STATE OF CALIFORNIA­THE RESOURCES AGENCY …

STATE OF CALIFORNIA­THE RESOURCES AGENCY                                         ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor

SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS CONSERVANCY
LOS ANGELES RIVER CENTER AND GARDENS
570 WEST AVENUE TWENTY-SIX, SUITE 100
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90065
PHONE (323) 221-8900
FAX (323) 221-9001



         For Immediate Release                                             Contact: Dash Stolarz
         July 2, 2005                                                        (323) 221-9944 x198


     Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Opens New Victory Boulevard Entrance to
                   Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

             Los Angeles city gateway to the former 5,200-acre Ahmanson Ranch provides
             ample parking, picnic areas, restrooms, and trail access to miles of spectacular
                                    wilderness and public parkland


         West Hills--At a dedication ceremony held today on the site of what had been once
         envisioned as a four lane highway into the planned community of Ahmanson Ranch, the
         Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy opened up a long awaited Los Angeles City
         access point to the 5,200-acre Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.


         Congressman Brad Sherman, Assmeblymembers Fran Pavley and Lloyd Levine, Los
         Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks,
         and Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine were on hand to cut the ribbon on
         the new trailhead, which straddles the Los Angeles/Ventura County border. Now
         families, hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians have easier access into one of the
         most magnificent parklands in the area. The new trailhead includes parking for 60 cars,
         as well as equestrian and bus parking, a bathroom, interpretive kiosks, and a picnic area.


         At the headwaters of east Las Virgenes Canyon where the Simi Hills rise above the San
         Fernando Valley, park users can link up with miles of trails through rolling hills studded
         with valley oaks, sycamore-lines canyon bottoms and unspoiled California landscapes.




                                                 (-More-)
                                                                     Victory Trailhead 2


The park connects with over 6,000 acres of the Santa Monica National Recreation Area
in Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons to the west.


"There could not be a more fitting name for this trailhead--the Victory Trailhead,"
said Joseph T. Edmiston, Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy. "The beautiful landscape you see before will only change as the seasons
dictate. Today, the same gates once erected in the heat of battle been thrown open. We
say: Let the people in!"


On November 7, 2003, the Conservancy purchased the 2,983-acre portion of the former
Ahmanson Ranch from Washington Mutual Bank. Years before, 2,500 acres of the
original ranch had been transferred to the MRCA as a developer dedication.


Preservation of the ranch for public parkland marked the close of a heated, fifteen-year
Southern California land use controversy. The County of Ventura had approved a
Specific Plan to create a self-contained new town of over 3,000 residences, with golf
courses, open space, commercial and business centers. The saga involved the entertainer
Bob Hope and his vast land holdings; local, State, and federal agencies; elected officials,
environmental     organizations,    entertainment     industry    figures,   neighborhood
associations, businesses, lawyers, builders, grass roots groups, and scientists, all of whom
had varying and often vociferous points of view about the future of the ranch. The
discovery of the near-extinct subspecies of the California red legged frog and the
presumed extinct San Fernando Valley spine flower finally tipped the scales.


The park purchase was made possible when the bank agreed to sell, and funding became
available from California's Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach
Protection Act of 2002 (Proposition 50). The $150 million below- appraised- value sale
                                                                    Victory Trailhead 3


price was made up of $135 million from the State Wildlife Conservation Board, $10
million contributed by the State Coastal Conservancy, and $5 million from the SMMC.


MRCA   rangers will patrol and mange new trailhead, which like the rest of the park, will
be opened from dawn to dusk.


The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy was established by the California State
Legislature in 1980. Since that time, it has helped to preserve over 60,000 acres of
parkland in both wilderness and urban settings, and has improved more than 114 public
recreational facilities throughout Southern California.


The MRCA is a local government public entity established in 1985 pursuant to the Joint
Powers Act between the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Conejo Recreation
and Park District, and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. The MRCA works
in cooperation with the Conservancy and other local government partners to acquire
parkland, participate in vital planning processes, and complete major park improvement
projects.


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