MRT acquires 120 acres in Calabasas




Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) announced it has protected 120 acres of open space between Mulholland Highway and the Calabasas Peak that surrounds the Secret Trail and ascends to the Calabasas Motorway.

The Secret Trail is a 1.59-mile segment of the 17-mile Calabasas/ Cold Creek Trail that traverses the Santa Monica Mountains. Preserving the trails and natural areas of the Santa Monica Mountains has been a high priority for officials from Calabasas, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, Mountains Restoration Trust and L.A. County’s Third Supervisorial District.

The trail is a biologically rich area that passes through grassland, chaparral, oak woodland, willow riparian, scrub oak woodlands and volcanic rock outcrops.

“The Secret Trail is one of the most likely areas where visitors can encounter wildlife. There are 13 different kinds of raptors and a dense population of coyote, bobcat, mule deer and mountain lion,” said Woody Smeck, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area superintendent.

MRT negotiated a $100,000 price reduction on the foreclosed property and then worked with several agencies to raise the $750,000 needed to close the deal. The City of Calabasas contributed $50,000.

MRT transferred the title to the Mountains Recreation And Conservation Authority, which will maintain the property.

“The property’s foreclosure status and location made developer interest imminent and put the Secret Trail in jeopardy, but it will continue to protect the headwaters and sustainability of the Cold Creek watershed,” said Debbie Debbie Bruschaber of MRT.

The property is important to MRT’s current holdings of more than 1,000 acres in the Cold Creek Preserve watershed. The protection of the Cold Creek watershed through conservation easements and acquisition of critical properties has been a goal of MRT since its first acquisitions in 1984.

To date, MRT has added more than 6,000 acres to its protected holdings.



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