaton Canyon in Altadena and the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center.

``The parks that get the most use are the ones that have a nature center,'' he said. ``It allows us to educate the public. That's what we're after - they come by and pick up a map instead of just going off by themselves.''

IF YOU GO: The Vasquez Rocks Interpretative Center scoping meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Agua Dulce Women's Club, 33201 Agua Dulce Canyon Road. For information, call [phone].

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

(ran in SAC and AV edition only) Visitors enjoy the wide open spaces at Vasquez Rocks.

David Crane/Staff Photographer

Map:

(ran in SAC and Valley edition only) Planned interpretive center