Save Ahmanson Ranch, again

Just when you thought it was safe to hike and bike the trail at the Ahmanson Ranch Preserve, you must delay celebrating a victory for the environmentalists. A developer named Faye Huang wants to build a fire road through Ahmanson Ranch Nature Preserve so that she can build 30 new homes known as Faye Estates. She has asked Gov. Schwarzenegger to help her with this legal matter.

I’m sorry, but the word preserve means “to keep alive or in existence; to make lasting, to keep safe from harm or injury; a place set apart for protection and propagation of game or fish,” according to Webster’s Dictionary.

These beautiful mountains contain an endangered spine-flower, an endangered frog, Chumash Indian burial grounds and cave dwellings complete with wall drawings, and virgin native grasses that grow as high as the head of a horse when left untouched. The spineflower was thought to be already extinct, but rediscovered when an environmental impact report was submitted at one of the city or regional meetings in the last 11 years. These treasures must be saved for future generations.

A road into this area must be approved by three organizations whose authority it is to oversee this preserve. The three organizations were chosen to protect the land and I believe they will protect the land and fulfill their duties. The three agencies are the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy, the State Coastal Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Board.

This developer is entitled to apply for this emergency access road easement and the public is entitled to an in-depth public review by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Watch for future public hearings and attend.

Everyone needs to get informed and get involved. Help save Ahmanson Ranch—again. Mary Ann Rush Agoura Hills